A Look Into LAX

Senior Margaret Krause makes a stray pass to the other team in a girl’s’ lacrosse game against Shawnee Mission South, a silly mistake. She is immediately scolded by the coach, “Margaret, we have to make this better c’mon!.” She looks over and yells while rolling her eyes, “OK, Dad.”

Lacrosse coach Kevin Krause just ignores her — he understands her defiant personality and takes it with a grain of salt because he used to be that way too. But this defiance has served her well on the field. She will be playing lacrosse next spring at Adrian College in Michigan.

Margaret hopes to help the underclassman who want to play college lacrosse. She compares watching the underclassmen to watching her kids grow up right in front of her, just like her dad has done for her for eight years.

Margaret constantly tries to encourage girls to play lacrosse by spreading the word with advertisements in the school newspaper and hosting open practices. Her efforts seem to be paying off, as almost 20 new players have joined the team this year. Even with all the new players, the girls feel experienced because they have seven returning seniors.

Although Margaret is a varsity player, she wants the whole program to be successful. Varsity is expected to improve on their 8-4 record from last year.

Barely missing the playoffs last year, the team was unorganized, Margaret says, but this year she and her dad feel like they have a better understanding of the team’s goals.They sat down together and discussed exactly what they want from the teams and what the expectations will be.

One of Margaret’s expectations is that the girls continue to practice hard and play to their strengths which will give them a chance to win every game.

“Our goal is to be one of the top four teams and be in the playoffs,” Kevin Krause, Margaret’s dad said.

Margaret also wants to the girls to focus on going to every practice and going to all the team building events. This includes events like a fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings and team dinners.

Kevin wants to help improve each individual player by having the players run drills specific to their weaknesses. That way they can continue climbing up the ladder, whether that be moving up to play with JV or Varsity.

This mindset will also help the beginning players get a better understanding of the sport and begin to appreciate it more.

They will learn the technical basics from experienced players like Margaret.

“There are many college lacrosse opportunities these days as many schools are adding women’s lacrosse as a varsity sport,” Kevin said.

Both Margaret and her father hope that each player can bring the passion and energy needed to win to every game. That is one of the many things she will miss most about high school lacrosse.