Pembroke’s Cassie Escabi moves upfield despite a stick to the face from a defender. Like Escabi, the PA lacrosse club program has overcome obstacles, recently receiving school board permission to move to junior varsity status next year. (Courtesy Photo)

By Sapna Pathak
Staff Writer

The fate of the Pembroke Academy boys and girls lacrosse teams was decided on Tuesday, May 23, when the school board unanimously voted in favor of granting the 3-year-old club program junior varsity status for the 2007 season.

A contingency was added based on the teachers’ union approving coaches’ stipends.

This year the Lady Spartans have played a mixed bag of junior varsity, freshman and club squads.

Head coach Sharon Kelly has several years of experience coaching and officiating girls lacrosse, but she was pleasantly surprised by Pembroke.

“Because I’ve coached at the upper levels, I’ve had to come back to square one coaching,” said Kelly. “It’s about focusing on the fundamentals, but these girls really picked it up far quicker than I thought.”

Kelly said the lack of a feeder program for Pembroke players hinders their ability to match up with far more experienced opponents. But, she added, the newly earned JV status should attract more students.

Virtually all of Kelly’s 18 players had never picked up a lacrosse stick until joining the club squad. Some play off-season sports such as basketball and field hockey.

Faye Lesniewski quickly picked up the keys to being a strong defender due to her basketball skills. And Kelly said her field hockey players have no problem with endurance.

Kelly illustrated a catch-22 of being a club team.

“On the one hand, playing on NHIAA-sanctioned teams looks better to colleges than club teams,” said Kelly. “On the other, it’s hard to move from club to school-funded status because you have to show kids are coming out for the teams. How do you ask to pay for a team when you don’t have a consistent amount of players?”

After winning this year’s first four games, Kelly said, the girls are more positive, and more players have joined the Spartans. She still maintained, though, that some parents may have reservations about making a financial commitment to a new sport.

Despite the hurdles, Kelly said the team has survived three years thanks to the time her players spend fundraising.

Seniors on the roster are Ashley Poulin, Jess Palmer, Faye Andrews, Alyssa Hanley, and Kristie Caron.

Kelly described sophomore Rose Palmer as the most promising player. Kelly said she was amazed by how quickly Palmer adapted to the sport.

“She’s going to be an incredible lacrosse player,” said Kelly. “She’s shown, at a young age, she’s capable of committing to this sport, whether it’s on a club or JV team.”