The 2023 season of Enloe Women’s Lacrosse was one not defined by a scoreboard, but by slices of pizza after a game, team inside jokes, and complaints about how the uniform is actually a skirt. Five days a week Enloe lacrosse players carpool over to the Ligon fields, run passing drills, sprints, and scrimmage; however, each player described the team in a familial sense, one steeped in bonded friendships. Friendships that were cultivated in the pre-season to the post-season, primarily due to the efforts of co-captains Heidi Dittus and Emma Dellinger. 

One of Dittus’ responsibilities as co-captain includes leading the pre-season workouts, which helps the team prepare for the upcoming season both in skill and team bonding. 

“Pre-seasons are really fun because they’re really low pressure, so you can just kind of get to know people and have a good time,” explains Dittus. “We practiced at Lion Park starting in September, just trying to get everyone’s stick skills to where they need to be. So we taught everyone how to throw and catch and run basic plays before practice started.”

Through helping train team members, Dittus finds value in the mentorship role being captain provides her.

“It was really cool to take a group of girls who, at the beginning of the school year, didn’t know how to play lacrosse, hadn’t ever picked up a stick before and watch them grow into a team over the course of six months,” says Dittus. 

Kanah Boykin is a junior who’s been on the team for two years and benefitted from this type of training, having never played lacrosse before joining the team.

As a midfielder, Boykin says the most important skills for team members to have are ‘stick skills,’ stamina, and above all, effective communication. She says that one of the team’s strengths is communication as a tight-knit team. 

“A lot of us were friends before we joined the team and a lot of people have brought their other friends which I think helps a lot [when] we all know each other and are all friendly,” explains Boykin. “When you have a divide on a sports team, it becomes really awkward and I don’t think we have that […] we’re just like one big giant little family.” 

Within the team, collaboration is key — something that’s proven crucial to the success and community of the women’s lacrosse team.

“It’s a collaborative effort,” says Dittus. “We have a great time at practice and a lot of us have gotten very close over the course of the season.”

Each member is important to the team, with Dittus highlighting some of the players that have stood out to her this year. One such player is Keelyn McCabe, a junior who plays midfield. 

“She’s definitely an essential part of our team this year — our highest scorer,” says Dittus.

 From freshman to seniors, Dittus stressed the inter-class friendships and the team as a great way to get to know people from all over Enloe. Dittus also mentioned freshmen midfield players Louisa Hines and Ashley Kardas as vital new additions to the team. 

“They’re both really good because they’re really fast so they play midfield,” says Dittus.

From skilled lacrosse players to ‘never having touched a lacrosse stick before’ students, Dittus encourages anyone interested in trying out and joining the Enloe women’s lacrosse team.

“Just do it. It’s a really easy sport to learn and it’s very much a “no pressure” — like literally zero pressure — team,” says Dittus. “Our coach is really great and it’s a great time. It’s a good way to find a little community here at Enloe without having played a sport in the past or without any experience.”