I rush back from class and get into my practice clothes. Today is a big day for me. So is every other day when we have practice. The same old questions run through my head. “Will I play well today? Will my coach be happy with what I do out there on the field?” I run over to the radio and pop in my favorite pre-practice tape.
Of course, the first song on the mix is “Put Me in Coach” by John Fogerty. I know all the words, and can’t help but sing along to them and hope one more time that today will be a day where everything just clicks.
As the mix continues with songs like, “Right Now,” and “Under Pressure,” I cannot help but think how hard my team has worked since September.
We have gone through so much as a team. Between the long practices and switching coaches, we have still managed to make it this far.
After playing together for about five months it’s almost like we are a completely new team with a new outlook on things.
People are playing different positions on the field, and believe it or not, my coach just asked me to be the back up goalie incase anything happens to our amazing goalie Megan Matthews.
She told me that she would “play with broken bones” if she had to, so I’m not too worried that I’ll ever have to take a turn in the goal!
While the rest of the school heads home for Spring Break, my team and I and our dedicated coaches are headed for a road trip. I am really looking forward to going on Spring Break this year with my team.
We have our first home game on March 9 against Lemoyne College, and right after that game we are getting on a bus and heading straight to Maryland. We will also be visiting Washington D.C. (as Erin O’Mara would say), having dinner with the Men’s Lacrosse team at the Lacrosse Hall of fame, watching a Loyola/Princeton game, and then playing a game of our own against Howard University.
With my team on the road, spending an entire week together, they are bound to do some funny things. We will make new memories to add to the ones that already make us smile.
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Diary of an Athlete: Jackie Derasmo
March 7, 2002
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