Lacrosse is one of the only sport at Cape Coral High School that only has a girls team. As the team prepares or their upcoming season in spring, they reflect on what they worked on last season, and what being on the team means for them.

“Overall, we did very well last season. We are all hoping for a winning record this season,” junior Ella Bernard stated. The team was 5-5 last season, with equal wins and losses, not counting the district game.

Last year’s offense was especially strong at the beginning of the season, only improving throughout the rest. While head coach Dianne Kimble recalls defense struggling at the beginning of the year, the team worked hard and built up their strength.

“Once we nailed that down [defense], things got much better and did really well,” Kimble said.

Junior Emily Senter credited last season to creating a system within the team, contributing to their success, “I hope for us to have another good season with our system and perfect it for more wins in the future,” Senter said.

New to lacrosse, junior Mikala Allen explained how the team always makes you feel welcome and supported.

“My favorite part of my teammates is that everyone is unique, has different skill levels, and just overall they are some of the best people who are always encouraging and energetic,” Allen stated.

“It [only having a girls team for lacrosse] makes us kind of special, ‘’ Kimble
said. “But at the same time I wish there was more of a lacrosse presence down
here.”

The team’s hope is for lacrosse to become a more popular sport in Southwest Florida, so there’s more events for them to play in throughout the year, instead of just the spring season.

“We had a very young team and one of the things we have struggled with in the past was developing a strong defense,” Kimble said. However, the team is excited to show off what they learned last season,when solidifying their defense and roles on the team.

“I think our lacrosse team will improve this season because I feel that with the experience from the players we have on the team, this year will be a confidence boost for this upcoming season,” Allen stated.

Allen has been practicing over the summer, specifically working on handling the stick to be able to catch the ball more efficiently.

Kimble anticipates new players for this season, as well as Allen. Also on the varsity girls soccer team, Allen has heard from some of her teammates that they may be interested in joining the sport because of its similarity to soccer, and the enjoyment they’ve seen lacrosse players have for the sport.

This coming season will be Kimble’s fourth season as coach. While she’s heard requests from boys concerning the boys lacrosse program coming back,
Kimble thinks only having a girls team makes Cape High unique in this area.

Cape High has a strong lacrosse team, represented only by girls. This is nearly 50 years after Title IX was passed, prohibiting gender discrimination in federally funded school based program. This made sure everyone had an equal opportunity to play a specific sport, regardless of gender.

“Being on a team only represented by girls at Cape is fair, fun, and something I’m proud of,” Allen said.

While the boys lacrosse team was dismissed years ago, the continuation and success of girls lacrosse is exciting to see at Cape High.

“My biggest strength is playing offense,” Bernard stated, ready for the new
season to begin.

The 2022-23 season for Cape High’s lacrosse team will start in January, with tryouts beginning at the start of the month, and the playing season to start in February.