Video Transcript
Hello Chargers, and welcome to Pin Oak Press, a student-led journalism program held at Pin Oak Middle School. I’m Lucia Tudela, and today’s story is about the girls’ lacrosse team and their upcoming season. Luckily for us, we got the chance to talk to Olivia Zager and Ellie Ryals, two girls’ lacrosse players who have been playing for three years, and ask them some questions as the new season begins.
Ellie: Hi, my name is Ellie Ryals. I’m a lacrosse player, and I’ve been playing for six years, but this is my third year playing for Pin Oak.
Interviewer: What is your goal for this lacrosse season?
Ellie: My goal for this lacrosse season is to beat the Dragons. They’re a lacrosse team that’s really good, and we’ve lost to them the last two years. I think if we keep practicing and getting better, we can beat them.
Interviewer: What’s the best part of being on the Pin Oak lacrosse team?
Ellie: The friendships you make. I’ve met a lot of people playing lacrosse for Pin Oak that I probably wouldn’t have been friends with if I didn’t play. Some of my really good friends are people I met through lacrosse.
Interviewer: How do you balance school and lacrosse?
Ellie: I try to get as much work done as I can at school. After school, I have lacrosse four days a week, so it can be hard. The more I do at school, the less I have to do at home, which gives me more time for lacrosse.
Interviewer: What skills do you think your team needs to work on?
Ellie: Catching and throwing. A lot of the time, we make lazy passes, and they’re really bad. If we did more wall ball—throwing the ball against the wall and catching it—we’d improve a lot because catching and throwing is what the whole game is about. Also, we need to work on running and getting in shape.
Interviewer: What drills do you do for running?
Ellie: Well, they’re not really drills. If we’re talking too much, we’ll just run. It helps because we talk a lot, so we end up running a lot, and that makes us better.
Olivia Zager: Hi, I’m Olivia Zager. I’m a Pin Oak Middle School lacrosse player, and I’ve been playing for the full three years since sixth grade.
Interviewer: How has the “little sisters” program helped the team?
Olivia: The little sisters program has helped a lot this season. The younger players work with the big sisters, which gives them more confidence on the field. They always know they can pass to their big sister, so they feel more connected during games.
Interviewer: What’s your favorite lacrosse drill?
Olivia: The star drill. Everyone gets to pass, and it uses everyone’s abilities. There are five lines shaped like a star, and you pass to the second person to your right. Everyone keeps passing, so everyone gets a turn. Plus, we count up to win a prize, which makes it fun.
Interviewer: What’s your best lacrosse memory?
Olivia: Definitely Aggieland. Over the years, we’ve gone to Aggieland for sixth and seventh grades, and in eighth grade, we might go somewhere different, but we’ll probably still go to Aggieland. It’s always a really good team bonding experience.
Interviewer: What is Aggieland?
Olivia: Aggieland is our annual tournament. It’s the biggest tournament we play in. We leave on Friday, play games on Saturday and Sunday, and stay overnight. Even if we lose, it’s still really fun, but this year, we’re going to win!
Interviewer: What do you do in practice that helps you win games?
Olivia: Probably drills that help us talk more on the field. During practice, we talk a lot, but during games, we get quiet. Hopefully, we can fix that by calling things out during practice and doing more wall ball.
Thank you, Olivia and Ellie, for sharing. We wish you and the rest of the girls’ lacrosse team a great season!
Pin Oak Press 