by Leigh Campbell

“Line drills, good, this calms me down. Focus, you can do this. Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous!”

This is what STA varsity lacrosse player Anna Meagher  thought before taking her final sips of water and putting her hair in her signature high bun. Warm-ups wine down and the whistle is blown for the first draw.

Freshman MaryKat Hoeser  scours Target for the perfect birthday present. Finally settling on an empty gallon of gas with four dollars in it – marking the price of gas for the birthday present of a 16 year old. She heads home to get ready for the party.

Five girls are already there, they decide to watch “America’s Top Model.” They are saving their energy for when the rest of the group arrives so they can watch scary movies, sleep in a tent outside and run around the neighborhood playing flashlight tag. They are, however, missing one of their friends. According to Hoeser ever since Meagher made the lacrosse team it is harder to hang out.

“It is a lot harder to hang out on the weekend but we still make an effort,”  Hoeser said. “We’re all just so tired from the busy week so we do relaxing and non-stressful things like watching TV all day. The regular things we do have definitely altered since Anna started lacrosse.”

It’s all tied up with 15 minutes to play, STA 5, Barat Academy 5. Anna Meagher has a chance to score. The crowd holds their breaths as she takes the shot. Too far to the left. The ball skids to the side of the net and the next play is already set in motion.

“I was feeling a lot of pressure because I really wanted to make the shot for the team,” Meagher admitted.

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The smell of freshly roasted marshmallows fills the air. Freshman Ellen Weitkamp’s phones rings. It’s Anna Meagher – shes coming to the party, she just has to take a shower according to Weitkamp.

The sharp sound of the whistle marks the end of the game. Meagher picks up the cones that mark the end lines and searches for any stray balls. She heads to her car with her mom, her bun makes her easily spotted in the crowd, and calls friends to tell them she is on her way to the party.

The arrival of their missing friend causes a game of hard core hide and seek to be implemented. After hanging out at the park, they eat cake  and watch a horror movie in a tent outside. Thunder claps outside as Meagher, Hoeser, Weitkamp, and another friend huddle in a corner watching “Insidious.” By the end of the night everyone is asleep and the only thing that can be heard is the thunder and Meagher snoring according to Weitkamp.

Many athletes like Meagher say their sports sometimes get in the way of their Friday and Saturday nights. Although Meagher admits that lacrosse does not totally get in the way of her social life because she has learned to work around her schedule.

“We still call each other after school for homework help, hang out together during frees, we carpool everywhere, and if she doesn’t have a game we hang out during the weekends,” Weitkamp said. “Just because she is busy and we don’t hang out as often doesn’t mean we don’t talk.”