Last year, the San Rafael High School Girls Lacrosse team ended its season with a 24-to-1 loss. However disappointing the result, it was the first time the six-year-old varsity program had made it to the first round of NCS. 

According to players and coaches, the team’s work ethic and sense of community have allowed them to continue to improve and gain the respect of the other competitive teams in their league, who have not always viewed SRHS as a serious team.

After several tough seasons in a row, everyone involved wanted things to change. “It’s no longer how can I make myself better, it’s now what can I do for my teammates, and by improving myself I am also improving those around me,” said head coach Jeremie Brunet.

At the start of the program, there was only one girl who had ever played lacrosse before, even though many of the players viewed themselves as strong athletes because of their participation in other sports. 

Lacrosse is a high-intensity, fast-paced game. Many of the players did not know the rules of lacrosse. “We focused a lot on fundamentals and understanding the game,” stated Coach Brunet. They also did an excessive amount of fitness because one of his goals was to be the fittest team in the league. 

Piper Pomeroy, a senior on the team said, “When we were playing teams that we knew had a high likelihood of winning, we just wanted to make it tough.” In order to do so, they started preseason well in advance of the actual start of the season. This meant 6 am runs and weight lifting before school began. It was exhausting for the girls, but their family-like bond is what motivated them to show up. 

During the covid year, Hugo, the assistant coach of the team, and Coach Brunet started focusing more on mastering the craft of lacrosse. Coach Brunet said it was “first about just being way more athletic than other teams versus the past two years it’s been a lot more focused on us actually playing the game of lacrosse, passing the ball and taking those risks.” 

As the team kept working towards reaching their potential, many practices were surrounded around “tempo, agility, and repetition of things,” said Coach Hugo. Working on these things made the girls more comfortable in their abilities, thus improving their performance on the field. 

Ruby Jobe, a former player, helped change the work ethic of those around her. She was the only player that had ever played lacrosse before. Ruby took on a leadership role, coaching her teammates and motivating them to advance their talents. She said a large part of their success came from how close they were to each other. “The players brought one another up and helped each other find the we need win mentality.”

Coach Brunet not only focused on the physical abilities needed to play lacrosse, but he wanted the girls to be a family for each other. He helped build a community where the mentality was that “it’s good to be there for one another, but we also need to push one another to do better,” according to Ruby. She also helped create the tight-knit community the girls have and when she left a new leader came through. 

Senior lacrosse player Tenley Brovelli “helped change the mentality of every player and how we play as a team,” said Piper. “The team had a lot more drive and wanted to be there,” said Tenley. Their connections on the field were highlighted during one of their biggest wins of the season. Their game against Terra Linda High School was the most competitive game they played. Everything they had worked on up until this game, allowed them the chance to take TL down. 

Throughout last season, “we got to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and we were able to push each other to reach our potentials,” said Piper. Making NCS wasn’t easy, but their physical and mental toughness allowed them to do so. Their bond, love for lacrosse as well as each other, work ethic, and shift in mentality are what has led them to success. 

The San Rafael High School Girls Lacrosse team has made a comeback and the community of Marin County can only wait and see if they will continue to do so in their upcoming season.