2014 Seniors: What being a senior means to them

We have four seniors this year on the Randolph Women’s Lacrosse team; Melanie Eiselie, Ashley Edwards, Sammie Maggard and Nushaa Kaz. We have been through so much these last four years, that it’s hard to believe that it’s coming to an end. We’ve had up’s and down’s but we have created a bond that is irreplaceable. Sammie said it best, “Once you run together, sweat together, work hard together, and play together for four years as a Randolph College Women's Lacrosse player, you stay together and that is one of the most rewarding aspects of my collegiate experience thus far.” We know that we are leaving Randolph with sisters. We are sisters ready to protect and support each other in any situation; we are one unit on and off the field and that’s more than we ever would’ve expected when we were making the life-changing decision to come to Randolph College. 

  Being a senior gives us even more of an incentive to give it our all during this last season. We have been working hard the last three years so we need to leave this college with a bang. As we get ready for our last “first practice” of the season, we are going to remember all of the memories we have hoarded throughout the last three seasons and we are going to strive to make it our best one yet. The bond we have helps motivate us to push ourselves to our limit, and then keep on going. Being seniors, we have spent much time reflecting on our experiences during our tenure at Randolph and we realize how much we have grown; but what’s so special about being on this team is that we have been able to grow together. We’ve proved time and time again that we are strong, independent, hard-working, reliable and dedicated women that give all that we have to this lacrosse team. No matter what challenges we face, we all know that we are facing it together and that makes us feel invincible.   

 This season will be bittersweet for all of us; the four of us have seen this team grow so much and it will be hard to let that go and pass down the torch. We have been a part of this program since the very beginning and we’ve invested so much time and effort into making each year better than the last. We are faced with the exciting emotions of finally being the oldest ones on the field with the most experience under our belts, but we are also the sad emotions of it being our last season but we work hard not only for ourselves, but for one another and this season will be no different for us. We have a strong group of women on this team and we all know that we have the ability to accomplish our goals. As seniors, we are leaders and we hope to lead our team by being hard-working, positive and determined. We intend to leave our mark on this program; we are so excited for what 2014 has in store for us!

 

Seniors after their last "first practice" of the 2014 season

Written by: 2014 Seniors : Melanie Eiselie, Ashley Edwards, Sammie Maggard, and Nushaa Kaz

3rd Annual Fall Classic is a Success

On November 3rd, Randolph College Women’s Lacrosse hosted a Fall Classic for middle and high school players in the area. The field was divided in half and two 7v7 games were played simultaneously with twelve minute halves. Each team played four games and after all of the games were played there was an All-Star game. We all had such a hard time choosing the players from each team because everyone played amazing!  

We acted as coaches and referees throughout the day, which was a great opportunity for us to interact with some of the local, high school players. Nushaa Kaz '14 as well as Ashley Edwards '14 even conducted a clinic for the middle school players in between the games, it was a great way for the younger players to learn stick tricks and drills that we do in our everyday practices.

                 Nushaa Kaz ’14 & Ashley Edwards ’14 with their team

  

 Since we are usually playing, we rarely have the opportunity to coach or referee which was a new experience for our first-years. This classic not only allowed for community players to come together to play lacrosse but also allowed all of us to enjoy a beautiful day of being a part of the sport we love and give back to the community.

Being first-years ourselves, we enjoyed this event immensely because of the opportunity it gave us to spend time with our college teammates as well as some of the lacrosse players in central Virginia area. Many of us came from high schools from up north, so meeting some of the local players at this event as well as the Alzheimer’s Event we participated in earlier in this fall, was an amazing experience.

  Melanie Eisele ’14 from PA giving a half time talk to her high school team

  

Chelsea Marciniak ’17, stated, “I loved seeing these girls come out to play and appreciate the game I love as well. It felt good to be a strong leader on the field for them that day- knowing that I influenced their lacrosse experience.” As a team, we strive to build a bond between lacrosse players locally. As the Randolph College Women’s lacrosse team we always want to be a great example and support for the local community of young lacrosse players. We love the days where we are able to give back to them and the Fall Classic was a great way to serve them. It was a great day full of community and great lacrosse!

Written by Alyssa Unmberger 17’ and Chelsea Marciniak 17’

 

Hold the Rope

“When you can look at every member on your team and say to yourself that they would all hold the rope, you are destined to win a lot of lacrosse games.”  (Hold the Rope Poem- Anonymous)*.

‘Holding the Rope’ has great significance because it is the final component to making this season the best in program history.  If we do this one thing, we have all that we need to be a winning team. 'Holding the Rope' means that we are all on the same page when it comes to the amount of work that we put in. 'Holding the Rope' is about being a family and being there for each other. It is more than just working hard but it is that place deep within yourself where you remember that it is not just about you, but it is about the whole unit, the nineteen other teammates that are right alongside you. 'Holding the Rope' is for them, it is a way of remembering that you will hold it for them and that they will hold it for you. It’s a form of trust, respect and integrity.

As a team bonding exercise we all explained to one another what holding the rope means to each of us. Here are a few teammates quotes from our bonding exercise.

Erin Campbell 17’ explained what ‘Holding the Rope’ means to her, “During running, if I feel like slowing down, I say to myself ‘hold the rope.’”  This means to not give up and push through whatever tasks we are given, because we know it is about more than just us as individuals.”

           

“This team is my family away from home.  It is as if I have a family on campus, which is very important to me,” says Ebie Lowery 17’during one of our team bonding nights; and she is completely right. 

 “Holding the rope is a way of life for our team. I would do absolutely anything for these girls because they are my sisters,” says Ashley Edwards 14’, a senior captain. 

Each of us has an actual piece of rope that we wear on our bags and on our sticks to remind us daily of 'Holding the Rope'. We want to be there for one another through it all and we want to live out ‘Holding the Rope’ for one another. When a teammate earns an A on a Chemistry test, we are just as excited as they are. When a teammate is having a hard time at home, we are all there for her with whatever she may need, whether it’s driving her home or just being a shoulder to cry on.

We have such high expectations for this season and we know that every single person on this team is going work as hard as they can to make this team successful because we are all holding the rope. 'Holding the Rope' is when you can say that every member of this team will not let you fall off the ledge and we believe that every member is willing to hold that rope through it all. 'Holding the Rope' is more than a phrase it’s a way we live out being a family. 

*“Hold the Rope” is a poem that was written by an anonymous author. We do not claim ownership for writing this poem as it is just a poem we use for team encouragement.