SPORTS

Schager returns: girls’ lacrosse pushed to be their best

Elle Vail ’23

Creative Team

Many reading this article may know of Staples’ neighborhood-friendly Cathy Schager. Like Spiderman, she seems to do it all. You may have seen her smiling brightly in the hallways, installing new exhibits in the library, organizing events for awareness towards humanitarian causes, teaching in her social studies classroom or, most recently, coaching on the lacrosse field. Schager’s newest appearance as one of the coaches for Staples girls’ lacrosse team shines light upon her past successes on the field in addition to the positive impact she leaves on the players.

Many know Schager as the activist of the social studies department; however, few know the extent of her lacrosse coaching experience. As a former student athlete at Johns Hopkins University, Schager graduated college and, like many others, traveled to New York to try what she calls a “normal person job.” If you know Schager, you could probably predict that she did not enjoy this experience.

“I hated it,” Schager said.

It was within months that she decided to coach Division 1 girls’ lacrosse at Vanderbilt. Having a degree of success there, she ultimately moved back to New England after one year to find a younger age group. Amidst trials and tribulations of taking the LSAT, working at a law firm, coaching in New York and interviewing as a girls’ lacrosse coach throughout Connecticut, Schager ended up at Staples and began as both a teacher and a coach immediately.

“I didn’t want to go to a place that already had a good program. I wanted to build a program,” Schager said. “So when I got here, I said, ‘I would like to please take over the lacrosse team.’” Schager became head of girls’ lacrosse and spent nine years building the program. She describes the steady improvement of her team, as they lost 14 games the first season, but reached states by year seven. Coining involvment in sports as “indispensable” Schager uses her experience as an

athlete within her classroom. She describes her desire for constant improvement as a result of being a coach and an athlete, leading to her engaging and evolving teaching strategies. “I need criticism, so I know “I worked really what to do,” Schager said. “And hard on helping so that’s when I started realizing that’s what being an athlete was.” women, young In coaching younger girls, women, see where Schager noticed gender ineqtheir strength was.” uity in a “blaring” form. Instead of approaching this with - Cathy Schager a dismal attitude, Schager used Social Studies Teacher this to empower her players. “I worked really hard on helping women, young women, see where their strength was,” Schager said. “I try to really develop their self-conPhoto by Lucy Dockter ’23 fidence and very, very strictly to develop boundaries.” Schager’s return has caused a reaction of nothing but positivity, specifically among players whom she previously coached. “Having her as a teacher and a coach has been impactful to our team with the positive relationship we are able to build with her as a result,” Maddie Hill ’22 said. Schager’s return is celebrated by the Staples girls’ lacrosse community. “She’s brought a whole new energy to our team that I have never seen before,” Mackenzie Didio ’22 said. “She’s constantly there to push us to be the best players we can be.” Graphics by Gabi Gerig ’23 & Kiswa Khan ’23

Student athletes balance academics with athletics

Mia Kirkorsky ’24

Assistant Business Manager

Staples students juggle rigorous academic loads with extracurriculars and athletics while still managing to hold their heads above the water. Managing both schoolwork andwith outside activities could hinder anyone’s performance, but students remain focused on their goals of success to stay positive and motivated.

Mia Guster ’23

Photo by Abby Nevin ’23

Q: How do you manage to find a healthy balance between athletes and academics?

(Guster): “Because I’ve been an athlete all my life, I’ve learned to understand academics are my number one priority, and athletics come [second]. I definitely struggled my freshman year of high school because the workload increased so much, so I decided to develop a schedule or routine that I could follow everyday that ensured I would get all my school work done and also go to bed at a reasonable time.”

Kira Obsitnik ’22

Q: How did you stay motivated academicially as a student-athlete throughout high school?

(Obsitnik): “Honestly it helped me with time management. I was forced to structure my day and be productive once I got home from practice. I found, when I had a break from practice, I would procrastinate with my work a lot versus when having practice.”

Charlie Bowman ’25

Photo by Mia Bomback ’25 Photo by Mia Kirkorsky ’24

Q: What is your favorite part about being an athlete in the Staples sports community?

(Bowman): “Probably just meeting everyone, and building connections with people that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Also, getting to play sports and go to games with all my friends.”