By: Christine Williams ENGL 336.002
Kelly Lake was your average high school senior at North East High in Anne Arundel County. She always excelled in school, was involved in extracurricular activities, and had a strong passion for lacrosse. When applying for colleges, she made it a point to express her love for lacrosse. Not long after applying to universities such as Frostburg State, West Virginia, and Towson, Kelly started to get phone calls from coaches demonstrating their interest in her skills. She was still unsure of the idea of going away to a university. Kelly said, “I was still not sure if I wanted to go to a four year college right out of high school.”
One day, after a game, Kelly was approached by Frostburg State University coach, Ashley Manion. She told Kelly she would love to have her play lacrosse at FSU. Manion then informed her that if she wanted to get to know some of the women on the team, she could come up for a weekend visit and look at the beautiful compus. Kelly felt privileged to be offered a spot on the team and gladly accepted the invite. Kelly described her visit as “unreal, all of the ladies on the team were extremely friendly. They acted like being on the team would be so much fun, I couldn’t wait to go back.” Kelly was able to maintain some of her relationships with the women on the team throughout the summer via Facebook. Kelly decided that Frostburg was the school for her, but she would soon learn that being on the team wasn’t as great as it seemed; most of the women weren’t so nice, and Kelly says, it wasn’t a lot of fun. Only a few days after moving her things into her new dorm and kissing her parents goodbye, she was already being asked to attend a team meeting. Kelly was already frustrated, she stated, “I didn’t even have time to really get situated and get my classes and homework in order, which annoyed me.” she said. During the meeting the coach explained that not everyone would get playing time, but they were still required to attend two practices a day and three mandatory study sessions per week. The older women on the team were not very welcoming; Kelly says, they were territorial about their position on the field.
Soon after classes started, Kelly found it hard to have a social life among her classes, two practices, three hour study hall, and sleeping. Kelly became confused and discouraged. “Why did they ask me to come and play if there wasn’t room on the team for me to see any playing time?” Kelly said angrily. Towards the end of the semester, Kelly’s grades weren’t as good as she would want them. So she decided to go talk to her coach. Kelly explained that her grades were not as good as she wanted them and she didn’t feel welcomed on the team by the other ladies. The coach told Kelly that school comes first but she hoped she would change her mind. A week later she made a final decision and decided to resign from the team. After Kelly resigned the women from the team became very unsympathetic, Kelly says. They did not understand that she had to leave the team in order to keep her grades up.
Manion is at her third year here at FSU. In 2008 she lead the team to an 8-9 record and in 2009 the team record was 7-9. When asked about Kellys experience Manion said, “Academics come first” and “Every team should expect some sort of conflict”. There are just too many personalities for there not to be any clash, Manion said. Manion explained that if anyone on the team feels they have a serious issue they are strongly encouraged to talk with her. Moreover, Although Kelly did not persevere on the team, most of the players that came onto the team the same year as Kelly continue to play for FSU Women’s Lacrosse team.
While Kelly’s experience with the lacrosse team did not work out, she still had seen the beauty in FSU. Kelly decided to stay and continue college at Frostburg State University. Today Kelly is a junior, has plenty of friends, she is involved in a sorority, participates in the volunteer group “Best Buddies” and is continuing to strive for the good grades she wanted.
