Sophomore Coco Mehney has many things that she is passionate about, some being her relationships with her friends and family, but also lacrosse. Coco first became invested in the sport at a young age, wanting to try it out with her friend whose brother also played.

“I’ve been playing lacrosse since second grade,” Coco said. “Me and my friend [and] both our brothers played, and so we wanted to join to see how it was.”

Coco and her friend both decided they would go and try out for the team together. They made it and Coco decided to carry out this sport; she has been playing ever since. Her favorite part about being on the team is the relationships that she has formed with her fellow teammates. 

“The relationships you build and the chemistry depend on your teammates to help you if you need it,’’ Coco said. “Everyone comes together and you can’t win without the whole team.” 

Coco enjoys the time that she spends with these teammates. They have a bond like no other, and the chemistry they’ve formed over the years, along with the dependency they tend to have on one another while playing this physical sport is crucial.

“Aside from actually playing, my team and I would have team dinners and we would snap each other in group chats using weird filters,” Coco said

Coco’s team is not only competitive together but also shares fun memories, sharing laughs alongside one another creating meaningful moments they won’t know they’ve made until later on. She enjoys this type of environment of being able to boost each other up to help each other succeed.

“It’s a very strong environment,” Coco said. “Even when it’s not the most cheerful and we’re all getting in the zone of the game, It’s still a very strong environment.”

The atmosphere that this sport brings Coco the motivation that both she and her teammates need so they can win the following games to come in her season. She works her butt off to win the ball at her position to hopefully win the ball over for her team. 

The position Coco plays is quite impressive, being the one on the field who starts out the game and each draw to come after that. Some others have tried Coco’s position but struggled to find their footing.

“[My position is] how the game starts. It’s a very technical position, taking draws is very technical,” Coco said. “A lot of people don’t understand how to do it, so it’s fun.”

Her position is the center position where she takes each of the draws in the middle of the field. It is her against her opponent, leaving her to be very technical and use strategy to win the ball over. 

While playing in her most recent season, Coco got to experience her first goal for the high school team as a freshman. This has been her favorite memory so far in her lacrosse career. 

“Last year, when I scored my first goal as a freshman, my whole team came and celebrated together,” Coco said. “It was something I’d never experienced [before]. A team [that was] coming all together to celebrate a new accomplishment that’s never happened before.”