This year, CHS athletics is welcoming the addition of the Girl’s lacrosse team. With the addition of another female sport’s team, CHS is moving towards a very diverse and accommodating athletics program.

CHS now has two lacrosse programs under coach Don Bowers. Bowers, a former division two lacrosse standout and professional Canadian lacrosse player, has plenty of experience with the game and has coached his club team Top Tech for multiple years. Bowers looks to create a competitive roster with the assistance of Al Vanhook, who is integrating the girls into the 5th period class where they will train and condition with the boys under Vanhook’s leadership.

“The girls are working hard to make history as the first CHS girls Lacrosse team in a while,” said Vanhook. “The girls want to make it a successful season.”

The teams’ weekly schedule is: weight room conditioning on Monday along with shooting and passing drills on Tuesday. On Thursday, the girls condition with Al in the weight room. The thorough practice schedule put in place is tailored to help develop the girls’ abilities to their fullest potential.

According to Vanhook and Bowers, the athletics program has been seeking to create a girls lacrosse team for quite a while, and this year they finally had enough girls to form a legitimate team.

“In a first year program we are just looking to grow the team,” said Coach Bowers. “We hope to bring in new players and be as competitive as we can be while having fun and learning the game.”

The team is made up of 21 girls from all grades who are eager to take on the challenge of a new sport. Bowers is still searching to fill out a more complete roster and has been working diligently to promote his new team.

“We will continue to accept girls until February,” said Coach Bowers. “So, if any girls would like to learn a new sport, please don’t be shy.  Most of our team started playing just this year!”

Girls lacrosse is a spring sport so CHS students will not be able to see them in action for a couple months. The girls team will be participating in the Marmonte League and in tournaments with other Los Angeles based teams. As the players begin to develop and the program strengthens, optimism will surely grow for the upcoming season with strong community involvement. Bowers and his players have high hopes for the opening season and big goals for the future. •