Last season, our boys lacrosse team won their second state championship ever. Before this, the boys had been to five consistent Final Fours and played in the last three state championship games. Today, I asked Katie Manley and Sophia Harden, managers for the team, a few questions in order to get some “behind the scenes” perspective of this coming season.

What is your name and grade?

KM: Katie Manley, junior.

SH: Sophia Harden, junior.

Why did you decide to become a manager this year?

KM: I started managing my freshman year of high school because my sister did and it sounded really fun. last year was my first full season managing and watching the boys grow together as the year went on was an awesome experience so of course I had to come back. 

SH: I decided to lacrosse manage when one of my best friends told me about it and we agreed it’d be a fun way to get more involved at the school.

What does a typical practice look like for you? 

KM: A typical practice for me is clearing off the field, playing music to

get the guys pumped up, putting the time of day on the scoreboard, providing water to keep the boys hydrated, keeping score of the drills and filming them.

SH: Normally a couple of the managers will show up at the scheduled time and we’ll start by turning on the scoreboard clock to keep track of how long each drill is. After that we play their warm up playlists and film some of their drills for them to review. 

What are you most excited for this season?

KM: I am most excited to watch the boys play against their bigger opponents such as Culver, Cathedral, and Carmel.

SH: I’m most excited to watch the boys grow as a team, obviously a lot of them already know each other, but each year there’s always new players and new relationships to be formed!

After their championship last year, do you think the boys will be prepared to take home the gold again?

KM: I think it will be a slightly tougher road to state this year but I think the boys will take home gold again.

SH: I believe that if anyone can win it back to back, it’s definitely our HSE lacrosse team. We play some very talented teams and so it won’t be easy but that’s a challenge the program has accepted and are ready to take again this year.

What do you think will be the boy’s biggest challenge this year?

KM: I think the boys biggest challenge will be when they play the teams that are out of state. 

SH: I think this year, like every year, it will be difficult adjusting to the loss of the previous seniors. Those players are always important and so it will be hard to find the new team dynamic, but with all the team bonding activities that take place I believe this won’t take long.