Ward Sutlive, Campus Carrier sports editor
Cole Baggett, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor
Brittni Hall, head coach of the women’s lacrosse team, came to Berry eight years ago. A collegiate coach for 15 years, she started her career at nearby Shorter University. However, Hall had always known Berry to be a beautiful spot, and after leaving Shorter to participate in overseas mission work, she knew exactly where she wanted to coach when she returned. Hall has one main goal for the lacrosse team this year: leading her team to first or second place in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA).
“We’re still aiming for those top two spots, and would love to finish first this year,” Hall said. “But we will have to do the work in order to make that happen.”
This year is a little different for the team, with several new freshmen players joining their ranks. Hall plans to use this new group to her advantage and have her team dominate the field. Last season, the lacrosse team finished third in their conference. According to Hall, while they were eyeing the top two spots then, newcomers Sewanee and Rhodes College beat the Vikings.
“They came out of nowhere and blew us out of the water,” Hall said.
Many members are gearing up for a difficult season, particularly freshmen players like Lillie Swanson, an attacker who plays draw. Swanson shares Hall’s vision for the season and wants to play to the best of her ability on the field. She plans to maintain the strong focus and discipline that she has cultivated from playing lacrosse since fourth grade. According to Swanson, the new bonds that she has made this season will be a great way of keeping her morale high.
“I love the sense of camaraderie I have with my teammates, and I love staying active in a competitive environment,” Swanson said.
There are still a good number of returning players this season, such as senior midfielder Katie-Claire Smith. For her final year on the team, Smith plans to be less critical of herself and instead enjoy the end of her time at Berry. She also wants to uplift her teammates and leave them in a good position for success when she leaves.
“I want to do better than I have any other year and seek out the joy of my last season,” Smith said. “Knowing that it’s my last season makes it all that much more special, but it is very bittersweet.”
Though the team is eagerly anticipating this season, several members have acknowledged that balancing their schoolwork alongside preparing for a more difficult lacrosse season will not be an easy task to accomplish. Away games also present a challenge since those take the players away from school for two or three days at a time. The team practices every day except for Sundays, which along with games, tends to create a tight schedule.
According to Smith, time management has been an essential skill for her to learn during her time on the team. This involves communicating with professors and rescheduling study sessions. She has found that having a consistent sleep schedule is important.
“I think just knowing that at least three hours of your day are going to be set aside for lacrosse is important,” Smith said. “I can handle it now, but it was rough in the beginning.”
According to Hall, the main reason this season will be more difficult than previous years is because they are facing stronger teams. They have already faced off against heavy hitters such as Christopher Newport University and Virginia Wesleyan University (VWV). While the team triumphed against VWV, they lost to Christopher Newport. Christopher Newport has a good reputation, and their women’s lacrosse team is typically in the top 25 of the D-III NCAA rankings, according to Hall. Another challenge that Hall faces is having a small team.
“When you have a smaller number of people to work with, fitness is always something we have to improve on,” Hall said.
Hall loves many different things about coaching, but her favorite aspect of it is being able to connect with her players. She tries to give them advice when necessary and always supports them to the best of her ability. Hall has many fond memories of her time at Berry.
“I just love the relationship that I have with the players,” Hall said.
Players deal with losing a game in a variety of different yet equally healthy ways. Some players such as Swanson use the classic “be a goldfish” mindset, where one forgets about the past and looks ahead to the future.
“I tend to leave my losses in the past and have a next game mentality,” Swanson said. “I want to focus on what’s ahead.”
Other players like Smith take a second to process everything. Some losses are harder than others, but Smith makes sure to not be overly critical of herself. Instead, she replays the game in her head and works to figure out how she can best improve in the next game. It’s only after that quiet reflection that Smith moves on and begins to prepare for the next game. Rather than dwelling on something that has already happened, players like Swanson acknowledge their mistakes, learn from them, and let them go.
“Whenever there’s a loss, you can’t just look at the negatives of it,” Smith said.
“You also need to look at what you did well and what you want to implement more of.”
Despite the strenuous season ahead of them, the team’s camaraderie has many of the players in fairly good spirits. At their games, the team will play different kinds of music to put them in the right headspace, players are supportive of one another, celebrating their teammates wins and supporting them during their losses.
“We’re definitely a very close team, and I love playing this game with my teammates and my coaches,” Swanson said.
The team’s most recent game was against Meridith College on Friday. While the team lost and many members are fully aware of the difficulties that this season will bring, they plan to face things head on as a unit. One way or another, the team is dedicated to making their dream a reality. The team’s next game will be against Spalding University this Sunday at Valhalla.
“My teammates and coaches motivate me to do my best, and I’m really looking forward to how far we make it this year,” Smith said.