Central York Girls Lacrosse will likely have a record amount of seniors this year, with ten returning athletes. The team, however, faces serious concerns about fielding two full rosters this spring season– varsity and junior varsity.

     Across the county, high school girls’ lacrosse teams are struggling for numbers. Last season, all JV games were played 8 vs. 8, unlike the traditional 12-player arrangement. With the season about to start, the graduating class of 2023 is looking to recruit as many girls as they can to continue the school’s program next year. 

     This year’s seniors lost their freshman season to the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting the amount interested in the sport. There are fewer underclassmen from last year’s roster. One of these underclassmen, sophomore Kendall Stauffer, shares her thoughts on how social media has affected any prospective players. 

     “People really want to be hanging out with their friends and not so much doing something interactive like a sport. Underclassmen may be less motivated than the upperclassmen this year,” she says.

     In efforts to recruit new girls, Head Coach Jessica Resh organized 6 a.m. morning workouts starting back in December on Wednesdays and Fridays through the beginning of the season. They are to help players get in shape for the upcoming season and provide an opportunity for interested players to try out the sport according to Resh.

     Several of the seniors this year remember how they first became interested in the sport. Makenna Conway recalls how a new club team for 3rd graders was started and that made her want to try out.

     “I wasn’t able to be on the team but I was able to join practices and try it out and I fell in love with the sport from an early age,” Conway said. 

     Fellow senior Morgan Hoch started at a similar age with the same club team. Lacrosse has been a part of her family for a long time, and she wanted to continue the tradition. 

     “I started playing lacrosse because both of my older brothers played. I would always go to their games and tournaments and found the sport so interesting!” states Hoch.

     These returning players are hopeful for this season’s outcome and plan to work hard no matter the number of athletes on the team. 

     With the class of 2022 having graduated, several valuable players from last season are gone. Looking at both offense and defense, each side will be looking to fill positions with new players on varsity. Conway is split on her feelings about how this season may go. 

     “I think it could be a hit or miss, we have a lot of seniors on the offensive side, a few on the defensive side, but I think it’s just a matter of if we have enough young talent to come up with the experience for the varsity level, and be able to play at that level,” expresses Conway. 

     Stauffer is optimistic, however, when looking forward to seeing what possible new players can add to the team’s performance.

     “I think there are strong defenders coming back, I’m not sure about the upcoming freshman, but I am excited to see how the defensive lineup looks by our first game,” she says. 

     For any high schoolers interested in lacrosse, the team encourages people to try coming out for events. The season started March 6, and the first home match is March 30. Interested players should try coming to games to get introduced to the sport. 

     “Everyone makes the team at Central, just try something different because you might really like it,” says Stauffer.