As a new season begins, many people can agree that lacrosse is one of the most popular spring sports. With that popularity, the sport can garner much more interest in how it performs this season.

This season does not look like it will disappoint fans as the boys varsity lacrosse team has faced a variety of schools during both the preseason and early regular season.

So far, the team has had a great deal of success. For one, they had a perfect preseason due to their wins against C.D. Hylton and Woodbridge, whose season was ended by AHS in the regional tournament last year.

During their first game of the season against Washington-Lee, they played a dominant game offensively and won 16-8. The top scorer for the Atoms was Alex Bellem with five goals.

Despite the team having to face some notoriously challenging teams like West Potomac on March 18 and T.C. Williams on March 20, many people are confident that lacrosse is on a positive path to success later in the season.

Unfortunately, the results of the game against West Potomac on March 18 were not available by the publication date of this article, as the game had not yet been played.

As for any sport the coach needed to get both their players and rosters ready for the new season to be as successful as possible.

Additionally, the way coach Bill Maglisceau prepares the lacrosse team is no different.

“We practiced for six weeks starting from Feb. 18th until our first game,” coach Maglisceau said.

As for any team, both players and the coach determine the future success of the team in the district, regional, or even state tournament.

As a result, each and every team has their respective strengths and weaknesses.

“We have decent goalie and face off situations and our top scorers on the team are back and stronger,” coach Maglisceau said.

One of the most important things for a team throughout their season is improvement in performance to be strong during postseason.

Every team wants to constantly play better each game leading up to important postseason games even if they come off of a loss.

In coach Maglisceau’s eyes his teams always improve before the conclusion of the season.

“We hope to perform better than last years with more wins this season, but it is too early to tell what this season holds for AHS,” Maglisceau said.

But, something to keep in mind is that even though varsity lacrosse is constantly improving and training to get better, the exact same thing is happening in other schools.

In fact, other teams can improve at greater rates, improving success during postseason.

So it is safe to say that not all their games will be easy wins especially important ones against T.C. Williams or West Potomac, one of whom AHS will have to beat to have a shot at winning the district.

To coach Maglisceau, there are specific games that serve as greater obstacles to lacrosse’s success.

“T.C. Williams and West Potomac are some good teams in our district that will be tough teams to beat, but we cant sleep on Mount Vernon or Hayfield,” coach Maglisceau said.

Another factor that will contribute to the team’s hopeful success this season is the amount of returning players to the varsity squad.

Overall, most of the team, both offense and defense, is composed of returning seniors who are experienced in the game and have prepared during the offseason.

So, as shown in their first few games of the season, there will be a lot to be excited about for the future of AHS lacrosse this season.