The typical “Tiger athlete experience” includes a team full of fellow Tigers, and of course, the thrill of competing against rival BV schools. 

Now consider what it would be like to play on a team composed of these rivals, except for this isn’t just a scenario for senior Julia Walsh and junior Addi Ruisinger. 

The two share the unique experience of being players competing on the only girls lacrosse team in the district — one that happens to be composed of students from all five of the schools. 

“It’s really fun to meet girls from all the different Blue Valley schools,” Walsh said. “I’ve made a lot of really close friends from North and West, and it’s fun to come together with girls that are all having different types of experiences. We talk about our schools [and] what’s going on.”

Before their time on the Titans, Walsh and Ruisinger partook in different introductions into the world of lacrosse. 

“I started playing lacrosse around middle school [when] they had a week where we did lacrosse, basketball and soccer, so I picked it up from there,” Ruisinger said. “There was a flier they passed out during PE class saying you could go practice with this team or just try it out, so I decided to do it. I fell in love with it.”

Despite playing soccer and softball before, the maneuvers of lacrosse were an adjustment for Ruisinger, with upper-body strength being a key aspect she had to target as goalie.

“Learning how to use a stick [to] throw and catch with it — it’s a bit of a learning process, but you get the hang of it,” Ruisinger said. “My biggest struggle, [is] trying to build up my strength because the goalie stick is very big, and it’s very difficult to throw with. At home, I do some strength training like lifting weights, push ups — just anything I can do to benefit my upper body.”

Walsh, on the other hand, has held a lacrosse stick for as long as she can remember.

“I started playing in kindergarten,” Walsh said. “It was a really big sport when I used to live in New Jersey, so they started really young with clinics. That’s when I picked it up and haven’t stopped playing since.”

Despite lacrosse’s relative recency to the area, Walsh’s upbringing fueled her desire to play competitively even after moving to Kansas. 

“Whenever I lived in New Jersey, I was on a club team, so I really wanted to continue with that when I moved here,” Walsh said. “Lacrosse wasn’t as big of a sport, so there were a lot of new clubs starting. I’ve been on a lot of different teams, and the high school teams and middle school teams are a really fun experience. ”

Part of what makes playing on the high school team unique for Walsh and Ruisinger is the difference in schools they compete against. 

“We get to play a lot of teams that our other school teams don’t play,” Walsh said. “We play a lot of private schools and teams that are further outside of the district because it’s the KC Metro League, not a KSHSAA League.”

The girls may be from all across the district, but this has had no hindrance on their closeness as a team. 

“My favorite part is definitely the sense of community we have,” Ruisinger said. “We all feel like a family.”

From a club-player perspective, Walsh appreciates how this team serves as a fulfilling outlet for her. 

“I love the practices — it’s more light-hearted, [and] there’s more flexibility with it,” she said. “We’re also really close with our coach, so it’s more of a fun experience — it just feels like I’m with my friends every day. At the same time, there’s still a lot of skill and talent on our team, [so] it’s fun to be able to win but also sit back and have a good time at practice.”

This season has been memorable for Walsh in a multitude of ways.

“I’m excited to have a little bit more leadership because I’ve been a freshman and sophomore on varsity, and I was very close with the upperclassmen,” she said. “It’s fun to have my turn to be an upperclassman and lead girls I’ve become so close with. I’m also excited because we have a big team this year, so there’s a lot more opportunities. I’m excited for the tournament at the end of this season, which is always a big deal.”

With the close relationships she has built over the past four years, Walsh acknowledges the difficulty of being a friend and a captain to her teammates. 

“It’s hard to tell people what to do and find that happy medium of ‘I need to be helping you, but also, you’re one of my really close friends — I don’t want to be yelling at you,’” she said. “Learning from my coach has been really helpful — [we] make practices fun, but also have seriousness where we’re able to really improve our skills. We’ve won State in the past, and we’ve always made it far in the tournament, so I wouldn’t want to give that up this year just to mess around at practice. ”

Walsh and Ruisinger encourage people of all skill levels to give lacrosse a try. 

“I don’t think it requires much prior knowledge,” Ruisinger said. “We have some new girls on the team, which I love. The best part is how supportive everybody is — if you mess up or do something wrong, all we’re trying to do is help you fix it. I’m always asking people if they want to come out and try it because honestly, it’s so fun — you just have to get the hang of it.”