Youth Night highlights Waltham girls lacrosse growth 

The Waltham High School girls lacrosse program is making an emphasis on helping the sport thrive at all levels in the city.

Head coach Jill Cannon has instilled the importance of promoting the sport at the youth ranks, and her team is loving the impact they can have on encouraging younger players to develop a passion for the sport. Part of this initiative was the establishment of a youth lacrosse night during the Crosstown Cup, the annual contest between close rivals Waltham High and Watertown High. 

As the programs for the elementary and middle school lacrosse players of Waltham and Watertown are combined, the game provides the perfect opportunity to bring both youth lacrosse programs together with a special chance to get involved and watch their high school role models face off.

“One thing that I have always tried to instill in our program is the importance of the youth,” Cannon said. “Our players always love facing Watertown, so we made the Crosstown Cup as an opportunity to recognize the rivalry and the friendships that they have growing up together city to city. One thing that I have always focused on with our players is that we need to show these young girls how fun it is to be a part of the high school team, represent your city, and how lacrosse continues to grow as you get older. We want to keep people in the game that day. We thought Monday would be a fun way to show kids the rivalry while showing that we are all one program.”

This was the second iteration of the Crosstown Cup, and it resulted in a phenomenal turnout by students ranging through first to sixth grade. Youth players had the opportunity to greet the high schoolers during warmups and stand on the field during the national anthem, and the atmosphere was raucous throughout the game.

Monday was not the only chance the younger lacrosse players have had to interact with the Hawks. Over the weekend, members of the WHS team were assigned a youth team to coach for one game, receiving the opportunity to stand on the sidelines and guide future Hawks with the wisdom they have learned playing at the varsity level. The Hawks worked hand in hand with the volunteer coaches that usually coach the youth ranks.

Additionally, WHS hosted a youth clinic earlier in the season where the high school players coached the younger troops through drills.

“They do a great job of building those relationships with the younger players,” Cannon said. “Now, when the younger players see them at the games, they cheer and make posters for them. In the future, we have a bunch of ideas that are in the works. We just want to build the relationships so that the youth players have a mentor, especially the older girls who are coming into high school if they have questions and want to learn how they can prepare and get better. For the younger kids, it is just about the love of the game. We want them to see how cool it will be for them to play for Waltham. The players are like their heroes.”

As for the game itself on Monday, it was a fun evening for the Hawks. Waltham won, 12-5, behind five goals from junior Mia Kearney, a hat trick and two assists by senior Quinn Gavin, and an unbelievable defensive effort from senior Abby Morse, who forced seven turnovers. Junior goalie Leah France stopped nine Watertown shots in the victory.

“Our girls always get the most fired up to play this game,” Cannon said. “The energy was up right from the start. They brought all the passion they could and played some of their best lacrosse.”