Our Marco Island Academy Lady Rays have been very successful since the first girl’s teams were created. Our girl’s basketball and volleyball teams have been very dominant in their respective divisions for many years.
Last year, MIA introduced boy’s lacrosse to our athletics program as another sport perfectly tailored for our new Manta Ray Field. The team went 4-5 and did very well in their first year. Though this was impressive, our Lady Rays felt left out of the excitement due to there being no female counterpart to the men’s team.
One outspoken voice on this issue is junior Lily Tessarzik. Tessarzik plays soccer for MIA and is involved in a series of clubs, including Interact and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Last year, Tessarzik observed that MIA having its own field helps bring in more eyes to women’s sports. Currently, the only women’s sport that utilizes the area is soccer.
“The new field at MIA really made playing soccer more enjoyable, and after soccer season was over I really missed having a sport to play on our field,” said Tessarzik. Watching boy’s lacrosse play in the spring only sparked her interest further to create a girl’s team.
To start a team, Tessarzik first had to recruit players. What she found in her search was that there are already a decent amount of girls who play lacrosse, but for an opposing team, Lely High School. They were automatically on board, wanting to play for their own school and to be more involved with the sports culture and pride the new field has created.
Next Tessarzik approached our principal, Miss Scott, who expressed her support and helped to set up an interest meeting for the sport last year. The meeting had a small amount of girls, but it sparked a lot of inquiries afterward that have helped gather a group to play.
Due to the interest, our athletic director Mr. Miller has officially approved the team, and they are taking the next steps to ensure their success. Practices are set to begin in the spring alongside the boy’s team.
“Some people are still skeptical about us starting the program because it is a male-dominated sport,” Tessarzik claims, “but we hope it will bring more attention to girls’ athletics at MIA as a whole, and end the skepticism.” Many girls and Tessarzik are very excited and optimistic about this new spring sports opportunity for girls!
