No time to ReLAX; Edwards makes her mark

Alyssa+Edwards+playing+as+a+goalie+from+the+All-American+Under+Armor+tournament.+

Alyssa Edwards playing as a goalie from the All-American Under Armor tournament.

Leah Hillier, Copy Editor

 

     North Harford is no stranger to feats of athleticism, one student who exemplifies this is sophomore Alyssa Edwards.

     Edwards is a goalie on North Harford’s varsity girls lacrosse team but, “sadly, due to COVID-19 [they] only got to play one game together.”   Despite the challenges due to the unusual circumstances, Edwards still says that “playing on the varsity team was great, I had lots of fun doing conditioning with them.” 

     Edwards has played on several club teams, True Lacrosse MD- which originally called Wolfpack, Elite Gray, and is currently playing for Skywalkers Blue, “one of the best club teams in the country,” according to Edwards.

     “My training is usually three days a week. I do conditioning with one coach and then the two other days, I go to goalie training to work on goalie specific things,” says Edwards, the skills she focuses on during goalie training include “speed, hand-eye coordination, and footwork.”

     Edwards says she enjoys forensic science, and “[she wants] to work for the FBI” after college.   As far as the colleges scouting her, she adds “being scouted is a great feeling; it makes you feel like all the hard work you put in is finally paying off,” she says.

     She dreams of “playing lacrosse at a Division One college,” of which there are only 375 in the United States.  Under seven percent of colleges in the United States are D1, according to the NCAA, and there are over “6,000 athletic teams” in the combination of these schools- which are in every state, and Washington D.C., except for Alaska.

     Out of the colleges that are scouting Edwards, Penn State is one.   “Penn State is one of my top 20 picks, and I’m interested in committing to their school,” the athlete said.

     One athlete Edwards looks up to is Megan Taylor, who graduated from the University of Maryland- College Park last year, but not before breaking many records, including being the first goalie to receive the Tewaaraton Award Winner in 2019, and being the first lacrosse player to ever become a finalist for the James E. Sullivan Award, and the recipient of the Big Ten goalie of the year for every year of her career at University of Maryland. Edwards wants to “become one of the best lacrosse goalies in history.”

     Edwards is well on her way, having played among the best in the country in the Under Armor All-American Lacrosse tournament, with the Maryland-based team Baltimore Girls – Command. “Preparing for Under Armor was very stressful.” She says, “it is one of the largest tournaments you can take part in as a lacrosse player.” 

     Edwards discussed how she modified her training regimen to prepare for it. “I made sure to train 4 days a week and workout at least 2 of those 4 days so I could stay in shape.”