Tomorrow Will Come...

March 10, 2020 was a day filled with mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement. The roster for the Spring '20 varsity lacrosse season was revealed and it was like our players could breathe again. With a sigh of relief, it was time our program kicked itself into gear with practices scheduled for Tuesday through Saturday for the remainder of the week.

As the week went on, that excitement dissipated as an eerie feeling began to conjure itself. The dark clouds that hovered over our practice fields never subsided and the sun was never able to break through and shower us with the warmth we yearned for. Little did our program know it was foreshadowing things to come...

As COVID-19 (the novel Coronavirus) became a pandemic, and its reach could be felt globally, it seemed like the sports world was flipped upside down overnight:

"The MPSAA Basketball Championships are postponed until further notice due to COVID-19"

"The Ivy League has decided to cancel all spring sports for the remainder of the academic year due to COVID-19"

"Following the Ivy League, the Patriot League has decided to cancel all spring sports for the remainder of the academic year due to COVID-19"

"The NBA, NHL, MLS, and MLB have suspended league operations until further notice due to COVID-19"

"March Madness has been canceled due to COVID-19"

Regardless of those headlines, our team felt invincible and there was no way that something like a virus would trickle into our season. For many of our girls the lacrosse program was a place to breath and to be welcomed for who they were, regardless of how their day went. For many of our girls, the lacrosse program was what they thought about when they woke up and before they fell asleep. For many of our girls, the lacrosse program was an outlet and a home away from home. For many of our girls, the lacrosse program was sisterhood. For many of our girls, the lacrosse program was paradise. But we soon learned that living in paradise couldn't last forever...

On March 12, 2020, the walls of paradise slowly came down when the Associate Head Coach, Stuart Armstrong, announced the news we all had feared:

"The State Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Karen Salmon, announced all public schools will close March 16 through March 27 to help slow the spread of COVID-19."

"Goodbye, Paradise" was what the silence spoke as we huddled together when the announcement was made. For many students, the news that school was being closed for the remainder of the month would make anyone jump for joy. For our players, it was a punch to the gut because we knew what this all meant. As the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association would later clarify:

"All interscholastic athletic teams are required to cancel all team practices until schools are reopened which at the earliest will be March 30, 2020."

"I would rather sit through a whole day of school knowing lacrosse was waiting for me at the end of the day than stay home," Roshni Pawar '22 quietly murmured in the team huddle as her teammates heartbroken shook their heads in agreement. This is NOT college athletics where the NCAA can grant college athletes another year of eligibility. This is NOT the professional leagues where your longevity in competition can span decades. This is a high school sport where a finite end does exist, time will expire and for our program, we knew two weeks that could have been shared with each other was gone.

We knew this could be a precursor for what was to come, a two-week cancelation that could evolve into a season-ending cancelation. Hurt and saddened, we wanted to be angry at someone, anyone really. But it was the right decision, and one that our program unconditionally supports. The health of our friends, our families, and our sisters meant more to us than any lacrosse season. At the end of the day, lacrosse will end. As long as these bonds still exist it doesn't matter what challenges we face as long as we have each other. No one likes to go through struggle, but it is easier when you have people to face those struggles with.

As many of us embraced what could be our last practice this season, we took a moment to "lift" the spirts of our first graduating senior Adrienne Espinosa '20 who has been a starter and staple to our team since our inception last season. Like her teammates, her career was shortened. But at that moment when they lifted her, the weight of finality seemed to be lifted off of our team.

Smiling ear to ear, once the huddle broke, everyone took a moment to do what we have always done as a program — we said "Thank You". We stopped and took the time to tell each other how much we appreciated one another for the journey thus far. As we finished our last practice for the foreseeable future, the remainder of the time was spent with team building activities that everyone engaged in (with a level of hilarious intensity).

As we said our goodbyes and our players began to leave the field one by one, those feelings of anger faded away because one thing became abundantly clear: season or not, "paradise" will always be inside of us wherever we go. This team will always be a sisterhood on or off the field. We know our strength is not rooted in playing lacrosse, rather, our strength is derivative of the community we built, the bonds we forged, and having sisters waiting for us on the other side of this all. Lacrosse may not be promised, but tomorrow will come and being there together is what counts. Playing this sport together does not matter nor does it define who we are, because we define who we are and that's our "Ubuntu" philosophy.

"Vires Acquirit Eundo."-Virgil

"We Gather Strength as We Go."