Finding a new home after a battle, a ring and a bit of a media stir: settling into a post-collegiate club.

By Sara Crosby 

Having taken over the reigns of the WDPCC newsletter, I suppose it's fitting to introduce myself. But heck, I'm sure you've already seen my face in the magazines, and I bet you've heard of my team. Won our first title only four years after starting up the program. First team outside of the Eastern Time zone to win a championship. Created a bit of a flipflop flap when we went to the White House. You must have heard of us. Can't pin it down? Perhaps I should note: I'm not talking about Gotham, the post-collegiate team I play for in the Big Apple. I'm talking about my family. 

I played college lacrosse for Northwestern. I went out to Chicago and started the first Division I team the school had seen in over a decade. And within four years, we won our first National Championship. Proudest moment of my life thus far. So it may or may not come as a surprise that upon graduating, and after leaving the comforts of college and jumping into the real world that I would look for another team to replace the void left on the fields of Lake Michigan.  

But strange as it may sound, the hole I felt had little to do with lacrosse. After moving to New York City where I now live, I found that what I missed most had more to do with people than it did with lacrosse. After winning a DI National Championship, I had pretty much gone as far as I could go in terms of competitive play. There were no US Team tryouts in my future; I'd say a little prayer any time I had to cover Kristen Kjellman in practice. After graduation, I missed what had become, a thousand miles away from home, my family. So in the city of a million and more strangers, I sought out a new family, my post-collegiate club team.  

I've met my best friends here through my club team. I met my boyfriend at a mixer with our brother team in the city. We have a book club, a dinner group, a trainer group, a running group, and if our treasurer has her way, an 80's themed prom to look forward too, complete with Molly Ringwald pink puffy dresses and scrunchies. I have a new family. It's a different family from the one I had in college. With my teammates at Northwestern, I shared the feeling of having gone to battle; through all the fitness tests, the drills, and more fitness tests, we had fought together, pushed each other and made it together. The sense of community I feel with my club team differs, not surprisingly. And that's for the best. My post-collegiate club team is a sorority-of-sorts . We are a community.  

Part of what I believe, makes lacrosse and other team sports in general so special are their ability to create friendships. As more and more post-collegiate club teams spring up across the country, they both help to catalyze the growth of the sport and build communities alongside their rosters. Post-collegiate club lacrosse has the unique ability to combine the best aspects of the sport: playing lacrosse and that which transcends sport, the bonds between those whom you play for and play with. Sure, from time to time I miss playing at Northwestern with its secret plays and defenses that I'm sworn never to share (although I'm subtlety trying to weave them into Gotham when I can). But for now, I'm looking forward to the San Diego tournament, our next book club meeting, and our first party I'm throwing. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm even looking forward to pink prom dresses and matching scrunchies. From now on, when I walk into a team huddle, I no longer instinctually think Go Cats! From here on out, it's a new family. From here on out, it's Up Up Gotham!

 See you out on the field. Or the after party. I look forward to it.