I take a deep breath. My gloved hand finds the orange painted metal of the crossbar and I hang on for dear life. I can feel my heart racing as I run my fingers along the cold, white plastic of my lacrosse stick. Coach calls me over to the sidelines and smiles down at me through the bars of my helmet. I look at him expectantly.
“You’re going to be fine, you are ready for this,” he says as he adjusts the straps on the side of my head with a pop and a click. I can feel the adrenaline rushing through my body as I nod in agreeance. “Okay. Now go out there. Make us proud.”
The smile does not leave my face as my feet carry me to center field. I shake hands with the other goalkeeper, grinning as he stares at me, confusion plastered across his face. As I turn around and sprint back to my side of the field, to my front lawn, to my home, I feel my long hair dance and sway in the wind. This is it, I think to myself, my first start on my new team.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a bit of a treat on the away side of the field today,” the announcer’s voice rung out over the calm and quiet that could have only existed during the few precious pregame minutes. My cheeks reddened. “Starting for Hickman High School’s Boys Lacrosse, we have Dominique Casares, the first girl ever to play on their team!”
I heard the crowd cheer …show more content…
There might have been a young girl watching her older brother, or a family friend, play lacrosse and thinking to herself, “I wish I could do that.” By taking the field that day, and every gameday after that, I felt like I was letting other girls know that anything is possible if they want it bad enough. It doesn’t matter if it goes against what society might believe. If enough blood, sweat, tears, and compassion go into the practices, a girl can surely compete with boys. Maybe even outcompete
“You’re going to be fine, you are ready for this,” he says as he adjusts the straps on the side of my head with a pop and a click. I can feel the adrenaline rushing through my body as I nod in agreeance. “Okay. Now go out there. Make us proud.”
The smile does not leave my face as my feet carry me to center field. I shake hands with the other goalkeeper, grinning as he stares at me, confusion plastered across his face. As I turn around and sprint back to my side of the field, to my front lawn, to my home, I feel my long hair dance and sway in the wind. This is it, I think to myself, my first start on my new team.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a bit of a treat on the away side of the field today,” the announcer’s voice rung out over the calm and quiet that could have only existed during the few precious pregame minutes. My cheeks reddened. “Starting for Hickman High School’s Boys Lacrosse, we have Dominique Casares, the first girl ever to play on their team!”
I heard the crowd cheer …show more content…
There might have been a young girl watching her older brother, or a family friend, play lacrosse and thinking to herself, “I wish I could do that.” By taking the field that day, and every gameday after that, I felt like I was letting other girls know that anything is possible if they want it bad enough. It doesn’t matter if it goes against what society might believe. If enough blood, sweat, tears, and compassion go into the practices, a girl can surely compete with boys. Maybe even outcompete