Sparks Notes: February 28, 2008

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"Don't wait for your ship to come in - swim out to it."

~Author Unknown

It seems as though the preseason period has lasted an eternity, and in the last two weeks, it seems everyone has become a little stir crazy. We all know that once Friday arrives, and our first game is underway, the semester will be over in a blink because of the intense, fast-paced nature of season. While that lifestyle of game after game is what we’ve been waiting for since last April, I’d like to take some time to just reflect on the last six weeks. In addition to fine-tuning our skills, getting in shape and growing as a team, we have also recognized that we possess many talents in addition to lacrosse (aside from our uncanny ability to create nicknames).

Our first demonstration of well-roundedness occurred about two weeks ago, when both our lacrosse coaches and strength and conditioning coach must have realized it was time to shake things up, and had us spend our lifting time doing a pool workout. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to be able to use the varsity pool, as lines of the Rec Center’s treadmills, bikes and ellipticals overlook the alternative recreation pool. Still, few felt bathing suit ready during this especially pale time of year. Nevertheless, Katy Ryan, Kati Kasch and Ike led the way in most stylish one pieces, with cap and goggles in hand.

Much to the dismay of the rest of us, clad in sports bras, spandex and chlorine filled hair and eyes, some of the swim and dive team members happened to be warming up as we drowned ... I mean, worked out. They looked on with puzzled faces as we did our typical outdoor dynamic warm up in the pool, treaded water and had relay races. Even though for some the treading water consisted of clinging to the lane lines for dear life, the kickboards served simply as flotation devices, and all of us swam a total of about seven laps each, I think by the end, the swim team was really impressed. Just the other day, one of them asked, “So what, exactly, were you guys doing in there?”

The bus ride home from the Dartmouth scrimmage provided yet another opportunity for us to shine in unexpected ways. While it may not have lived up to previous bus adventures (for example getting stuck on the GW Bridge with Big Tony or freshman initiations), this bus ride was somewhat of a … concert. Using a technique first explored by some of us in a ten-hour trip home from UConn’s Bowl Game in Charlotte, we managed to deafen the rest of the bus with our “harmonization.” This entails a few people singing in as deep of voices as possible, while others reach ear-piercing shrillness. We were able to develop quite a repertoire, including everything from Ja Rule’s “What’s Love?” to Hannah Montana over the three-hour trip.

While we are confident further skills will be uncovered throughout the rest of the season, there is something to be said for the discoveries made about each other through the difficult weeks of preseason. Both the hard days and the fun days have helped us to build an identity as a team, and the excitement is overwhelming now that we have finally reached game time. Although we have tried, and some even succeeded, in becoming swimmers and singers and all sorts of other things, there is no question that on Friday we will be first and foremost UConn Women’s Lacrosse 2008. And for that, we couldn’t be happier.