As this year’s hopefuls filed onto the field for girls’ lacrosse tryouts, Coach Alexis DiDomenico couldn’t believe her eyes. Over 50 girls stood before her, ready to play.
However, due to the unprecedented number of girls trying out, a new model needed to be implemented to accommodate everyone.
“What we’re doing with the [junior varsity] team is we have something called a game roster. So for each game, the coaches will send out a roster of players that are going to play.” DiDomenico said.
This roster will change on a game-to-game basis based on each player’s development, performance, and commitment to the team, DiDomenico explained.
“Now that there are more girls in the program, it’s definitely been more competitive to get on varsity,” JV team member Annadele Dyott ‘26 said.
Dyott explained that there is a new team implemented, labeled the ‘developmental squad’, which acts as an offshoot of the JV team. She said, “It basically just entails that you don’t go to any of our away games, but you continue to play with the team and learn and improve and then at some point, maybe you will get the chance to play.”
This developmental team is composed of mostly new players, DiDomenico explained. Many of these girls had never held a lacrosse stick in their lives and needed to learn the basics of the sport before participating in games.
According to DiDomenico, Masters is working on strengthening its athletic programs and, historically, attendance has been an issue because of after-school commitments. Absences caused by college visits, doctor’s appointments, etc. are excused. To make up for excused absences, the lacrosse program has been holding morning practices from seven to eight for girls who can’t always make it to after-school practice. The implementation of these morning practices helps reinforce the importance of commitment and dedication to the team. After a certain number of unexcused absences, however, team members will have to meet with their coach and the head of athletics to reflect on whether or not they are able to and should be a part of the team.
“The biggest thing we push for across teams is tangible growth. We want players to feel as though they are developing every single game,” DiDomenico said.
In fact, junior varsity member Zara Murray ‘27 explained that members of the junior varsity team even have the opportunity to move up to varsity. The uptick in tryout attendance shows that lacrosse is becoming a popular sport with more people interested in picking it up than ever before. The athletics department has used this influx of participants to give every player a chance to flourish and give this season their best shot.
