I {heart} lax

I had honestly forgotten how much I love lacrosse. I am laying most of the blame on playing in college. Sure I enjoyed it; I wouldn’t have completed four years at that elite level, and eleven years of play before that had I not. But by the end of this Spring I was burned out, in fact I was more than burned out and utterly fed up with the politics. I was ready to hang up my cleats and move on with my professional career.

But despite my waxing and waning enthusiasm for the sport, I seem to have again found the interest, passion, and love for it. Maybe it’s because there isn’t the pressure. Maybe it’s because I finally learned to play for myself after all those years. Maybe it’s because I’m finally coaching. As the term nears, and I am just days (two to be exact) from meeting my future team, I find myself getting more and more anxious. I want to show these girls how fun lacrosse can be. I want to show these girls just how good they can be as individuals and as a team. I want to show these girls the million and one opportunities that can come from playing (whether it be the great friends made or scholarships earned). While I have no idea where to even begin, I can safely say that I am extremely excited for the challenge and the opportunity to again be a part of lacrosse.

I am actually so enthused about lacrosse at the moment that I will be playing for a local club team, Harpendon, while in the UK. Practice starts tomorrow. I am interested in seeing for myself the standard level of play. As I have heard from coaches and players alike, UK lacrosse is not US lacrosse. The most striking difference is the competitive level; it seems that the states are far more advanced and skilled. I obviously have no basis for these opinions, so I am quite curious to see for myself. Knowing my luck, the alleged rumors will be false and I will be annihilated. Tomorrow will be the moment of truth.

I guess it can’t be too bad; I have been trying to get back into shape. This summer was an utter disaster. Between my insanely long work day and hour long commute into and out of the city, exercise was a low priority on my to-do list. Each weekend it would land back at the top, so nearly every Monday I ran, but by the time Tuesday rolled around I was already defeated. These past few weeks have been much better. Sarah (my new roomie and fellow American) has helped tremendously in this task. We biked to St. Alban’s yesterday, which is no walk in the park let me tell you. Today we ran, or should I say attempted to run, to Berkhamsted. We had every intention of getting there, but after about 4 and some odd miles of running and not reaching the town we decided it best to turn back around to Hemel and avoid the dark. As we’ve been told hooligans run the streets there.

So for now we, or maybe I should say I, seem to be on the right track. Let’s hope it stays that way. I am determined to run a marathon, and will be sorely disappointed if I leave the UK without fulfilling this ambition.