Lacrosse
Ashley Smail
Teams: 3d New England, Pingree School, Colby
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Their story
From the field to the mentor's seat
I just completed my first year at colby on the lacrosse team. We made colby lacrosse history this year by making it to the NCAA tournament final fours for the first time ever. In high school at Pingree, I was a three sport varsity athlete playing lacrosse, ice hockey, and soccer. I was captain of both lacrosse and ice hockey my senior year. My pingree lacrosse team won our league (EIL) all 3 years (freshman year was canceled due of COVID). I was named All-NEPSAC Honorable mention, EIL All-Star, and Salem News All-Star honorable mention my senior year for lacrosse. I grew up playing lacrosse, starting at around 6 years old. I played every sport I possibly could, before I ultimately decided to play lacrosse in college going into my junior year in high school.
Why they mentor
“I think there is a lack of awareness for athlete's mental health, when it actually has a huge impact on athlete performance. Confidence is key for playing to your best ability and it's so easy for an athlete to get in their head due to playing time, mistakes, injuries, and more. In high school I had a big knee injury which had a huge impact on me both during and after the injury. I didn't really have the mentorship to help me get back on my feet mentally. I want to be that person for someone. Even just having someone that you can talk to that understands your circumstances that isn't on your team or at your school is so helpful. You can confide in them and they can help you walk through solutions. I think I've faced a lot challenges with injuries, playing time, confidence, etc both in high school and college and I've learned how to find the fun in the sport I love even when it gets hard. I want to help other people find that fun, especially when the sports world has gotten more and more stressful and intense.”
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