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Sports

Girls Junior Lacrosse of Poway Trains Future LAX Stars

The Girls Junior Lacrosse team of Poway serves as the feeder team to Poway High School, training girls from fifth through eighth grade.

The Girls Junior Lacrosse team of Poway wouldn’t be what it is today without eighth grader Isabella Flud.

“She’s like a monster on the field for us,” said team manager Matt Richards of Flud, who plays the attack position and has been on the team since the fifth grade. “She has an endurance that never ends, and that’s what they have to have in this sport.”

For several years now, GJLOP has been a feeder team to Poway High School, introducing girls from fifth through eighth grade to the non-traditional sport. The current roster has 22 players―only two of which hail from Meadowbrook Middle School; the others attend Twin Peaks Middle School.

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Richards―a naval officer who has served for 23 years―describes lacrosse as a combination of several sports.

“It has the speed of soccer and the tactical movement that you have on a basketball court,” he said. “The saying goes, ‘Lacrosse is the fastest game on two feet.’ ”

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The team is coached by Melissa Anderson, an award-winning player and member of the San Diego Women’s Lacrosse Club. Anderson’s expertise is supplemented by Sarah Spillett, head coach of PHS Varsity Lacrosse, who sends seasoned players over to support and mentor the younger girls.

“Lacrosse is a quick sport. A girl will pick up a stick and in a month she’s dangerous on the field,” Richards said. “So the high school girls will take the new players off to the side and show them moves or how to handle a stick.”

The team, which practices at Twin Peaks twice a week, is always looking for new players. For more information, visit gjlop.com or email Richards at gjlopoway@gmail.com.

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