Big Red Girls Athletics

For these things that you like, I heard that you know everybody here is like beaten with a bat before they play sports. I'm like, well, I'm not gonna no but you know there sometimes I think they're just curveballs and things that are that are thrown your way. But Will will try and answer what there is definitely a hard stop by 30 if the questions get that far. Otherwise, when things sort of slow up, I will kind of think everyone and you guys for joining and then we're pretty much done so in advance. Thank you for doing this.

And I think it's gonna be awesome. I would just say like everything try to be here. We gotta get people coming here being positive. All that kind of business. Hi everyone, that's joining us.

See a lot of people, uhm?

Joining us tonight for the girls athletics at Lawrenceville. I'm looking at our participant list.

Really shoot up very quickly. We're about halfway there so everyone can kind of hang tight before we get started. We want to give everyone a chance to.

To join and just to make sure, if you're having any issues with audio or video or anything like that, or you can't see or hear, please put that into the chat so that we know that we are not just talking to open space. 'cause that's always very awkward.

No one would just be chatting and everyone saying we see your lips moving but we don't know what. What exactly you're talking about. So we've got a couple more folks joining. We're getting close to our number.

So I think we'll probably just get started in a minute or two.

Few more people coming in.

Who?

Alright, then just panelists. In case you guys want, like if you want to mute, like if you're not answering, definitely do that. Just remember you have to unmute when you're going to answer question.

But we've got a we've got just about our numbers, so we are going to get started right now, so welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us. And if we haven't seen you on campus already, then this is a great way to introduce you to a little bit more about girls athletics at Lawrenceville. So thank you very much for being here tonight. My name is Lisa E1 China and I am actually my title is senior associate director of admission at Lawrenceville. But one of my favorite.

This being the head girls, field hockey and lacrosse coach here at Lawrenceville. I love working with everyone in the afternoons and doing these kinds of events where I get to share a lot more about Lawrenceville and and who we are with all of you. In case you are sort of new to Lawrenceville and you haven't been to see us yet, we are a boarding and day school, about 800 students. We are five miles South of Princeton and Lawrenceville, NJ, so we're in a great location and we like to say in the middle of somewhere not in the middle of nowhere. So easy access to.

Planes, trains and automobiles, so we definitely have some. Some kids on here who have to use those to get to and from their homes so you can come to a school and have sort of a full experience but still have easy access to to get home to see your family as well or have them come visit you.

And we also, you know, are really excited that we have such a wonderful athletic program. So we we obviously, our school academics is absolutely important. But we are full of student athletes. So if you are an athlete, there's definitely a different level and an appropriate level for whatever level you are at in your chosen sport or in a sport that you want to even start and pick up here at Lawrenceville. So I'm going to turn it over to Nicole Stock, who is our associate Director of Athletics, and also one of our girls ice hockey coaches.

Here at Lawrenceville, and she's going to share with us a little bit more about Lawrenceville and the athletic program in general. So this talk, if I can hand the mic over to you.

Yes, thank you Lisa. UM, welcome everyone and thanks for joining. Obviously, I'm a huge proponent of our athletics here at Lawrenceville. Love what we do and love coaching the girls specifically with the ice hockey team. But I love watching our girls compete and it is so wonderful to see what they get out of that every afternoon and building the character and and everything else that goes into kind of the outside of the classroom learning. And that's kind of where I wanted to start.

Our our athletic program is considered a Co curricular, so it's part of our academic day. It's not an extracurricular. I know some schools do term it in that way, but part of our House and Harkness and and all of the things we do, you know, circle back to to to athletics as well. So we are Co curricular which means all of our students participate in something and the afternoon, whether that be at our highest level. So one of our 70 plus interscholastic teams.

Varsity Subvarsity we have a few freshmen teams. We have a few third teams so for students that may be just, you know, starting in a sport and really want to try to learn something new. You know and then that highest level of our city competing looking to you know what we did today which had eleven students signed national letters of intent to play their sport in college. So so we really have a range and we're super excited that they get involved in those ways and interscholastics.

Is kind of that top level of that and then you kind of move down and there will be students who get involved in our house programs and our lifetime programs. And Lawrenceville is a bit different in terms of the House programming. That means that our House is based on where you live. So in your third form, which is your sophomore year, up until your fifth form year, you can compete on behalf of your House against other houses. So it's kind of like dorm competitions and those those change term to term.

And we actually get quite a few students that participate in that as well, and that it's a really fun after afternoon activity for students that maybe don't want to participate in our classics. But like that feeling of competition. And then you kind of get our lifetime offerings, which range anywhere from like spin class to yoga karate.

That's just to name a few of our strength and conditioning programs. You know, different things like that, where students can kind of hone in on different lifetime skills to take with them. So I think the idea is, you know, here's something you maybe never got on a spin bike before, but now you've tried it and you can take that to college. You can get a, you know you can do different things to take with you in the long term.

So, so we really do offer a wide range of different things and we always say you know, try something new if you'd like. If you're coming here as an athlete who maybe has a preference for a certain sport or is trying to focus in something, we can help you get to that next level. We do offer at the very highest levels, exemptions for students, and that's in your 4th and 5th form years there are. You do have to kind of give back to Lawrenceville in a way.

So if you apply for one in your fourth form year, let's just say you apply for an exemption in the winter because you would like to play lacrosse in the in the in the winter instead of a Lawrenceville sport. You would then have to play two other interscholastic sports, so one being your main sport lacrosse in the spring and then in the fall you would also have to play in interscholastic sports so so it is one way of getting students to to give back to to Lawrenceville while fulfilling their commitments to outside teams or outside programs that they.

Like to be a part of so we do offer that and it is a wide range of students. I take advantage of that, but it's not a huge number. It just depends on where you are with your sport. And then lastly, just say I know I touched on every single student doing something in the afternoon. I mean we do offer tech crew. We offer the big red Sports Network. We offer visual arts so there are different ways to be involved. It's not necessarily.

And exertion sport every single term. So kids do like to mix it up and try different things. And this past fall we had a 380 of our students actually participating in interscholastic sports. And that's a male and female stat. But that gives you an idea about half the student body is actually competing on behalf of Lawrenceville and wearing the the white and red out competition. So it's really exciting 'cause a lot of like it's and like I said, it's fun to see the girls out in competition.

And being a part of this place, and so I'm super excited to to be here and answer any questions you may have about about athletics so.

Awesome, thank you and I just want to kind of re note to everyone. If you have any particular questions that you want to ask. I know some people have submitted some earlier and as we're talking something comes up and you might have a question for a specific panelist or about Lawrenceville in general. Or just Lawrenceville and athletics and please put it into the chat so we can look at those later. I do have a whole list of questions that people have submitted ahead of time, but things certainly come up so please use that chat.

As much as you like, so we're going to go through our panelists here and talk to some of our student athletes. So in no particular order, it's just kind of how it appears on my screen. I'm going to ask each of them to introduce themselves and maybe share a little bit of the things that not only they do here on campus athletically, but some of the other things they're involved in, and maybe where they're from and the form that they entered in so Coco Hunt. You are. You are the first on my screen, so I'm going to tap you first to talk to everyone.

OK so hi guys I'm Coco I'm a junior from Denver Co. I came freshman year. I play varsity, field hockey and lacrosse and I do house volleyball and basketball in the winter with McClellan.

Uhm?

Probably or other things I'm involved in on campus. I'm on the mock trial team and involved in a few other clubs, but athletics are really kind of like the best part of my day. Every day at Lawrenceville in really boils down to the relationships that I've built with my coaches and my teammates. It's really given me like my best friends so.

Thank you Awesome Layla, who is Lily look moonlit, you're nice outside.

Little bit about about you and your kind of two Lawrenceville journey and through Lawrenceville journey. 'cause you are one senior on the panel, so that would be exciting to hear about your experience.

Awesome, thank you so much. Gives me I'm like oh I feel that too that's so nice Emma. Last but definitely not least, I'm not just a lot here on campus. Would be fun to hear all that you do.

Thanks everyone, so my name is Emma. I'm a junior. I'm a day student from West Windsor, NJ. I've been here since my freshman year. This year I played varsity field hockey in the fall with cocoa and I'm going to do the Upenn Spark Research program and the winter, which is kind of where we research a certain aspect of lawrenceville's culture, whether it be demographically or something else. And we kind of look at how that has a broader impact on the rest of campus.

Culture and we share our findings with you, pen and a bunch of other schools in the spring and then come spring term. I play varsity softball. I'm also the House president of my House Stevens and I'm an RCI so if you do end up coming to Lawrence when you're a freshman you will hopefully see my lovely face welcoming you during orientation. I have to echo the sentiments of Coco and Layla athletics here is really just an amazing part of my day. I've met some of my best friends.

On the team I'm at Coco playing field hockey and even though softball is my main sport, field hockey is one of my favorite times of the year. Honestly, the team is so close and we just have such a great time and especially at Lawrenceville Sports are more than just kind of an afternoon activity. We will go eat dinner with our teammates, will go have breakfast with them before games so it's really you're like a family here and I think sports are really big part of that lifestyle.

Awesome, thank you. So I just say we we definitely come pick some panelists that that definitely have had great experiences, so I'm glad that you guys feel that way. And I think you know from a stock and I don't totally speak for you, but I think we feel that too. And I wasn't kind of kidding when I said that, you know, I think it's the best part of my day. I love doing admissions, but I love going out and working with young women. And you know, being very much a part of a family you know, outside of sort of of my office and watching sort of the highs and lows and.

And being with everyone through that is really exciting. So I'm just looking right now. I want to make sure that we have some some questions and things popping in the chat. Some of you had posed some earlier, so I'm going to kind of just bear with me. I'm going to go through some of those and pose them to our panelists and obviously please girls or Miss stock. If you want to chime in and you're not the person that sort of tapped to to answer, please, you know, do give your thoughts on everything as well, because I think.

You know, here at Lawrenceville, specially with the Harkness table and kind of sitting around that everyone has a thought and idea and experience, so we'd like to share that. So we did talk a little bit about being on a sports team at Lauren, so I think you know, kind of the family aspect and everything, but maybe could someone talk a little bit? And Coker? I'm just kind of looking at you right in the middle of my screen right now about what that's like. Sort of beyond all that like family thing. Maybe more the hey, what does your week look like in terms of?

Games and practices. Length of practices, that kind of thing, and obviously it will differ team to team, but kind of a general overview.

Yeah, so varsity level wise we practice six days a week so we're off on Sunday usually for two hours. It's like 3:30 to 5:30 except on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Since we have half day of classes, practices or earlier we usually have.

Like 2 maybe games a week, but if we don't have a game, obviously it's a hard day at practice every day and then kind of like what Emma said. The team usually like. It's two hours of hard practice, but we get there like half an hour early. We're hanging out laughing in the locker room and then after like we usually all go up to get dinner together, yeah.

My son, yeah, and there's usually I mean for most of our teams to we we do have a strength and conditioning program here so we do have a coach wise and coach Rienzo who are really fabulous and and as a coach they'll reach out to me and say hey, what kind of week if you guys had? Let's get you in the weight room or let's get on field and do some agility work and they really work with us as coaches to sort of say what is your team deep need? Do they need explosive or dynamic movement?

Are you looking for like strength and endurance? Do you just need a roll out of foam roll? You know, kind of week. If you had, so they're really in tune with the teams and then work with the coaches to try to get the the the teams in to get the most out of our weight room time. And this past year I have to say with kind of all the kovid stuff, they've been really flexible and amazing about having our teams comma create a space where we can almost do all of the things that we did and died. And you know, just outside kind of on the end of our football field.

And I know at the end of a 2 hour practice sometimes the lift is not what everyone wants to be doing, but I think that we all do it together, which is kind of fun. So I'm looking at M and Coco like. Yeah, at the end of practice but but I think that that's definitely something that that is really important to know. So if that is some some component of what you're doing already with athletics, we definitely are doing that here.

Sorry, I'm kind of looking at through a few of these things. Come so another question came in that was about what preseason looks like for those students playing fall sports. So lately I know you were doing spinning so you came and kind of did that and in prep for your next two seasons. But maybe M and Coco if you guys want to take that about. Sort of what you're doing. Kind of both on the field and beyond during our preseason time.

Sure, so come first. As an RCI I get here around a week ish before school starts and we have our week of RCI preseason before that and then we have around three days of interscholastic preseason and that's pretty grueling. It's like you do. I think 3 pack two or three practices a day and it's really a lot of bonding time. I would say between the team and a lot of getting back into your skill work and kind of remembering you know how exactly do I play.

This sport so I would say it's probably you have. You'll have a morning practice. You'll have lunch. You might have a another practice in the afternoon, or you might have some bonding and then will usually have an evening practice as well around like three to five or something like that. And these practices are really good for just kind of re acquainting yourself with the team re acquainting yourself with the sport and it's a great way for your coaches to kind of assess who they might want to have on the varsity team.

For the upcoming season and as well as just assessing people skills in general.

I also

Do you want to explain? I'm sorry, do you want to just explain really quickly? Sorry Coco. What an RCI is.

Oh sure, yeah, so RC stands for ropes course instructor and we handle a lot of the orientation for new freshmen and new students in general. So your freshman year you will have a two days out with your humanities groups, which is your English and cultural studies classes? And we pretty much take you out to the ropes course and we do a bunch of team bonding and a bunch of kind of experimental education activities in order to build trust and communication within your class.

That's always a super fun time because it gets you really, really close with your classmates. You won't know someone until you've lifted them up in the air, so that's we like to say on the Josh and it's just a great way to kind of pick off the air. Sorry Coco, go for it.

Oh, I was just going to add on about the preseason. UM, there really is a big benefit. I think to being able to come from preseason since it's a few days earlier than like the rest of everybody who comes. So like I remember my freshman year I was so nervous and I came for preseason and like everything like that was the best way I could have started my Lawrenceville experience. I was like immediately had all these girls.

Who I could sit down and have lunch with like I didn't have to have the fear of like Oh my God like I'm going to be alone I could immediately gave me a group of friends and then like by the time everybody else came like I was so.

Like happy and settled in. So I think preseason is a really great time beyond just like getting back into field hockey. And like I know it is tryouts and that can be stressful. But it's also a really great time to meet people and kind of just get settled.

Yeah, and you want if you don't mind, I'll jump in just on some of the nitty gritty details. 'cause while all of that is amazing, I know that some questions do revolve around who comes to preseason, who gets invited, who doesn't get invited, all those kind of types of things. So preseason is is used for different ways for different teams. The football team all comes back, so that's everyone and they have it a little bit different schedule. They come a little bit.

Earlier because they have to have a certain amount of practices before they can have pads, so that's why you'll see football preseason start a little bit earlier. Doesn't really apply to our girls athletics, but that gives you some perspective. And then as the girl, as our female sports start, the girls come in and different teams do it differently. So some invite just varsity candidates. Some some invite anyone who has interest in the sport and those three days are not a tryout because it doesn't start.

Or try out period, but it is a good way to be to get evaluated to get. Like to Emma's point, to get your stick skills going again, to remember how to play the sport that you are there to play. And so I think it's a great way to kind of get yourself off the ground and running. But if you're not invited to preseason, that doesn't mean you don't have a chance to try out. So if you come and you want to try out for field hockey and you know you, you're out there and you're supposed to be with the varsity team, you will be pulled.

Up to the varsity team, so it's not necessarily a tryout be all end all, but it is a great way to come and get acclimated earlier and be a part of that program.

Awesome, thank you so dumb Layla. I actually have a specific question for you, which is how often you practice on the track and field team. It was like they knew you would be on this and then they had that they were targeting you saying you've got to answer it.

Awesome, thank you. I think it's one of the things you touched on was that we do have an indoor track facility, so we do host a large area meets which is really cool to see. Just in general. I mean everyone's like every team is warming up around campus, but as part of our new sort of athletic center we are building a track and field, essentially stadium on its own. You know, to support our program, which I think is is pretty fabulous. I think that's actually one of the earlier phases of of not nearing completion.

That will be in one of the earlier phases of of when things will be completed, so stock. I think this would be actually great for you two quick questions and the first is a question about crew and a few people want to know how far is the boathouse like? What does that look like? Because we don't have and we have a Creek on campus, but we don't really have a lake to roll on so crew is not something that most kids can do before high school unless they're doing like a local club. So how does that work? Maybe about that process, you know?

But also, like how do we get to actually row?

Yeah, so the crew team is actually one of our larger teams on campus and we have a senior club crew in the fall which is made up of about 12 boys and like 8 girls this past fall and then the main season is in the spring and we have. I think it's somewhere around 70 rowers that that are.

That are out there are boathouse is in Mercer County, but it's it's a little bit. It's about 20 minute drive and we do a combo of school buses and then coaches that have CDL licenses to actually drive like mini buses and so we do a combo of that to get all of our student athletes out to the boat houses each and every day. That being said, we do do a combo of some people will go out to the water and then some people will stay on land.

And they will. Do, you know, erg workouts and different things. And we've had a nice large tent and one of our parking lots that has been home to the outdoor ERG facility. If you will. So there's been plenty of crew happening on land and even last spring we were able to get out to the boathouse and and actually urge, so that is also to this point, a little bit of a time commitment. Crew. Just because you're doing some of that travel back and forth. But but I, I would.

Argue that the the student athletes that do crew love it and would not would not give that up for the world, so it's worth the worth. A little bit of bus trip to go back and forth each day.

Excellent, thank you, so I'm going to actually like four questions on the previously submitted questions and one just popped into the chat and so stock I'm going to put you back on on on notice right now. There are a lot of questions just about we don't have any swimmers on here, but just kind of what the swim program is like 'cause I know we have a lot of kids that have dedicated time to swimming year round 'cause I know you can do that. So some of the questions are coming out of what is the swim program like? Can you actually swim outside of school? What does that look like?

And maybe if you can talk about that a bit.

So the swim program is art. The actual program is in the winter, so that's our season and right now they're gearing up and we have what we call and a squad and a B squad. So some of our more serious and more competitive swimmers will hit that a squad, and then the B squad will be maybe some of our new swimmers or or students that just haven't hit certain times yet in different events. So and they mix so they go back to back practices. And Ann and Steph Harrison.

Is a great coach and she coaches both the boys and the girls programs so she's got her hands full with with many students. We also offer diving so we cannot forget them as it is a swimming and diving program overall.

But what we don't offer swimming per say in the fall and the spring as like an actual sport. What we do have is a lifetime offering in the spring and that is open to seniors in order to swim. It is not a competitive program. It meets three days a week and they can. It's kind of your own type of workout. What we do offer though is three days a week. There is community swim in the mornings and students are more than welcome.

To attend community swims if they'd like to get in swim time. That being said, all of that being said, we also that could fall into the exemption category that I mentioned earlier. So as your daughter gets older to that, you know junior senior year and they really want to focus on the swimming they would apply for that fall exemption. And if they had made varsity one of their first two years, then they would be able they would be eligible to.

Take that exemption swim outside of the school in the fall and then go ahead and compete for Lawrenceville in the winter and then compete in something else in the spring. We do have students though, that fulfilled their athletic requirement by doing their house or lifetime, and maybe I should be a little more specific House and lifetime. They meet three days a week so they meet Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for an hour each afternoon. So what some students do is play like a house sport or do a lifetime.

And then from 3:30 to 4:30 on those three days, and then they go off campus, and they do their outside club team. So whether that's you know, swimming in that particular case, or you know, field, hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, whatever it might be. So. So there's some options to fulfill your athletic requirement here and then still be able to do what you'd like to do after that.

Thanks, yeah there were a couple questions that came in about, you know. Hey can I are there restrictions about playing sort of sports? Outside of Lawrenceville, I always sort of say Lawrenceville has to come first. I mean, you are committing yourself to a team. I think that we do have plenty of kids that do do some club and outside sports. I happen to have, you know, a number of lacrosse players or softball players on my field hockey team. And they always honor Lawrenceville and our commitment to the team first. However, they definitely.

Some will occasionally. I'll have a kid who says I've got a big showcase or I've got something I need to go to. And that is a it's kind of a whole procedure for getting permission, but we don't really like it if you have to miss multiple weekends to go away so we do put some directions. I think it's about one weekend or one game. A term where you might have to miss for something, because obviously if you're committed to that team, you know we are building a team around those those players at that time and that.

Can be a little bit challenging for everyone that's here, you know. Still on campus, but it usually works out. I'd say that kids are really good about figuring out how to get to those different events in about an 8 week term we often don't have classes. About three of those weekends, so sometimes it's not missing a class, or you may not have a game that weekend, so it just happens that your squash tournament is that weekend and so you can, you know, go and and still participate in that, but I would always sort of just recommend.

Asking those questions when you're here on campus and if you get a chance to meet with a coach because it can be a little bit different depending on what sport you you want to participate in. You know outside of the sport that you're playing at Lawrenceville. So thank you for that. The stock really helpful.

So can one of you gals or can all of you kind of chime in a quick these questions keep coming up that are like what does a typical day look like for Lawrenceville student with athletics? You know obviously thrown in there so I don't know who wants to. Maybe take that. I would say I'm just looking right now at Layla Layla. I don't know if you want to kind of start off, maybe what your day looks like.

Awesome, thanks, Coker. Emma, do you guys have anything to chime in on that?

As a day student, kind of how my day will look like is pretty much exactly like Layla up until around the after sports. So because I'm on a varsity team, we do get locker rooms and showers and things like that. So I'll usually shower after directly after my practice. Go eat dinner with the team and then I usually head home after that.

And in terms of games and things like that, as a day, shouldn't it's? We really don't have that much of a different experience than the borders it may impact when you go home at the end of the day, you might go home a little later than some of your friends who might leave right after classes, or you can stay till study Hall. It's really up to you, but we pretty much have the same sort of schedule in terms of athletics and everything like that as boarders do.

I was also just gonna add like talking about the days where we have like like Layla and Emma are kind of describing days where we don't have a ton of free time. But on like Wednesdays and Saturdays and Sundays where like we have less class or no class and we more free time like I would say in terms of athletics like I'm walking around campus and like I see a ton of kids like going on runs or like the turf is usually always occupied by like boys playing across so like.

We go out and play field hockey or like Emma, and I literally went on a run today together so it's like a lot of times like free time is still used to like.

I don't like the athletic stuff like that, so it's not always like if you have a little bit of free time like you have to do work. But like sometimes it is like that. But it's nice on those days we have more time.

Awesome yeah and and one of the things I think that's important with Lawrenceville, and I think the stock hit on it a little bit when she talked about something before, but.

You don't really have to pick and choose between sports and other activities, so I'm kind of that daily schedule. You know, everyone goes to class, everyone goes to sports and then I always call it the golden window of like 5:30 until about 8:00 o'clock. We have to check in your house and that's when you have dinner. You hang with your friends. Maybe you're going to open turf time. Our kids are shooting hoops, you know, in the Fieldhouse and you know, I think a lot of kids. It's a social time too, but that's when clubs are meeting. So you know Leila said she's in charge of ABC, and so you know.

She is running a club but which is, you know, time consuming, but it's something she cares about. So then kids fill that time with with what they want to do at Lawrenceville and and there you don't have to pick and choose so you don't have to choose track over. Do I do I do this club? You can do both, but that time management piece is important because especially with interscholastic sports you know you might be traveling so I think as faculty and I talk about this a lot with my advisee's, it's about planning ahead, right? It's saying, hey, what do you have going on this week?

And I think Lawrenceville teaches you that, well, everything from you know your coaches reminding you sign out on the sign out app or hey, you know kids are asked me getting home. Oh why 'cause I've got to make up a test in the library. And so we really talk about planning ahead. But because all of our faculty are the majority of them are also coaching. They understand what sort of I hate to use the word grind, but the grind of like the student athlete is right that you are balancing these things and so they understand if you're like, hey, I have to leave. I've got a playoff game. They will work with you too.

Help you make up that assignment, and I think that's really great. It goes back to sort of that that support kind of idea we were talking about in the beginning and Emma. You just you have a specific question for you here in the in the chat it's from Afelia who came to visit and she said it was great meeting you on campus. She wants to know how the field hockey program is different from other schools and I don't know you don't go to other schools so I don't know if he can speak to that. But I think maybe a little bit of information about the team is kind of what she's asking for and I didn't want to bypass it. Not 'cause on the field hockey coach, but because.

I thought it was so specific to you I wanted to make sure that you know people were acknowledging how wonderful you were, so I'm not sure if you can speak a little bit. Maybe to to the team and and that experience.

Or first of all, feel it's so nice to hear from you again. I hope you liked your tour, but second of all, I think honestly, the field hockey team is one of the most kind of special experiences. I've had a privilege to be a part of on campus.

I would came to Lawrenceville more as a softball player, but when I joined the field hockey team, it very quickly became like one of my most favorite times on campus because first of all the bonds you have with your team members are really special. We kind of do everything together and it's one of the teams that is very tradition rich in Lawrenceville. Granted, I don't know too much about a lot of the other sports, but we have lots of traditions that we've upheld from many, many years past that we continue to do today that are.

This kind of passed on from grilled a girl through the years and we're also a very pretty rigorous and very successful team. We're out there practicing in the rain. Unless it's thundering, we are out there. We take our list very seriously on days off, will go on, Captain runs, will have captain practices and things like that, so it's a very intense team. But it's very, very rewarding. And honestly, it's one of the best parts of my year. Just because.

Of how much the team means to me and also how much I feel like I improve both like physically and mentally throughout the season.

Thanks so much a couple questions coming in and maybe you can answer this. Miss talk about golf. You know I live on the far side of the golf course, which is a little bit under construction. Literally right now as we're building and the new dining and athletic center. But some questions just about what golf at Lawrenceville sort of is like. But also there was a question about being able to play in outside golf tournaments, and I'm not sure if that's something we've had a lot of kids do overtime.

Uh, I can't speak to overall history in terms of how many kids have actually played golf singularly outside of the school. I know right now we do have a sophomore who's very talented and he plays outside of the school and travels down to I believe it's Florida and some other places to play in tournaments so that that definitely is a possibility, I would say.

Fulfilling that athletic requirement for Lawrenceville then would just be one of your house or lifetime options, and then being able to utilize the golf course at your discretion. I think that's what's unique to Lawrenceville. Unlike some of our peer schools, is that we do have our golf course right on campus right now. It is six holes. It was nine, but the construction has has taken away a couple of holes, so we are 6 hole golf course right now and we do a senior golf.

Lifetime activity in the in the fall season and that just wrapped up, but it's maintained and their students that go out on the weekends and go play and and so there's plenty of opportunity to be out and about and taking advantage of that and and certainly opportunity for Asuna, who's has a serious interest in it, to to take. That and here play here, but also play outside and and make that commitment so you know.

That would definitely be something that I would encourage someone to reach out to RAD about. Tripp Welborne and just come in knowing that this is something that you're very interested in doing and how we can help you be able to take those weekends and do what you need to do, but also fulfill your requirements on campus.

More.

Wow.

Awesome, thank you. There's a question that came in about what is the soccer program at Lawrenceville like? And none of us are soccer players, but I don't know. I guess we can. We can both chime in here in a poll, but Locker has sold several levels of team and I always suggest as a coach. You know, as in the staff just said, reaching out to Mr Welborn, you know, reach out to the coaches and ask them specifically. Sort of, you know if it's how many kids do you roster on the varsity, you know, do you know? Do you do cuts on JV?

Is there a freshman team? Our kids going off to play in college? If that's a question, and that's an aspiration for you. Certainly ask those questions. We do play all of our teams. Do client something called Mid-Atlantic Prep League or the Maple. And we also play in a few different kind of inter inter inter season tournaments like the Mercer County Tournament or the New Jersey Prep tournament. And so we do have the opportunity to play, sort of.

Tournament style competition and many of our teams will play. Someone had mentioned like Philadelphia teams so we do play a lot in the interact which is a Philadelphia sort of Independent School league which has great competition as well. But if you want more specifics I would just suggest all of our coaches. I'm going to try to do my best to send out a list of coaches to everyone that's attended tonight so that you do have specific questions you will get that in the next couple days. And if you do not because I can't figure out our new system of slate which is our database. Go on the web.

And all of our email addresses are there. I think most of them are hyperlinked reach out to those coaches as you do your inquiry. Fill out an inquiry form.

So that you are in our system and that we know that you have a particular interest in the sport.

Introduce something about your volleyball team. Oh, UM, they did really well this year, but Nikolai, maybe you could talk about that a little bit.

Yeah, so volleyball has 22 varsity and JV.

A huge not huge turn out this year, which was awesome to see a lot of girls who had not not tried it before, and more so for our JV program. But our varsity program is is primarily pretty strong and they they have some very good athletes. We've had a number of athletes in the past actually go on to play volleyball in college. Most recently we had someone head to the Naval Academy to play there so so it is a strong program. If they were young this year, so we're actually really excited.

Because they have a lot of their talent coming back, which is super exciting. So so yeah, so the volleyball program and the same kind of thing. They're not in the Maple per say that word 'cause other Maple schools don't participate have a volleyball program, so we play a lot of New Jersey, but a lot of Philadelphia area schools as well. And then we'll play in the New Jersey prep tournament at the kind of midway to to end of the season and.

And that term and prolongs and gets played out at Rutgers Prep School. So so yeah. So we're we're very competitive with, with peer schools and and other you know non boarding schools in the area. So we do. We do best of three games for New Jersey teams and then best of five if they're outside of the state of New Jersey for our varsity program. And best of three games for all of our JV matches. So it gives you a little bit of insight but.

But also again, reach out to our coaches and if you want more specific details, kind of on their their program, what they're looking for. If I know we had some young setters and different positions that will, you know need to be filled next year, but but certainly reach out for more specific details.

Awesome, thank you. I'm just looking at the time and I know we have to wrap up 'cause I believe there's an art session and since we we know a lot of people do multiple things, I'm just going to touch on a couple of these questions that are coming in. There's a question about can you try a sport if you've never tried one that that support before? Yes, I mean definitely in the especially in this sub varsity levels depending on sort of the number of kids kind of enrolled in this or that have signed up for it and there's usually space for you to try something new. And I know I've coached all different levels, so sometimes I'm literally teaching kids how to.

Cradle, lacrosse deck and other times I'm teaching kids complex place, so there's definitely a level for everyone. And the other question that kind of came in was can you participate in more than one sport? So I'm hoping that that question at hoping I'm answering this correctly and we do have an athletic requirement so we want you to do something in each of the three seasons. So yes, you can participate in more than one sport, but not in one season, so you can't be like, hey, I love soccer and I love field hockey and I love to run cross country. You would you do have to choose and make that commitment to one.

To one team and another question. But the 11 seniors who just did the NLI today and Nicole, I get it was like where did they sign on and what sports will they be playing? I will mess up all of them. If you want to kind of maybe list off.

Yeah, yeah, so quickly we had come about five or six times for lacrosse, girls and boys and then we had one track cross country. We had four crew. I think that makes our 70 or 11 excuse me. So so yeah. So we had crew cross country and lacrosse and ice hockey. We had one for ice hockey as well. Girls ice hockey so.

UNC yeah.

Yeah, I'm going to a mix of schools. I think there was Notre Dame Hopkins, Bucknell, Virginia, Lee High UNC. I'm trying to remember all those all those sweatshirts and I think that was the first. A couple of other kids that will be going off. But if their schools some of the Ivies and things don't do the NLI so we have other kids that are that are committed to other programs but they just weren't in that. But thanks for looking at our Instagram post. I love that that's definitely something that that folks are paying attention to.

I'm going to the last question I'm came about the college recruiting process and timeline, and I think that that is it's a big question. A lot of kids that want to go ahead and and play their sport in college. It is different sport by sport for sure and I think COVID has definitely pushed things back. I know and my sports. There's a lot of kids that are. You know I've had field hockey coaches say we're not looking at anything until January and some other. You know, schools have committed kids for that. Same here. So it really depends. We do help you as much as we can.

And stock you certainly please add in here. I think a lot of recruitment does happen through club sports for sure because you are doing those and showcases where if there's no conflict. Because say for field hockey. Sorry to keep bringing that up, but you're going to shooting star. You're going to festival coaches are not going to see you during your high school season, but we do have all of our games video tape. So we do send. I just sent a bunch of huddle videos to add some girls to make up their videos and girls do things like, you know, connect LAX.

Slow crossmon or they create their own sort of recruiting profiles and and certainly I as a coach will reach out to coaches on my students behalf and I often will talk to their club coaches to sort of say hey what. Have your conversations been so that we can support every student as they go through this process? Because like I said, every sport is a little different and now the timelines are also a little different, but that's something also that your college counselor eventually even before you hit your junior year and they do a series of kind of webinars.

For our students to talk about everything from like, how do you write an essay to hey is athletics a part of your recruiting process and they will help with that as well. I don't know if you have anything to add to that Nicole.

You say to like you know we are. We are very lucky that we have excellent coaches at our. You know the top tier in in their sport when they played and they keep in touch with those at the end. That includes Lisa and you know we have coaches that are well connected and talked to, you know coaches at other programs and and college programs. And so we have those touch points and we're really lucky for that. But and it's across the board with our coaches so.

Coaches reach out daily to chat with college coaches and get an idea of like where some of our students will fit in and so we do have the gamut of different things, and I think that is one benefit that that we really get in the recruiting process is our coaches are in touch and they and they reach out and they, you know they kind of advocate for our student athletes on their behalf so it isn't a bonus.

Awesome, thank you. I'm just looking at the time because I think our our session ends in just about a minute. They give us a few minutes before we log off and log on to the next session that's happening, but I wanted to thank all of you guys for joining us tonight and to our panelists and to miss talk. I'm sure we didn't get to every single question on here, but I am going to throw it out there that if you go to lawrenceville.org and you go to the admission page you will find me and please send me an email and I can always follow up.

With you directly with these questions or put you in touch with you know some of our student athletes like these young women who have joined us tonight who are sport specific or who were doing other things on campus. A lot of our kids are also, you know, tour guide, so they're used to reaching out to students and they're they're happy to help answer what they can for you, but definitely utilize this as a resource. Keep looking at that Instagram Lawrenceville Athletics and Lawrenceville admission. We post a lot of our information sessions on there. It's a great way to keep jumping on to these.

Sessions to get more information. We are recording them and will house them somewhere on our website and in the next few days so that if there's something you missed, certainly you can go back and hear more about it, but I do encourage you all, especially 'cause you're here talking about athletics or reach out to the coaches of the sports that you're most interested in learning a little bit more about them. If you're looking at multiple schools, it's great to get a sense of hey, what is the Fed? That's what you really want to find out, can I ask, you know, Coco, Layla and Emma.

If you had to sort of wrap up with a sentence or a few words, kind of what athletics at Lawrenceville and Athletics for for women? Young women at Lawrenceville. Kind of, you know, has meant to you means to you. It can be a word. It can be a sentence we're going to. We're going to kind of end up with that, so I'm going to say my goodbyes. I'm gonna let you guys say your piece and then we are going to thank everyone for joining us and log off. So I'm going just down the line, Coco.

Yeah, I would just say that. I mean I think athletics for women are something that's really important, and I think Lawrenceville Foster is a really great community and like environment for young women. And obviously boys too. But to kind of.

Day into those experiences and it's really a great place to make friends and strong relationships.

Awesome, Layla.

Awesome, thank you and Emma. You're going to wrap us up tonight.

Uhm, if I to kind of sum it up in one word, I'd say it's very empowering. You just get so much support from everyone around you, and I mean like last year for software we went triple crowns, so it's just it's such a great feeling being so supported by your community and just having a family and feeling like you're accomplishing things and just empowering. Yeah, that's my one word.

Awesome, I know that there are so many other words that you guys would choose, but you're on the spot. But I thank you for that. Thank you to everyone for joining us and like I said, definitely go on the web. Find those coaches. Find me through admissions or through field hockey or lacrosse and ask us lots of questions in this talk. Thank you for all of your insight on athletics at Lawrenceville. Good luck in your ice hockey season coming up and everyone have a great night. Alright, we hope to see you on campus if we haven't and you know if it's not this year, then hopefully it's next year or so.

Have a great night everybody.