Throughout her career at AHS, senior Kenzie Gardner has participated in both varsity field hockey in the fall and varsity lacrosse in the spring.

After her senior year, she will be headed to Eastern Mennonite University to play lacrosse.

She does indeed plan to be a part of the team and remain successful in the sport of Lacrosse.

“[Playing in college] was definitely not on my radar, but the stars aligned with a little bit of help from the DC LAX club team. As you can imagine, I am really excited to play on the first-ever Women’s Lacrosse team and looking forward to a great college LAX career,” Gardner said.

Q: What do you like about playing Lacrosse?
A: “At first, I never thought Lacrosse would be my sport during my high school career nor have I ever thought I will be playing at the college level next year.
What I like about playing Lacrosse is that it is a lot of fun, it’s something special and being part of a team, laughing and crying on the field with my teammates, is no greater feeling. Lacrosse to me is very satisfying to watch and play.”

Q: How did you discover your interest in lacrosse?
A: “I have played Field Hockey in the fall for the past three years and managed for my fourth year here at AHS. Field Hockey and Lacrosse are very similar. I wanted to do a spring sport but didn’t know what sport, so I chose Lacrosse. The coach had mentioned about the two sports being very similar during my freshman year. Lacrosse looked very easy. Little did I know, to catch a ball in a stick was a challenge for me. Along the way, I started to love the sport.”

Q: What are your strengths as a player?
A: “I consider myself as a natural leader, a motivator and helper. Another strength I would say is being a mid-fielder (going back and forth for offense and defense)with the speed I have.”

Q: How long have you been preparing for this season?
A: “To prepare for this upcoming season, I have started to go to the gym to get in shape up until now. I started going to the gym just after Field Hockey was over. I also put in some stick work by doing wall ball and passing with a couple of my friends. Earlier, I have joined DC Lax to keep up with my stick skills.”

Q: How long have you been playing?
A: “I have been playing Lacrosse since Freshman year of high school. I managed Lacrosse as a sophomore because of other priorities.”

Q: Do you plan to keep playing in college?
A: “I do plan to pursue playing Lacrosse on the first ever Women’s lacrosse team at Eastern Mennonite University for the four years! Lacrosse is my #1 sport.”

Q: What are your goals for the season?
A: “My main goal for the season is to push harder than ever. Other goals for the season, are to keep up with the communication on the field, fight for those groundballs and to never give up no matter what. I hope for this season to go farther than we have in the past.”

Q: What was your favorite memory of playing for AHS?
A: “My favorite memory playing for AHS was the bonds I have made with my teammates. Team bonding. Every laugh, every tear, and every consequence has made us become more confident, better players. I couldn’t thank them enough.”