LADY ROYALS’ LACROSSE SHOOTS FOR VICTORY

Posted on the main doors of Delmarva Christian High School is a sign that reads, “Now, go, and make disciples of all nations.” While some students accomplish this at church or by doing some service of some kind, the members of the Lady Royals’ Lacrosse team fulfill this with grass-stained cleats and well-worn lacrosse sticks. This is a team that does not measure their success by the number of wins or losses they may have, but by how well they represent Christ on and off of the field. As the apostle Paul instructs believers to always work to the best of their ability, striving for excellence is not only an academic and spiritual policy at DCHS, but an athletic one as well.

“Don’t be the reason,” second-year DCHS girl’s lacrosse coach, John Sadler, told his players in a second-half timeout team huddle.

Don’t be the reason, he says, for a lost game. Coach Sadler impresses upon his small and mostly inexperienced team to give their absolute best, all the time, no matter the score.

His advice has seemed to pay off.

In a girl’s lacrosse ESIAC Conference game last Friday, DCHS Royals squeaked by with a 8-7 victory over Salisbury School, a first for the team.

“e were losing by four points with thirteen minutes left in the game; the other team was getting stronger, and we weren’t,” Sadler admits. “When [the players and I] talked [during a timeout], we realized that if we lost this game simply because Salisbury was a better team, we’d be okay, but if we lost this game because we didn’t give it all we had, we’d be haunted. After that, individual effort increased to one-hundred percent.”

With a 7-9 defeat against the Salisbury School earlier in the season, the Lady Royals were excited for another opportunity against this team, another chance to see how much they had improved since the last game. Ready and prepared, they were anxious to utilize their new skills and improved-upon old ones.

“The game was intense,” says Emily Rae, a DCHS junior and new to the sport. “In the beginning, we weren’t working as a team, but, in the end, we really pulled it all together.”

Coach Sadler echoes this, remarking, “The game was surreal. Though we struggled through a really tough row of games, our character as a team came together and our gifts caught up with us. If we had broken down earlier, our characters would have broken down, too.”

With five games left to play, the Lady Royals and their euphoric spirit will carry them throughout the rest of their season.