In the spring of 2005, John T. Hoggard substitute teacher Erin Redmond gathered a group of around 15 students to form a Hoggard Vikings girls’ lacrosse club. They raised funds to buy uniforms and set up a few scrimmages. In 2006, they became a varsity team but won just a single game that year. Four years later, in 2010, they played in the state championship.
The team’s rapid ascent could be credited to the general rise in popularity of lacrosse. It is the fastest-growing sport in the country, Redmond said. But Redmond herself could also be the reason for the young program’s success — her supportive approach to coaching and that same mentality she instilled in her players.
“You have to have chemistry, on the field and off the field,” senior Taylar Herman said. “She makes sure we have that, that we have a good bond because that way we can communicate well with each other on the field.”
In the first few years of the program, the team did not have enough players to field a junior varsity and varsity team. Still, Redmond did not want to discourage those lacking experience from playing the sport because they weren’t included on the varsity roster.
“I’ve done a developmental-type group,” she said, “where they’ll come to practice, and I can’t promise they’ll practice a ton but I’ll stay after practice and work with them on skills … and then, in certain games, they can play a little bit.”
Lacrosse is a difficult sport to play, she added, because it requires a variety of coordination, talent and athleticism. The midfielders can run as much as 7 miles a game. While Redmond is willing to help the girls develop these skills, players can also now gain experience through the Cape Fear Lacrosse Association.
Although such organizations are evidence of the sport’s growing popularity in New Hanover County, Redmond gives her team opportunities every year to take on the ultra-competitive lacrosse programs in the Triad and even as far away as Maryland.
“That’s the capital of lacrosse. … Lacrosse up there is like football down here,” Herman said, remembering a trip the team took her sophomore year. “We got killed in that game but we learned so much from it.”
Playing against tough teams forces the girls to raise their game, testing their physical abilities to prove themselves competitively.
“We’re constantly pulling ourselves up to Raleigh standards and wanting to show them that we’re not just a little team from the beach,” Redmond said.
There is one rival in particular. While the Vikings defeated Green Hope High School in double overtime on the way to the state championship game in 2010, the current roster has never beaten the Raleigh powerhouse. The seniors remember the emotion of losing a tight match to Green Hope their sophomore year..
“That was probably the best game that we’ve ever played,” senior Julia Buehler said. “We were down after the second half and our coach did an awesome job motivating us. … We had the opportunity but we just couldn’t finish.”
The seniors on the team have accrued an impressive number of wins and created enduring friendships. But they want to end their high school athletic careers with a victory against Green Hope and a run at the state championship.
“They’ve beaten us every year I’ve been there,” Buehler said. “I want to go out and beat them our senior year.”
“It’s the last hurrah,” Herman agreed. “All or nothing.”
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