Boys’ lacrosse captain optimistic after recent losses
Alexander Hager puts focus on teammates
Junior Alexander Hager runs to advance the ball toward the opponent’s goal. Park defenders allowed zero goals during the second quarter of their game against Hopkins April 16.
April 24, 2019
According to long-stick midfielder, junior Alexander Hager, he has been playing lacrosse since eighth grade and has begun targeting his efforts as a new captain on building better chemistry on the team.
“I have a lot of good friends on the team and there is a sense of brotherhood. They are like a second family, and I just love being near them,” Hager said.
According to Hager, he is excited to be a leader in lacrosse, but also wants to achieve some personal accomplishments throughout his second varsity season.
“I love the sport as well, it’s fast paced and there’s some contact,” Hager said. “One of my goals is to score at least one goal as a varsity player.”
Park’s lacrosse team has a plethora of fresh players who should be welcomed to the varsity team, according to Hager.
“I have to say, this team is very young,” Hager said. “We have some new players and a lot of new players that are new to playing on the varsity level.”
According to another captain, senior Noah Houser, the new players should begin by mastering the basics before worrying about facing varsity opponents.
“We have a very new team, so we’re working on fundamentals,” Houser said. “Lots of passing, lots of drills. We have one direction to go and that’s up.”
Although the team hasn’t won any games, Park looks to improve throughout the season by working on building personal connections in addition to basic teamwork skills, according to Hager.
“At the moment, the team is new to the sport and we can’t really do any complex drills,” Hager said. “We are having trouble with passing and catching, which is just kind of holding us back.”
According to Hager, he understands there’s more to teamwork than learning how to pass to each other, and plans to show what it means to be a good captain and teammate.
“I’ll be leading by example, doing my best and live by our core values as a team,” Hager said. “Hopefully players will be inspired by that.”
Park is currently 0-3 in the season and has its next game against St. Paul at 5 p.m. April 25 at the St. Louis Park High School Stadium, according to MN Lacrosse Hub.
