| |
Rogers
still gets job done for Lady Vikings lacrosse team
by Eric Keppeler
Grand Island Dispatch, May 5, 2006
Kathy Rogers was there as an eighth grader in the
beginning, when Grand Island High School first fielded a varsity
girls lacrosse team five years ago.
Now a senior, the diminutive Rogers is more than ever
a force to be reckoned with as the Vikings continue their journey
from first-year expansion team to the realm of competitive respectability.
“I think we lost every game in the first year,” Rogers
said. “Now we’re up to winning about half of our games. So we’re
definitely getting better. People are putting a lot more effort
in now, and we just have more experience than we did before.”
Rogers has been a big part of that climb to success.
Barely topping the 5-foot plateau, the speedy attacker is nonetheless
one of the Vikings’ most consistent scoring threats – and a team
spark plug.
“She’s very aggressive, and the other kids seem to
pick up on that,” said fourth-year Grand Island coach Nicole Marabella.
“She passes the ball well, and she’s very solid in the basic skills.
The kids seem to play more confidently when she’s on the field.
And she really enjoys the game, and that just makes everyone else
better.”
Rogers started learning the game around age 10, when
her father began to teach her two brothers how to play. She says
she learned a lot from her father and by playing with her brothers
as the speed of the game well prepared her for competing against
other girls.
|
|
Kathy Rogers learned a lot about lacrosse
from her father and by playing with her brothers as the speed of the
game well prepared her for competing against other girls. |
“The boys game
is a lot more physical,” Rogers said. “They get away with a lot more,
but it’s a lot harder. You just have to do everything faster, and the
passes and shots are a lot harder. I’ve become faster, and I’m more confident
now. My stick skills have improved a lot.”
Grand Island has become very proficient in turning out quality
high school sports teams – particularly soccer and basketball. That success
can be traced to youth programs that start at a very early age and then
feed experienced players into the high school pool.
The same thing is beginning to happen in lacrosse, according
to Rogers.
“There are a few lacrosse programs, but they’re mostly for
guys,” she said. “Girls can play if they want to, but not many do. There
are also summer camps, which I found very helpful because I was playing
against guys. It just really helps to prepare you.”
As a sport, lacrosse is becoming increasingly mainstream
at the high school level as more and more teams are added each year.
Marabella thinks that’s not just an aberration, and that
the game figures to remain a staple among high school sports.
And the Vikings will just keep getting better.
“More schools have it, which means you’re playing more teams
– so everyone gets more experience,” Marabella said. “There are more camps
and more places to play, and that gives the sport even more exposure.”
|
|
