Lacrosse Players Look Back on Lost Season

Prior to COVID-19, the boys lacrosse team had hoped to avenge a 2019 playoff loss and retake the championship. Photo: Emile Brammer

By DAVID ARAGON

Who would've thought? The coronavirus pandemic has cancelled all sporting events, including those hosted by the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL), a major factor in the lives of student athletes. As a lacrosse player on Midwood’s varsity team, I was devastated by the news that the lacrosse season was cancelled.

This season, the lacrosse team was going to play in the AA division, a higher ranking division than previous seasons. We were excited for the challenge. Facing top teams like Tottenville, Fredrick Douglas Academy, and Hunter College High School would not be easy, but with focus and dedication, anything could've happened. 

Many players had been practicing their skills and techniques long before the season began.

Olexander Holovchenko ‘21, a defensive player for the team, said, “During the months of January and February, I would practice in Marine Park in the freezing cold.” The team also had conditioning meetings occasionally during the early weeks of February to help stay fit. 

The season officially started March 2, which only gave us around two weeks to practice with the team in Midwood Field. During those two weeks, we had tryouts for a couple of days and the rest were left for practice.

Before lockdown, we had our game plans and squad rotations almost ready. Mr. Zachary Alexander, our coach, was doing an excellent job helping us identify our weaknesses and work on them.

Jayson Herrera ‘21, a new player on the team, said, “I was really motivated during practice. I felt like we were improving on a daily basis.”

This season, we did not have our key defensive lineup that we had in 2019, so Mr. Alexander was eager to help the defensive players and work with them to maximize their potential. With new football players joining, the athletic talent was phenomenal, but we still had to focus on lacrosse IQ and skill.

Jaden Keaton ‘21, a football player, said, “This was supposed to be my first year playing high school lacrosse. I wish it could have been one where I developed my lacrosse skills.” 

For freshmen like Max Semkiv and Jesse Bratkovsky, this season could have been one to help them improve their skills and build team chemistry.

“I was really bonding with my teammates, learning, and getting personal advice from them,” said Semkiv.

Bratkovsky has a background in playing lacrosse, and the team was excited to see what he had to offer. Unfortunately, we will have to wait a bit longer.

Bratkovsky said, “I was very excited to play this season. Team practices were very fun and helpful. Sadly, we won't be able to display our talent on the field this season.” The cancellation was especially disappointing for the freshmen. This first year was crucial to their skill development and personal bond with the team. 

But the news hit seniors the hardest, as their last year of playing high school lacrosse was taken from them. Arda Aydin ‘20,  Jose Medina ‘20, and JaKai McKay ‘20 have lost their hope of wearing the Midwood jersey ever again. McKay was not able to play the previous season because of personal reasons, but he was excited to come back for his senior year. Now he has lost his last chance to play for the Hornets. 

Ian Kenny ‘20, the team captain and arguably our best player, was hoping his junior year would be his best to attract college scouts. Kenny said, “To lose your last chance to display your potential to colleges is devastating, but the road does not end there.”

During quarantine, Mr. Alexander has not stopped helping the team improve. He has sent emails with videos and descriptions to help us improve our lacrosse IQ, and he has motivated us to stay fit with home workouts. 

Although we never got to play a game or even a scrimmage, we had fun during the time we had. As my teammate Holovchenko said, this season “lasted mere seconds, but even still, we found it satisfying.”