4 minute read
Victory Bell
UNITING WILDCATS
LACROSSE
Building a team is the very definition of forming a community and the women’s lacrosse team has certainly taken the shot and scored! Under the leadership of Coach Caitlin Erickson, the team has overcome challenges, celebrated many firsts and has molded leaders on and off the field. “Everyone is welcome,” Coach Erickson said, describing the mindset of building the first women’s lacrosse team at Culver-Stockton College. Erickson joined the Wildcat family in November 2018 but as soon as she was able to move forward with recruiting, COVID paused her momentum. Erickson, who previously coached in the St. Louis area, used her networks on social media to build the program’s positive reputation, despite the pandemic.
From the moment that Erickson set foot on campus, she knew the program was filled with potential for many reasons but she credits the community as the top selling feature at C-SC. “I love coming to work everyday because the view is beautiful and the supportive community is great,” Erickson stated. Building a new team is not easy as she recalled that the first six months were especially challenging because the program was trying to gain traction. Using social media, Erickson was able to shape the women’s lacrosse social presence at C-SC to connect with potential recruits and explained, “After COVID hit, we brought in seven students because we were able to connect with people watching us.” While those recruits were a great start, they didn’t fill the roster. Erickson said she would approach students around campus, begin a conversation that ultimately led to building a team. “You have legs, a heart beat and look athletic,” Erickson jokes about how she would approach students who were exercising in the Mabee Center. She was pleased when that student would show up at practice the next day.
The positive environment and community-building spirit was the foundation of C-SC’s first women’s lacrosse team. The Wildcats were seven ladies with lacrosse experience, and the rest of the roster was “the island of misfit toys” according to Erickson, who identified the team makeup of cheerleaders, basketball players, soccer athletes, and athletically minded individuals looking to join the group. While Erickson was open to anyone joining the team, expectations for academic commitment, respect, and time management were still very high. Since its inception, women’s lacrosse has maintained a 3.4 team grade point average.
Regardless of lacrosse experience, the group found unity in the process of becoming a team. Erickson recounts one of the first games that brought a rush of emotions, “We were losing
by 18 goals but the moment that we scored a goal, our first goal in program history, the stands went wild. It felt like we had just won the national championship.” The energy from that memory has continued to create cohesion and transformed the C-SC women’s lacrosse team into a family. “Where we lacked experience, we made up for in relationships,” Coach
Erickson stated. Freshman players became top producers on the field because they brought experience while the upperclassmen supported them to provide mentorship off the field. Ally Frazier ’21 was one of those women that took it upon herself to befriend underclassmen to intentionally strengthen the team bond. “She made a choice to be the leader she never had as an athlete,” Erickson said proudly. Frazier joined the team with no previous lacrosse experience but was equally equipped with leadership that formed bonds throughout the team. “They travel in a pack,” Erickson said, “in the cafeteria, on the quad- the team is always together and they did that on their own.”
Wildcat lacrosse has experienced quite the ride since it’s first days: delayed recruiting, less field time and impacted travel due to the pandemic. The women have embraced these challenges and used the additional time to build their own community that has created a family built on trust, communication, and support. Team dinners, social outings, and study sessions off the pitch strengthened connections that improved communication when they took the field. When they were able to compete, they spent hours traveling because not many teams were nearby. Coach Erickson works diligently to provide the ladies with culture-building opportunities when they travel, which oftentimes comes with additional costs. The team fundraises year-round so they are afforded experiences while traveling. “They are strong athletes and I want them to fill their bodies with healthy choices,” Erickson explained as she directs fundraising dollars toward healthy meals, cultural experiences, and educationally focused events.
The founding members of women’s lacrosse have grown together and are filled with a lifetime of memories but the sweetest one yet was a myriad of firsts that took place over the course of fifteen minutes. “I will never forget that moment- it was truly a team victory,” Erickson recalled about the first overtime challenge that resulted in the first program win, and ringing the victory bell to commemorate a moment in history. It’s been said that challenging times lead to exceptional character and C-SC women lacrosse players have founded a program filled with those things. Their relationships run deep, the culture is defined by experiences, and these individuals have laid the groundwork for a legacy of teamwork and success on “the Hill.”
