"I'm not a sporty person," I told myself, "I will never play a sport in college." A firm believer in my lack of athletic ability, I didn't attempt to join any teams my freshman fall, even though many of my friends played sports and I missed being active.

And then Lacrosse happened. A friend suggested I try it out for a practice. I didn't know what to expect, but I kept an open mind and went. I loved it.

First of all, it was a club sport, so it lacked the pressure of a varsity team. We had a student coach and the league was student organized. The team took the approach that as long as you were upbeat and trying your best, you were being a good teammate. I appreciated that I didn't have to be good from day one. I had zero experience, but my teammates didn't make me feel less valued because of that. Many of us were relatively new to the game.

In the beginning of the season it was too cold to practice outside, so we were in competition with other sports to practice indoors. Lacrosse got the 10 - 11 p.m. time slot Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Not everyone could be at every practice either, student government, meetings, and work often got in the way.

Cody, our coach, ran us through drills and games to get us acquainted with throwing, catching, passing, running, cradling, defending, and checking. Before each practice we shared inspiration and gratitude. The supportive, loving environment made me expect progress, and I improved throughout the season.

There was a great sense of sisterhood on the team. Once the weather was nicer, we moved practice outside. We had team dinners after every practice and worked together well.

Since the league was small, student lead, and different teams had trouble getting enough people to play, we only had a season of three games. Our first game was home and we had quite a crowd of fans! The other team traveled several hours to play with us and gave us tips as we played.

Two weekends later, we had an away tournament at Missouri State University with Oklahoma State and Missouri State. We were down players (Lacrosse has 12 on the field at once) and could only play nine. Oklahoma, who played us first, played with nine players as well. Missouri had a large and aggressive team. They were fast and played well, and they could sub in. They decided to play one up from us. It was a very challenging game, but we worked to improve our communication and defense, and slow down our plays.

Then the most amazing thing happened. After one of our players got hurt, Oklahoma sent some of their players to join us. They put on Principia jerseys, cheered us on, and gave us advice on how to play better. It was the one of the best examples of sportsmanship I've ever seen. That was what sports were all about: pushing each other to improve and the love of the game.

Our season, while short, taught me a lot. I discovered that I wasn't inept at everything athletic, and that I really enjoyed lacrosse. Despite the fact that It's a club sport and we don't even receive P.E. credit, I look forward to playing LAX again next year.