As previously scheduled sporting events come and go without so much as a step on the field, students and community members can’t help but mourn the time-honored traditions of a good old fashioned sports game. With sports seasons and their games being pushed to the spring, and social-distancing looming, teams and players have had to adjust their training. 

For popular full-contact sports like lacrosse, attempting to improve skills and practice regularly has taken a difficult turn. One Sonoma county-based competitive lacrosse team has faced the challenge of training a full-contact sport while still adhering to state and county social distance mandates. 101 Lacrosse, founded by Panchito Ojeda in 2015, has taken a new approach to teach lacrosse both on and off the field. 

John Murray, director of the Northern California lacrosse team, gave insight on how practices are being run now. 

“We have had to change the way we practice and focus more on individual development instead of big team drills,” said Murray. “We have had to get very creative over the past few months to keep our practices engaging and fun, but it is a necessary step to keep our players safe and secure.” 

Murray also explained that most of his players have been following the new guidelines, but are still eager to get back to their usual contact practices. Because the usual high school lacrosse season is in the spring, high school players were not as affected by the sporting cancellations as other high school athletes and club players. Many events such as large-scale tournaments and play-off games had to either be postponed or canceled altogether, which provided a lot of missed opportunities, especially for older players. 

“I can see contact and games being played by the end of the year… Lacrosse tournaments can have anywhere between 500 to 1000 people attending and I don’t see that being allowed in California this year,” said Murray.

 While this kind of information can take a toll on any student-athlete hoping for huge success, Anaka Estrella, senior and avid lacrosse player, has used this time to her advantage.

“I think the positives of having to practice at home is developing the ability to be disciplined enough to put in the work. It is an opportunity to show yourself how much you want to get better and how important the sport is to you,” said Estrella.

During the pandemic, Estrella has kept herself busy by joining a national elite summer team called Tenacity, and practicing on her own at least five times a week. Both Murray and Estrella stated that a big change to practicing lacrosse has been being able to focus on the individual and their technique. While the pandemic can be challenging for all athletes, Estrella offered some advice to her fellow struggling athletes.

“To all athletes, I think it is important to look at the pandemic as an opportunity to individually improve on your game. Take the chance to use the time and improve even when no one else is watching,” said Estrella.