Samantha Akl on Transferring to Stetson

When Coach Moore first gave me a tour of Stetson in late May, I knew that Stetson was a special place. The excitement of her starting a new lacrosse program, and her enthusiasm, was something I really wanted to be a part of. After being too far from home for a year, I also needed somewhere closer to home and somewhere I could make my home. The atmosphere on campus was so warm and welcoming that I felt a certain level of comfort right away.

In the first year of college you have new experiences; you must adjust to the curriculum and find your place making friends with new people. It’s a huge change trying to make college your home for the next four years. So with not finding the right fit the first time around, I decided to take the risk and transfer to Stetson. With that I had to face freshman year: round two.

Fortunately, I was able to do this with ease with a little help from my team. I didn’t have to worry about not having any friends because I instantly had twenty-three new ones. And we’ve all quickly become a family. Getting to know each other seemed effortless because we spend so much time together. We live in the dorms together, share classes, have study hall groups, and of course, we have lacrosse as our biggest common interest!

What’s really exciting is that our bonds are beginning to show on the field. We just completed our first fall ball season EVER and succeeded in our most important goal; growth as a team. Now that fall ball is over we have about one month of pushing each other in conditioning and in the weight room before winter break. And we have jumped in full force. We have some great goals for the spring and I am confident that our team has the motivation, discipline, and spirit to achieve them. We also have amazing support from our coaching staff, university, and parents to help along the way.

After leaving my old college, I thought a lot about just attending a large university and erase my memories, invested time, and love for lacrosse. Taking that route meant that I would probably never play lacrosse again. Looking back, that’s a really sad thought. It’s also a crazy thought because now I couldn’t imagine not stepping out on the field every single day.

I can’t believe how fast this semester has gone by and that we only have about two months before our season starts. Our schedule is jam packed with home games and even a trip to California! I think I can speak for everyone when I say that excited doesn’t even come close to explaining how we feel!

I’ll finish with some real insider information from our team. Every Thursday we have a team meeting before practice. Coach has nicknamed it “Thankful Thursday.” One week we wrote a letter to someone who has helped us get here. One week we all wrote cards to a little boy suffering from cancer to let him know that he has his own fan group here at Stetson. In another meeting we just sat around and shared things about ourselves, from pictures to stories, about why we LOVE what we do.

I have a lot to be thankful for every single Thursday. This program, this opportunity, my many personal support groups, and my TEAM make every minute of training, practicing, and studying worth it. I’m so grateful for this opportunity and confident in this program and this team.

GO HATTERS!

Samantha Akl
Sophomore - Attack
Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Melanie Fredericks on the South Carolina Trip

In traveling to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this past weekend, our team brought three things back to Deland: a closer bond and sense of unity, a new, sharp perspective of what is to come in the spring season, and finally, a more focused outlook on what the stepping stones to success in the spring truly are.

In the eight-hour bus rides to and from South Carolina, there were plenty of opportunities to bond, and we soaked up every moment of it. Even off the bus, teammates came together to grow on and off the field; in this, not only did we propagate growth on an individual level, but we grew closer as a collective as well. The energy level at our morning practice Saturday was remarkable - not only did it kick the weekend off to a good start, but it rejuvenated the spirit of our program as well. Spending time off the field with teammates allowed us to connect with each other; in learning what makes each other tick, our motivations, and our stories and experiences from back home, the prospect of having been strangers to each other two months ago seemed to melt away. The chemistry of this team is, and should be, a point of pride for Stetson.  On and off the field, individuals are willing to be dedicated to sacrifice personal agendas and comforts for this program. And in this, even though we may be new and somewhat of an underdog in our conference, we will find success in the spring. Doing the little things right will make for success in the long term. Team unity is one of those little things that we, no matter how small we may be, are able to accomplish.

Moving from this point, through playing outside competition this weekend, we became much more aware of the level that our team will be expected to perform at this spring in the competitive season. Scrimmaging the other programs on Sunday, we were able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of not only ourselves and each other on an individual basis, but as a team as well. Playing for the second time as a team together, feeling the vibe of my teammates and gaining comfort on the field with each other was incredible. With everything new comes a certain level of awkwardness, and I cannot ignore the fact that growing pains were an issue on Sunday. However, in spite of this fact, the point remains that with every outside program we play collectively, cohesiveness within our team will increase with experience. And in this, a vision for our program is established as far as working toward the spring season.

We arrived back at Stetson with not only more experience as a team but also a comprehensive new set of goals for both the rest of fall ball and for the preparation period for the competitive spring season. All in all, I would call it a successful journey - not only were we able to grow as a team on and off the field, but we captured the opportunity to assess and evaluate what the next step in our evolving program needs to be. With a new team, there are many challenges, and there are many new experiences - last weekend we took it all in, and are ready to take this team to the next level.

Melanie Fredericks
Freshman - Attack
South Lyon, Mich.

Amanda Parker on Being a Long Way From Home

Welcome to the Hatter Lax Nation Blog, where we hope you enjoy some of the stories and insights from within the brand new Stetson Women's Lacrosse program.  Our third entry comes from Amanda Parker.

--------------------

I am currently located 986 miles directly south of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, my hometown. I could also say that I’m a 16 hour and 36 minute drive from home including traffic, or even a 2 hour and 22 minute non-stop flight back to my family. Early morning, my alarm goes off and I sometimes ask myself, how did I ever end up in Florida, so far away? I don’t have any family down here, I’m not familiar with the area (except Disney of course), and I came to Stetson only having met a few of my teammates in the spring. 

Then I step outside Chaudoin, my dorm, and my new home for nine months and it is ninety degrees out. There are these crazy palm trees that look like they’re straight from a Dr. Seuss book, and both boys and girls on their longboards dodging people going about their busy days. There are lizards that I watch race around on the sidewalk, and when I finally look up a friendly but unfamiliar face greets me with a “hello, how are you today.” There’s the most beautiful green grass — the color that I only thought existed in my crayon box - and I can’t help but smile at all of these little things.

Every single morning I am humbled and reminded of how lucky I am to be able to play a sport that I love, continue my education, and walk around in summer clothes when my friends and family back home are in jeans, boots, sweatshirts and scarves right now.

There is nothing I love more than getting phone calls, text messages, emails, and care packages from my loved ones back home. It is nice to know that they want to know how I am doing. The question that I get the most is, “how homesick are you?” Honestly, I find myself telling everyone that I’m not as homesick as I thought I’d be. 

I am truly happy with all aspects of my college life right now. My professors are engaging and they really do care about me. There are an incredible amount of resources offered to help me succeed academically at Stetson. My coaches are incredible role models. They have so much to teach to us, lessons on not only how to be a great lacrosse player on the field, but how to be a great person off the field. My roommate and I are practically sisters and I am best friends with the rest of my lacrosse teammates. 

I came into Stetson with an identity: a lacrosse player. Despite me and my teammates' differences, we all have one greater thing in common — playing a sport that we are passionate about. That’s the beauty about sports. At the end of the day, your teammates will have your back no matter what. And knowing that I inherited a team of 23 other girls who are going to be there to support me, just as I am going to support them, has made my transition that much easier. 

I am so excited for what the next four years holds for me in my new home 986 miles away from home. I can’t wait to grow as an individual both on and off the lacrosse field in DeLand, Florida.

Amanda Parker

Freshman - Midfielder

Perkasie, Pa.

Kate Moreland on the First Season Excitement

Welcome to the Hatter Lax Nation Blog, where we hope you enjoy some of the stories and insights from within the brand new Stetson Women's Lacrosse program.  Our second entry comes from Kate Moreland.

-----------------------

One week in.

We just finished our first week of classes, and let me tell you, I have never read so much for only a few classes. People always said there is a lot of reading, but I never knew it would be this much.

Practice starts next week and we are all looking so forward to actually playing with each other. It was nice to have time to settle into a new setting, but now it seems like everyone is super ready to lax. Personally, I am really excited.

This week was crammed full of physicals and information sessions. It was almost overwhelming with everything we needed to keep track of and where we needed to be. Luckily that part is done and now we can just play!

I am so happy that I get to spend so much time with these girls because they are so much fun to be with. It seems like we all get along really well. I’m so excited to see our chemistry on the field because off the field we act like we have know each other for years.

Bring on the lax.

- Kate Moreland

Whitney Meyers on the Start of a New Program

Welcome to the Hatter Lax Nation Blog.  We're still working on the name, but for the time being, we hope you enjoy some of the stories and insights from within the brand new Stetson Women's Lacrosse program courtesy of this blog.  Our first entry comes from goalkeeper Whitney Meyers of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

-----------------------

Friday night was when it hit me – I am really leaving for college tomorrow. As sad as I was to leave my family, I found some comfort in knowing I had 18+ soon to be best friends waiting for me. Even more comforting was the fact that all these girls (my teammates) were in the same situation as me…starting at a new school and playing for a new team.

Being a team composed primarily of freshmen and new students is a unique, and in my eyes, special situation that I was able to see over this last week of orientation. Since the team was all new to Stetson, we all had to go through orientation together. This was a good thing considering every meeting/event we went to there was always a teammate to meet and spend time with. At one such orientation meeting early in the week I kept hearing one of Stetson’s signature sayings, “Be Daring.” As I heard this it dawned on me that the rest of my new teammates and I dared to join a new women’s Division I lacrosse team. We dared to become a part of something completely unknown and unheard of for Stetson; a team with no traditions or prior accomplishments. We dared to join so we could start the traditions and make a reputation for ourselves – something both exciting and nerve racking. However, we had each other to go through it with, helping to bond us immediately. It felt as if I’d known these girls my entire life. Within a day we all were already laughing at inside jokes and using nicknames. Personally, I’ve never bonded so fast and so well with a team than I have with this group of girls.

One of the best parts of orientation was finally getting to see the new athletic complex. When Coach Moore first showed me the facilities I was so motivated and encouraged to get out on the field and play to the best of my ability. The fact that the school and athletics department built such an amazing facility for us and football (both first year sports) is unheard of, and just goes to show the support and commitment Stetson has to growing and encouraging athletics. I loved walking through the field house for that first time and seeing our locker room, weight room, meeting rooms, training room and even where our laundry is done for us, because it truly made me feel like a Division I athlete…well that and all the compliance forms we had to sign.

Whitney Meyers
Goalkeeper
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.