Creating Opportunity

I forgot how much I loved playing Lacrosse until I picked up a ball and my “once upon a time” stick this week. As a high school senior at Kennedy Catholic in Burien, WA, I was part of the varsity Lacrosse team with a very limited play time. I recall on the first game of the season, only at the end of the game did I realize how time flew and that I didn’t even get any play time. That was a blessing and a curse.

A curse – because that was my first time ever not having some play time though I felt that I gave my hundred and ten percent in every single practice.

And a blessing – because I got to see one of the BEST Lacrosse games ever played from start to finish right in front of me.

I also remember beating myself up that had I grown up playing Lacrosse, I would have probably been good enough with an x amount of experience to play in college. Lacrosse isn't a sport that's practiced in Madagascar. It's a pretty foreign concept, and I didn't learn to play until I moved to the United States. I've always wondered what could have been different if I had played Lacrosse as a child. Would I have been able to play more as an adult?

But this week, none of that play time mattered! Though I am not the best or the most skilled Lacrosse player, it’s the LOVE for the game that drives me to teach what I learned in high school to those who didn’t have the opportunity to do so. The opportunity to learn, to maybe also love or maybe hate this unfamiliar sport, but at least to have an opportunity that wasn’t there before, but now available.

Lacrosse practice has been amazing for the past three days. The students are really excited about learning new skills. Laura Patterson, a former Division 1 Lacrosse player at Louisville University, is our Lacrosse Coach. She’s created and planned practice drills while teaching the campers the basic skills of playing Lacrosse, such as cradling, ground balls, and passing …

I related so much to these campers when we first introduced them to the protection gears, the goggles and mouth guards. A couple of our campers said: “Jessica, I can’t see anything! Do we really have to wear these?” (laughs laughs laughs) and one continued: “Ya, what do I do with my saliva!?”

I’m excited where the next week and a half takes us and what we can create out of these talented young leaders of the Moramanga community!