Two seasons in a row, the varsity men’s lacrosse team has taken top of the conference. Better yet, they won each game consecutively, resulting in back-to-back years of being undefeated in the conference.

The varsity coaches trained the team very well to prepare for the season that was ahead of them. Physically and mentally, the players were ready to take on the conference with the support of their coaches, teammates and all of the supporters in the stands.

Coach Ryan Cummings built up a memorable relationship with the players throughout the three years that he has been coaching. This year, he was reluctant to let go of the players that have been on the varsity team since the beginning.

“Over the three years, the guys that have played varsity since their sophomore year, I’ve seen them grow into young men, from sophomores to juniors and now seniors,” Cummings said. “They are about a month away from graduation; I’ve seen how they’ve grown over that time.”

With there being players who have been on the team together for multiple years, the team has built a strong relationship. All of the members have the same overall goal, which is to win states, and they are fully committed to doing so.

The athletes were excited about winning the conference, but they had higher goals ahead of them. A talented goalie for the team, Griffin Broad, defined the ultimate goals that the team had set.

“We are excited to win conference, but that’s a smaller goal for us. It’s not as high up on our goals for the season. The ultimate one is states,” Broad said, before the end of the season.

With the majority of the team graduating this year, the juniors and underclassmen will have to replace the strong roles that the seniors have contributed to, offensively and defensively. Rebuilding the team next year is just one of the setbacks that the team has had to face, while this season the team faced a bigger one.

Due to the consistent rainy weather, the team was unable to play against some teams outside of the conference. These games could have been used to prepare the team more for their bigger goals of the season, like playoffs.

“It’s nice to play against out-of-conference components, but some of the games were canceled. I think we could have faced stiffer competition and so I think leading into the playoffs that it could hurt us, but I think we are going to be well prepared,” Cummings said the day before playoffs began.

Despite their setbacks, the team was able to get through the conference two years in a row. The talented players of the team worked hard to keep their streak going. Captain Ryan Santos has noticed the motivation and commitment that his team portrays.

“It’s all business. It’s a focused environment. We have fun when we want to, but when it comes game time, we are definitely there to do our job,” Santos said.

A skilled and committed team in sync is exactly how to be successful. There is power in numbers, they say. The commitment of the student-athletes stands out on the field, and especially during the school day. On game days we saw every player dressed to impress, and recently we saw the players wear bleached-blonde and maroon hairstyles and some with their number shaved above their ears. This is not their most athletic way of demonstrating their commitment to the team, but it is a notable one.

Another team captain, Lucas Crenshaw, shared the significance of these bold styles that are weaving their way through the team.

“I didn’t bleach my hair, but it was for playoffs. We just wanted to make a big statement, and I love the guys that did it,” Crenshaw said.

The varsity men’s lacrosse team has been a solid one in the past two years. With the rising student-athletes, the talented coaches, and a committed line-up, the team is sure to stretch their conference streak into a third season next year.

“Our goals this season were to win the conference, which we did; make the playoffs, which we did; and now we want to win states. It’s going to be a difficult stretch, but we try to instill the belief in our players that they have the ability to do it,” Cummings said.

Although the players were not able to maintain their winning streak in the first day of the playoffs, they still had an outstanding season. Despite being unable to train out of conference to the full extent, the team was successful in winning their second conference in a row.

“There have been some games that were pretty tight, but it seems like our guys aren’t afraid to shy away from a close game. They always have the belief that they will win,” Cummings said.