As the season begins for Marlborough’s Varsity lacrosse team, the players are continuing their many traditions to bond the team and foster a supportive environment.
The Varsity lacrosse team won the CIF-SS Division III Championship in 2022 and were CIF-SS Division I runners-up in 2023. During these seasons, the team continued the long-lasting tradition of spirit sisters, where each upperclassmen is paired with an underclassmen. The duos make posters for each other throughout the year and partake in activities such as gift exchanges.
“Your spirit sister is really the person who you cheer extra hard for and who cheers extra hard for you,” Varsity lacrosse player Sofia ’24 said. “I remember how nice it was to have a senior spirit sister in 10th grade as it really helps to build a special bond between the younger and the older players.”
On game days, the team participates in a very loved postgame tradition. After the first game of the season, Varsity Head Coach Meghan Toomey gives a helmet to a player who she believes stood out. That player then signs the helmet and awards it to another player after the next game. By the end of the season, the helmet has usually been signed by the entire team.
“Traditions are very important for the team’s growth,” Toomey said. “Anything unique that we can create for our team that puts us in the right mindset for game day is really important.”
Similarly, there is a pregame tradition where a player is given a metal chain before the start of a game to praise their hard work in practice all week. It is passed along to a different teammate before each game and worn during the huddle.
“All of our traditions are really designed to connect the team more,” Toomey said. “They really allow for us to think and talk about [what] we want to do individually and together.”
For the last couple of years, the team has gathered in a circle before their playoff games with a large roll of yarn. One person will hold the yarn and say what they think the team has improved on this season and what their goals are for the next game. Then, they throw the roll to another person and a web is eventually created to connect every player. They each cut a piece of the string and tie it to their cleats to remain there for the rest of the season and for the years following.
“By the time we approach playoffs, we have already done so many of our traditions, which makes the season experience feel so personal, as you have gone through this great journey together,” Varsity lacrosse player Christina ’24 said. “I think a lot of our success has been created through our great team dynamic.”
