Prior to this year, I had never watched a game of lacrosse before. I had always heard of the sport but never paid any attention to it. This spring I was assigned to cover the lacrosse team at San Diego State University for the Daily Aztec, the school's independent newspaper. Initially, back in January, I was nervous yet excited for a new challenge. Three months later I can now proudly say that lacrosse is one of my favorite sports to cover. There is so much agility and physicality that goes into lacrosse which makes the games fast-paced and exciting to watch. I wish I had given lacrosse a chance earlier in my life but at least I'm officially hooked on the sport now.
I have appreciated every moment with the lacrosse team throughout this season. It was fun to talk to both the players and coaches about the matches and getting to know them all individually. They are phenomenal athletes and even better people. I would not have wanted the experience to go any other way. As an aspiring journalist and fellow athlete myself, I think these ladies to me were such an inspiration for me. I've covered quite a few teams over the years and trust me when I tell you that this team was special. I'd never seen a group of players and coaches come together like this Aztecs lacrosse team.
It didn't matter whether they won or lost, they were united as one to support each other and that was such a beautiful thing to watch. The Aztecs finished this season with an overall record of 11-7 while successfully winning back-to-back Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference championships after defeating Fresno State and UC Davis. I was so excited when the final whistle blew and these ladies had secured another title under their resumés.
Through the ups and downs that every season has, this team pushed past any obstacles that came their way. I think that goes to show with this team's character anything is possible. Personally, I think it's really cool that later on in life I'll look back and think about how this lacrosse team was the first championship side I ever got to write about in my career. It was a true honor and blessing for me to cover lacrosse and I hope in the future to continue following this team's journey.
