Nerves skyrocket as the referee blows the first whistle, signaling the two teams to step onto the field. Before they go, they chant “Spartans on three! One! Two! Three!” Though they claimed Sparta, White Station High School had not claimed them … until now. 

The White Station Lady’s Lacrosse team has been a club sport for its entire history, making the team devoid of the benefits of being a school-sanctioned sport. After a few years of trying to become school-sanctioned, the team finally became an official part of Sparta. 

“Our coaches were pushing for [becoming school-sanctioned],” Kaitlyn Cooper (12) said. “They’ve had the team for a while.”

Before the process, the team practiced intensely and regularly, though they may have been missing an extra layer of motivation. Without being officially recognized, they were sometimes deemed lesser than other teams. Some school teams would underestimate them because they were not an “official team.”

“Before [becoming school sanctioned] we were still serious at practice,” Kennedi Waller (10) said. “Just a little less structured.”

On the field, not much has changed since becoming official; however, off the field, there are some advantages. The team now has the right to practice on school property, instead of their previous location at Sea Isle Park. The price for the team to exist decreased, so team fees can now go towards better uniforms and warm-up gear. 

“I’m really excited for our new gear,” Waller said. “[The warmups] are all black, so they’re fierce and intimidating.”

Not only have they gotten new uniforms, but the team now has a stronger motivation to work even harder than before. Since they are now fully on the same playing field as other school teams, practice during and outside of practice has increased. Though, since they are now a Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association team, they cannot start official practice until their designated spring season. 

“We are more focused on the end goal,” Waller said. “We are all more focused on our individual roles on the team, so we’re working more on our own to become a better team.”

Though the team may be in a transitional phase, they have maintained their strong, intimate team dynamic. They continue to uplift one another and celebrate each other through all kinds of wins and losses. 

“We’re all really close,” Cooper said. “Of course we have different relationships on and off the field, but we’re always really connected.”