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During this year's Hispanic American Heritage Month, our program looked to highlight one of our rising stars who also happens to be the only Latina-American lacrosse player on our varsity program.
Amanda Queen '24, of Bolivian descent, provides an insight into what it means to be a Latina-American lacrosse player and the challenges she faced along the way in becoming a prolific goal scorer in a sport she only heard of a year prior to her first game.
What does it mean to me to be a Latina-American lacrosse player?
In general, being a lacrosse player takes a lot of push and determination; being able to pick up a stick and learn to cradle and shoot can definitely be a challenge. Taking that in mind and also seeing that lacrosse is a prominently white sport, didn’t make it the first choice for a sport I wanted to play. Growing up in a prominently Latino household and at a school full of minorities, I was never really was given the opportunity to play lacrosse anywhere. It wasn’t until my last year of middle school where I saw a poster up to join an upcoming lacrosse club. At first, I was hesitant, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I ended up meeting a bunch of these high school girl lacrosse players who to my surprise didn’t fit the mold of the stereotypical lacrosse player I had in my mind. That’s when I realized that my race and culture don’t affect how good of a lacrosse player I can be. I decided that I’m going to embrace who I am while playing lacrosse, and challenge myself to help break barriers so more girls like myself can play this wonderful sport.
What do you hope to tell Latina/Latino-Americans who want to start playing lacrosse?
Being of Latin descent and playing lacrosse is a combination I don’t think people often hear. If any other Latino, Latina, or Latinx want to try something that’s going to be new and a challenge, I would 100% encourage them to play lacrosse! Helping to get out of that negative mentality of “I can’t do it because...” or "...we don't do these things..." will force you to get out of your comfort zone into something you might end up loving.
Why is diversity important to you in the game of lacrosse?
Lacrosse is known for its 'expensive' defining characteristics. Buying a stick, goggles, and cleats isn’t cheap. Certain locations don’t even offer the sport due to its high cost and that leads to a lack of interest. Currently, 86%of college lacrosse players are white. So diversity is rare in the lacrosse field; I believe we should work hard to change that. Being interested in ANY extracurricular or hobby and not being able to see equal representation can cause a negative impact. We should normalize diversity in not just lacrosse but also in everything we do!
Do you see a place for other Latinas in lacrosse now you’ve paved the way at CMIT lacrosse?
I definitely see a place for other Latina lacrosse players on the CMIT lacrosse team. I was welcomed with open arms, I may have been one of the first but I definitely know I won’t be the last. Knowing that I may have inspired another girl to start playing lacrosse or at least take interest in it makes it all worth it. I hope as we go into our season this following school year that more girls of any descent come to try out, and I know that CMIT lacrosse will be more than happy to accept them.