Chamblee is preparing for a new season of lacrosse. Having recently gotten new coaches, the girls’ team has a positive outlook for the new season. The new coaches are excited to help keep the lacrosse team running throughout the upcoming season and future years.
“I think that sports are very important, especially for female athletes. I wanted to make sure that lacrosse was a program that we didn’t lose because we didn’t have people to coach. It’s not a sport I started out knowing much about, but I wanted to make sure that we continue to offer it,” said Andrew Milne, one of Chamblee’s new girls’ lacrosse coaches.
Many team members have high hopes for the new coaches and the new players joining the team this season.
“We have new coaches, so I actually think the team is going to do better. We’ve also got some new younger talent coming in, which could be good as well,” said Mackenzie Cassidy (‘24).
With the change of coaches, the players hope to have a better season than last year.
“I think we will do well. Our new coaches are really good, and we have a good foundation for growth so far,” said Ashley Nelson (‘26).
With newer players joining the team as well, the team is focused on improving members’ skills this season.
“I think the team will do good, but we have a couple of new people who are still learning, so I feel like we will be mainly focusing on improving everyone’s skills and teaching everyone how to play,” said Rowan Schreiber (‘27).
Many team members say that the team is improving already and that the season is going well so far.
“We have played two official games so far. We lost one really badly to a very good team, and we won one very well. I think we’re improving already. I think it’s going to be a matter of the level of our competition that determines the outcome of the season. The team is getting better very quickly, but I still don’t know how we will do this season,” said Milne.
The team having a low number of players could pose challenges for the team in the upcoming season.
“I think our team will have some challenges this season because we don’t have any subs during games, and we’re playing a non-region schedule,” said K.K. Mattison (‘26).
While many feel that the new coaches will have a positive impact on the team, some believe that the adjustment period may cause issues.
“We did okay last year, but we lost seniors and got new coaches, so it’s a little unstable,” said Nelson.
In the previous lacrosse seasons at Chamblee, the main focus of the team wasn’t necessarily about winning but more about improving as a team.
“Last year, we improved a lot as a team, but we weren’t great. We didn’t win a lot of games,” said Jaela Huang (‘26).
Many players believe that having a good community within their team is vital to having a successful season.
“The lacrosse community is really fun, and we want to win and have a good time,” said Nelson.
Although players find the lacrosse community fun to be a part of, it is also small in size in comparison to other sports’ communities.
“The lacrosse community is small. We do our best to encourage others to join, but it’s not a very popular sport,” said Huang.
Many Chamblee lacrosse players also play outside of school for other organizations that have different characteristics than the school team.
“I played for [Atlanta Storm Lacrosse] in fall. They are definitely more recruiting, college-based, and serious,” said Nelson.
A lot of Chamblee’s girls’ lacrosse team members choose to play lacrosse for the relationships made and the fun that comes with the sport.
“I chose to join lacrosse because I wanted to build new friendships and because it is a fun sport to play with my friends.” said Nelson.
To some, the lacrosse community at Chamblee is appealing because it is very welcoming to new players.
“I chose to join the team because I knew that I could join without prior experience. I also thought playing a team field sport would be fun,” said Huang.
While some joined due to love for the sport, others joined for the opportunity to try something new during the spring.
“I started playing lacrosse for Chamblee my freshman year just to play a spring sport,” said Cassidy.
Many Chamblee players say that lacrosse is fun because of the unique qualities of the sport.
“I do enjoy lacrosse because I just think it’s really different from a lot of the other sports I’ve played. I like the long distance running that we do. Playing with the sticks is really fun too,” said Cassidy.
Many team members say that the Chamblee girls’ lacrosse team is great for many reasons, but the biggest reason is the inviting and fun community.
Ace Bredemeier (‘27) said, “This is my first year playing lacrosse, and so far, I am loving it. My new team is so fun, goofy, and hardworking. I am so glad I joined the team because all these fun memories we are creating so far are just gonna get better.”
