Strong, graceful and fast.
That is how sixth-year XCP lacrosse coach Caitlin Bebout
describes her sport.
Bebout will lead the Gators once again in 2015 after a 9-6
finish last season.
“It’s the fastest sport on two feet,’’ she said.
There are 50 players involved with the club program this spring
and will be divided into three teams – varsity and two junior-varsity teams.
Xavier will play approximately 18 games, and starts the
season on Saturday (Feb. 21) with a tournament in Avondale. The Gators also
will play on Monday (Feb. 23) at Phoenix Pinnacle, a state title contender in
the Arizona Girls Lacrosse Association.
“Women’s lacrosse is more graceful. We wear some pads but
not nearly like the men,’’ Bebout said. “The men can hit each other. We don’t
really do that, although it can get physical at times. The women play with more
finesse.’’
Lacrosse is similar to soccer in some respects, played on a
full field, but scoring is much more plentiful, between 10 and 20 goals or so
per game.
Bebout attended Phoenix Horizon High and played lacrosse at
Arizona State.
Players have their sticks with them at all times during
practice, even conditioning drills.
“It has to be that way because the stick is the extension of
the arm,’’ Bebout said.
Most of the players have three or four years of experience,
and the advanced players five or six.
Bebout said the Gators will be “a fast-paced team with a
strong midfield and strong attack, with a younger defense that is energetic.’’
Xavier’s top player is senior midfielder Areta Buness, who
will play in college at Stanford. Bebout said that Buness is the first NCAA
Division I player from XCP. Buness scores a lot of goals and is quick off the
draw.
Junior Katie Russell continues to develop into a productive
midfielder.
Russell started out as a defender and moved toward midfield
where she says she gets the best of both worlds, offense and defense.
When she joined the XCP program, she had played some
lacrosse when she was younger, “but I was still nervous my first few times out.
I gradually became more comfortable and now I’m really having fun.’’
The games are comprised of two 25-minute halves, and the
games have a different feel to them than does practice.
“The game is faster and you have to come out stronger,’’ she
said.
She knew many of her teammates from playing at the club
level and has enjoyed getting to know more about them each year.
“We get together to eat sometimes, go hiking at Piestewa
Peak and have done some community service, like at food banks,’’ Russell said.
It is the job of senior Michelle Valenzuela to keep
opponents from scoring as the primary goalie.
She played on the JV for part of her junior year and then
was brought up to varsity, where she displayed good skills in a relatively
short time.
“I guess I had a knack for stopping things, stopping the
ball,’’ Valenzuela said.
The ball comes at the goalie at a much faster pace than with
soccer, and the goal is not nearly as big. Valenzuela did not wear many pads at
first – “my shins were purple’’ – but now is equipped to go the distance.
“My coaches have shown me about working hard, and it is
paying off,’’ Valenzuela said.
Her first varsity game last year against Scottsdale Notre
Dame Prep “was terrifying, but it seemed to get better after that.’’
She quickly learned that communicating with her defensive
teammates is essential, just like in soccer, letting them know where the
opponents are, etc.
“Sometimes I talk so much that by the end of the game, I
don’t have a voice left,’’ Valenzuela said. “I keep some of those honey mints
with me.’’
Valenzuela says her parents come to watch the Gators play
and get excited.
“If other people come out, I think they would feel the same
way,’’ she said.
