As their cleats are laced up and their gear is put on, the Kinnelon Girls Lacrosse Team feels the anticipation and excitement for the season. Throughout spring, KGL plans to strive in its 2025 season. With a mix of returning players and new faces, Coach John Mortimer looks forward to seeing everyone’s skills contribute to the KGL team.
If every player puts their best foot forward, they are expected to travel through the season with many wins. “The season is off to a great start. A lot of the players are bringing good energy and coming in with positive attitudes, which is exactly what we need to prepare for our season,” said Mortimer.
Before the season, the team prepared and worked on their skills with the many opportunities provided by Mortimer. The team started practicing in August in summer camps, trained weekly in the weight room, and participated in scrimmages against other high school teams.
“Coach Mortimer has given us countless opportunities to improve by creating summer camps for us and hosting conditioning exercises in the weight room every Tuesday and Thursday,” said junior Olivia Bsales. Mortimer has been giving the team these opportunities since the beginning of the school year until right before the season starts.
KGL conditioning. Video by Kira Symmons
“We had scrimmages at Turf City every Sunday against different high school teams that we will be playing against throughout the season, which will only prepare us and make us better as we get into the season,” said junior Madison Gigante. With the preparation of pre-season games, KGL is already one step ahead and ready for the season.
On the other hand, leadership has been a key factor for this season. The senior captains, Kira Symmons and Aly Alexander, have been setting the tone for the team by helping younger players and boosting the intensity of practices. The upperclassmen have also stepped up and helped use their voices to guide the younger players through this new chapter. “Although we only have Kira and Aly left as seniors, they know what it takes to succeed and how to bring that to the team,” Mortimer said.
As the team continues to work hard on their skills, they also have to set goals for themselves so they can improve one step at a time. Although winning games is always the goal, the main priority is to improve each player as an individual and the team as a whole. “Coach always tells us that the star of the team is the team and to focus on the progress, not just the outcome of this season,” said Alexander.
Moreover, practices began taking place every day of the week, and the team has already seen progress. “I am very happy with how we are starting this year, and I can already see how much all of the off-season training has helped,” said Mortimer.
KGL continues to work hard this spring season, and they are ready to take on any challenges. Let the 2025 season begin, and good luck!
