First Adams Girls Lacrosse Team Begins Season

The female lacrosse players at in Rochester Hills are on their own this season after years playing on the Rochester United team with students from Stoney Creek High School.

Ashley Howald, varsity lacrosse coach and science teacher at Adams, said she was surprised by how many girls showed interest in coming out for the team.

“Had I known how many girls were going to be interested, we probably would have thought of forming another team,” Howald said.

Sarah Falkowski, a counselor at Adams, will lead the junior varsity team.

According to Howald, most of the girls who tried out for the team are seniors and juniors, with a few freshmen and sophomores sprinkled in. She also noted that about half of the girls have played on the Rochester United team, and about half are going out for their first time.

Junior Lindsay Janes, 16, said that in her couple of years' playing for the United team, she enjoyed making friends with students at other schools — but she is excited that Adams has its own team now.

“It’s a lot more convenient,” Janes said. “Everybody’s just ready to have practices at their own school — it’s good for us.”

Janes also agreed with a point Howald made: The United team was too big. There were so many players and not enough playing time, so by having their own team this year, the Adams girls will be able to secure more time on the field.

One of the hardships while the weather is in limbo will be scheduling practice times that don't conflict with the many other spring sports going on, said Jason Rapp, Adams athletic director. When the weather clears up and spring is in full swing, the schedules should be much more manageable, he said.

“It’s going to make for a very busy spring,” Rapp said. “But the interest level has grown so much, it became kind of cumbersome to have a united team, and it’s good the girls have an opportunity to represent their own school.”

For Howald, being the head coach of the first Adams girls lacrosse team means a lot.

Howald was a high school player for the first United girls lacrosse team, which was formed between Rochester High School and Adams High School in the spring of 2000. From there, the two schools joined forces for girls lacrosse with Stoney Creek as well. Within the past few years, Rochester split off because it had enough girls to make a team.

“I’m really excited,": Howald said. "Having been on the first-ever United team and coaching the first-ever Adams team is amazing.

“It’s just great to see the program from the beginning to where it is now,” she said.

Rapp said he has confidence that Howald will build a strong program and bring a good level of intensity to the team. Howald said she would like to see her team make playoffs.

The team's first game is Tuesday at Clarkston High School. The junior varsity team plays at 5:30 p.m., and varsity plays at 7 p.m.