LACROSSE WALL
ROSE FINISHES GREAT WALL OF LACROSSEBY EMMA BLAKE BYRUM SEPTEMBER 17,2014
From starting a club to constructing a wall, Rose lacrosse had come a long way in the past few years. Since the groundbreaking ceremony that occurred over the summer, the lacrosse wall has made progress.
Construction of the wall is finished; all that is left to do is paint it and place two nets in the wall so players can practice shooting. The wall is located behind the baseball field and is open to both the women’s and men’s lacrosse teams. It is for use in practice, but it is also available during anytime of the day. Rose lacrosse coach David Loy, who is a board member for Pitt County Youth Lacrosse (PCYL), knew that the PCYL wall was well utilized during practice and thought one like it would be useful to the lacrosse teams at Rose during the season. “It was something that I knew we needed to do,” Loy said. Practicing on a wall is often referred to as playing ‘wall ball’. Wall ball is most commonly done to practice basic catching and throwing skills but can be used for other types of practice. It sharpens skills such as hand-eye coordination, reaction time and accuracy. "Because lacrosse is new, I want people to know that we have a lacrosse team. It's just a way to help market our lacrosse team, and let everyone know that there is a lacrosse team at rose," said Loy. Former women’s lacrosse coach, Celie Wall, thinks highly of practicing with a wall. “Wall ball is important because it teaches the most basic skills of lacrosse without having another lacrosse person with you," Wall said. Wall ball can be done anywhere as long as a player has a wall. Junior Lauren Holder, is glad to have a place to practice without having to use her house. Because the wall is available at any time, athletes can drive over and practice with the wall at Rose. Loy and the athletic boosters were helpful in finding donations and sponsors. “We have six sponsors that helped us build the wall: Hammock Source, Vidant International Medicine, Lee, Fussel, & Humphries, DDS, Wirth Chiropractic, Whitehurst Fence Company, and EJE Recycling,” Loy said. Even though the wall is almost complete, Loy is still accepting donations. Donations could be put toward the cost of painting the wall, lacrosse equipment and other expenses of the lacrosse teams. “I expect to use the wall to make myself a better player, hopefully, and as a team we will progress on our lacrosse skills,” senior Anthony Hudson said. Holder and Hudson seem to be looking forward to being able to use the wall. Along with Loy they want to be able to use the wall for practice. “I want to win the conference, win in the playoffs and win the championship," Hudson said. With additional ways to practice, the lacrosse teams have the opportunity to achieve Hudson's goals for the team and upcoming season. HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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