Girls Lacrosse Attempting To Find Footing in Ohio Valley
Young Wheeling Park Team Struggling Out of the Gate
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WHEELING -- Lacrosse is an up and coming sport in the Ohio Valley with four boys teams taking the field and Wheeling Central having won a state championship as recently as 2016.
But were you aware that there are two local girls' lacrosse teams? Wheeling Park and John Marshall both field teams.
Unlike most sports, which kids can learn throughout the many programs and youth leagues offered year round, there is very little, if any, for lacrosse.
Especially on the girls' side.
"Our team this year is very young, half new players, half returning players," Wheeling Park coach Beverly Walker said. "It is building. We don't really have the middle school systems that other schools do down state. But we are getting there.
"It is difficult. Other teams down state have girls that come into their program that can already catch, know the positions and we don't. We have to teach all of that from the beginning."
Wheeling Park is entering its eighth season, with Walker at the helm the past two years. The Patriots have 20 players, the biggest the team has been, but still far off the numbers of other teams in the state.
So far it has been a struggle for the Patriots. They are 1-6 this season, coming off doubleheader losses to George Washington (16-2) and Preston (18-4) on Saturday at Wheeling Island Stadium.
"This year we ran into some problems because the stadium was flooded so we didn't actually get on a field that was lined until the first game," Walker said. "We have a lot of new girls and that has helped lead to a slow start.
"There is a lot of potential. Over half our team is freshman and sophomores and then eight seniors so I have a gap in the middle."
In the game against the Knights, Wheeling Park gave up an early goal 20 seconds in.
Debra Noakes tied the score 11 minutes later, only to see Preston regain the advantage in 33 seconds.
From there is started to snowball.
Lakyn Knight scored at the 4:35 mark of the first half, but Wheeling Park went into the locker room down 6-2.
Preston jumped all over Wheeling Park to start the second half, scoring seven goals in a five-minute span.
Noakes added two more goals to complete the hat trick as one of the few positives for the Patriots on a tough day.
Still, despite the lopsided defeats, Walker sees a lot of good things from her young team, namely their attitude.
"It has been great," Walker said. "They have come out and they have been hard working. They have been positive. There is a lot of potential, maybe not so much for this year, but if we keep working with them, we have a few plays we have been running, but I think they could be very good."
According to Walker, there is a program in the grade schools that works though the YMCA. But unlike schools down state, the Ohio Valley is missing the middle school program where the grade school players can advance to and into high school.
"We are missing the feeders and I think the boys' and girls' teams would both benefit from that. Last year there was someone who tried to get a middle school program started and the turnout was very poor," Walker said. "We need it. I encourage anyone that likes to run. Track players, soccer players. Hockey players come and it is very similar. There is a lot of crossover between the two sports. Anybody could try and it is a lot of fun, hard work.
"You need a lot of stamina. We have to run, be good team players because it takes a team.
"For me, it is not about winning because I want the kids to learn the game and the skills. There are a lot of scholarships out there for women that like lacrosse."
Locally, Wheeling Jesuit and Bethany College field women's lacrosse programs.