Live Love Lacrosse

by Barbara Clanton

  “Really, Mom?” Addie added.

  “Yes, your father and I talked about it, and . . .” She hesitated for a moment. “We weren’t going to say anything until we were sure, but your father is putting in for a transfer to Syracuse and I’m looking into a nursing program at Onondaga Community College right up the road by the mall.”

  “We’re moving to Syracuse?” Troy asked. “Like, as in forever?”

  “I think so, honey. I mean we haven’t worked out all the details yet, but Daddy and I are going to start looking for a house near here.”

  “We can live with Daddy again?” Addie blurted around the whirlwind of thoughts swirling in her head. Did that mean she could go to middle school with Kimi? Could she play lacrosse with Kimi, too, all the way through high school and college?

  Her mother nodded, the smile on her face growing with every second. Addie was fiercely proud of her mother at that moment. Not only was she obviously going for something she wanted, but she was standing up to her own mother. Addie had never seen her do either of these things before.

  Addie took a deep breath of relief. With her parents finally ending their fight, she understood how strained their lives had been back in Watertown. It’s funny how you can look back and see things so differently. She also remembered something Kimi told her when Addie was getting herself worked up about not being ready to play on Saturday. Kimi had said, “First you re-LAX and then you LAX on.”

  Addie had laughed then but realized how profound Kimi’s statement was. What Kimi meant was that first you had to chill out about whatever was on your mind and then you had to do something about it. And right now she had to LAX ON and get ready for her game.

  She finished her dinner, put her dishes in the sink, and headed toward the stairs to her room. With a cry of, “LAX on!” she bolted up the stairs to get ready for her triumphant return.

  Chapter 23

  LAX for Life!

  IT FELT REALLY weird to Addie to warm up for a real game where she might play more than three minutes, but she did her best to keep the butterflies in her stomach in check.

  “This is a nice field,” Addie said to Kimi as Taylor and Paige led them in stretching.

  “The Lassies are from the hoity-toity side of town,” Kimi said.

  “Oh, yeah? And where are we from?” Addie knew it sounded weird to say “we,” but ever since her mother told them they would be staying in Syracuse, she’d begun to think of Syracuse as her home.

  “We’re from the happy, but poor side of town.”

  Addie laughed and went back to stretching quietly.

  Kimi’s parents had driven them to the field a few exits north on I-81 to the Lake Oneida Lassies home field. On the drive up, Addie’s excitement almost overwhelmed her. Her parents were getting back together; they were permanently moving to Syracuse; and, of course, she was finally getting to play lacrosse again after three weeks of torture. Torture she’d brought on herself, but whatever. Captain Janeway had lived through worse torture and survived. Like Janeway, Addie found that she had the inner strength to keep going. She was moving on and figuring out a healthy lifestyle. And if she had her way, it would be a lifestyle that included lacrosse.

  After a brief meeting with Coach Marks, they began their warm ups. This time, though, Addie was warming up to play the entire game. Even though she and Kimi had worked out the entire week leading up to the game, she wasn’t sure if she had the stamina to last the whole time. She was still overweight and hadn’t been allowed to exercise for two whole weeks. But as she’d learned from Dr. Wright, worrying about things that were out of your control was pointless and might do more harm than good. Addie decided she would put forth her best effort and, whatever that amounted to, she would know it was her best. And she knew she could count on Kimi to continue to help her get in better and better shape as the summer went on.

  They started the scoop/roll/pass drill and it felt good. Addie’s blood was really pumping when they moved on to the three on two drill. She, Taylor, and Paige fed each other the ball and kept Brooke on her toes. Addie almost scored a goal much to Brooke’s dismay. Brooke’s temper tantrums about getting scored upon were becoming legendary. So much so that the rest of the team had to find ways to not get sucked into her foul moods.

  Taylor teased Brooke good-naturedly by saying, “Hey, Brooke, you can get up now. The play is over.”

  Brooke burst out laughing and then called back, “Hey, Taylor, your mom called. You left your game at home.”

  “Good one,” Taylor shouted back.

  Kimi rolled her eyes and said to Addie, “They do this all the time.”

  “I’m shocked that Brooke doesn’t get mad.”

  “Nah, she’s got a pretty good sense of humor.”

  “Hey, Brooke,” Paige called. “Call us butter ’cause we on a roll!”

  The drill continued, but in between set ups, the one-liners continued. Addie even threw one out, “Lacrosse? Is it in you?”

  Kimi added, “All it takes is all you got.”

  Brooke answered, “True victory is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice.”

  “So choose wisely,” Taylor quipped.

  The warm-up drills changed, but the one-liners did not. Paige crossed her arms in a tough pose and said, “Lacrosse, enough said.”

  Kimi threw out, “Lacrosse—the fastest game on two feet.”

  Coach Marks was talking with the officials, but Coach Cairns blew her whistle and called them in. “This is the loosest I’ve ever seen this team. Now work together out there. Remember, that there is no I in team.”

  “Good one, Coach,” Kimi said, making the team laugh.

  Coach Cairns laughed with them. “Pass the ball around, make good choices, and use each other. And hustle, hustle, hustle. This team is known for their excellent conditioning.” She looked toward the officials. “Okay, looks like we’re just about ready. Girls, remember that teamwork makes the dream work.”

  “Another good one, Coach,” Kimi said. Addie and her teammates agreed.

  Coach Cairns nodded purposefully at Kimi and then stepped out of the circle.

  Kimi put her hand in the middle and everyone put a hand on top of hers. “Owls on three,” Kimi said. “One, two, three!”

  “Owls!” the girls shouted followed by a chorus of hooting. They were answered by hoots from their family, friends, and fans on the sideline.

  Addie looked up and her heart swelled. Setting up chairs next to Kimi’s parents were her own mother and father. She ran over to hug them.

  “Thanks for coming, you guys,” Addie gushed as she slammed into her father for a hug.

  “We wouldn’t miss it, Weebs,” her father said.

  “Dad!” she protested and pulled back, putting a hand on her hip.

  “Sorry, honey. We’ll find you a better name, okay? How about Lightning? Or Flash?”

  “Have you seen me run, Dad? You’ll have to come up with something else.”

  She leaned in to hug her mother. “Hi, Mom. I’m so glad you guys could make it. Where’s Troy?”

  She pointed over her shoulder. Troy was having a catch with Taylor and Paige’s little brother on the sideline. And it looked like Brooke’s brother was about to join them. Good. She didn’t want Troy to be bored.

  “Your dad and I decided that we’re not going to miss another game,” her mother said.

  “That’s right, honey,” her father said. “We’re sticking together as a family from now on.”

  “Sounds good to me, you guys,” Addie said. “Have you met Dr. and Mrs. Takahashi?”

  “We have,” her mother said, “and I am going to pick their brains about good nutrition and eating.”

  “Whoa,” Addie said. “You’ll be here for a week. Right, Mrs. Takahashi?”

  Kimi’s mother laughed. “And that’ll just cover the introduction.”

  Kimi’s father leaned over, holding an open bag toward Addie’s father. “Would you like some Wasabi peas?”


  Addie’s eyes shot wide open. “Go for it, Daddy! They’re really good.”

  Before she had the joy of watching her father ignite in flames, Coach Cairns called to her. “Addie, get out there, girl. Low attack, right side.”

  “Really?” Addie’s stomach jumped to her throat. “I’m starting?”

  Coach Cairns nodded. “Yep. Now, get out there. Get your stick checked first.”

  Addie managed to get her stomach out of her throat and headed to the official who verified that the sticks were legal. After that, she headed to her position.

  “Oh, yeah,” Paige said as she saw Addie on the field. “We’ve got this now!”

  “Go for it, Addie,” Taylor encouraged from the center of the field where she stood ready to take the opening draw.

  “Yee haw!” Kimi called from midfield.

  The referee set up the draw, backed out of the way, and blew her whistle. The ball popped up and Taylor’s reach was longer than the Lassies’ player and she took control. Down toward the opponent’s goal they ran. Taylor tossed the ball to her sister, Paige, who cut across the field diagonally. Addie ran behind the goal and prayed that she would catch the ball if Paige passed it to her. She tried not to think about the fact that this was the first time her parents were watching her play.

  Paige faked a move back toward Taylor, but then spun and hit Addie behind the goal. Much to her relief, Addie caught the pass. She didn’t have to time to celebrate, though because a Lassies’ defender was heading toward her. Addie broke toward the sideline and saw Taylor slide in behind the goal, so she passed the ball to her. The pass was a little weak, but Taylor scooped it up easily. She ran toward Addie, so Addie cleared out and headed toward the goal. Taylor passed the ball to Kimi who was hanging around the front of the goal. Kimi evaded one defender and then Addie saw the hole in the defense. The defenders were all over Taylor and Paige, so Addie snuck in front of the goal, stick up ready to receive. Addie almost missed Kimi’s pass, but snagged it out of the air. A defender was on her right, so she turned to her left. The goalie shifted to face Addie, but Addie was faster. She flicked the ball toward the goal, aiming for the open space by the goalie’s hip. It went in. To her amazement the ball went in.

  “Goal!” Kimi shouted as she ran up to her. “Drop your stick. Drop your stick.”

  “Why?”

  “Tradition! Do it!”

  Addie dropped her stick at her feet. Her teammates were on her in an instant in a group hug. She had never been patted so much in her life, but it was the most amazing feeling. Her teammates cleared out one by one and headed back for another draw.

  “Don’t forget that,” Kimi said, pointing to Addie’s stick on the ground.

  Addie’s adrenaline was sky high. She picked up her stick and headed back toward the center line.

  As it would turn out, Addie dropped her stick three more times while Taylor and Paige dropped theirs four times each. Even Kimi scored a goal and Addie yelled at her to drop her stick, which she did gladly. Coach Marks took her out of the game for a few minutes during both halves, but other than that, Addie surprised everyone, including herself, by keeping up with her team the rest of the way.

  Kimi had been right. Addie had fallen in love, deeply in love, with lacrosse. Coach Cairns said she was impressed at how easily Addie went both right and left and figured out the other’s team’s weaknesses so quickly. Addie figured she could do these things because of her ninja training with Troy.

  The official blew the whistle to end the game, and the Owls beat the Lassies by a score of 12–2. Kimi linked arms with Addie as they walked off the field together.

  Kimi stopped abruptly. “Let’s make a pact.”

  “A pact?”

  “Yeah, a pact. Let’s agree to get so good at lacrosse that we make the Olympic team and win a gold medal.”

  “I like that idea, Kimi, but lacrosse is just an exhibition sport right now.”

  “It’s not an Olympic sport yet!”

  “Okay, it’s a pact.” Addie put her hand out.

  Kimi grabbed it and they shook on it. “Olympic gold?”

  “Olympic gold,” Addie agreed.

  They headed toward their waiting parents.

  “Hey, Addie?” Kimi said.

  “Yeah?”

  “LAX on, Addie. LAX on.”

  “You got it, Kimi. LAX for life!”

  “Perfect,” Kimi said. She smacked Addie in the arm. “C’mon, let’s run.”

  Addie didn’t know how it was possible, but she mustered up the strength and raced Kimi to the sidelines. Although Kimi won the race that time, Addie vowed that one day she would win.

  Epilogue

  ADDIE DID HER best not to crack up while Kimi stood behind the camera operator puffing out her cheeks and crossing her eyes. Addie cleared her throat and focused on the pretty America in the Morning reporter who was reviewing her notes before starting the interview.

  Addie smoothed down the front of her sleeveless blouse and sat up tall. The set of the New York City based morning show was smaller than it looked on television, but at least the chair was comfortable. She did her best to ignore the camera operators and other TV people scurrying around and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Playing in front of capacity crowds didn’t make her nervous, but public speaking like this did. And she had been doing a lot of that lately.

  In no time the director counted down Missy’s cue. “Missy Raines reporting for America in the Morning. I’m sitting here with Addison Coleburn, starting attack player and leading scorer of the U.S. Women’s National Lacrosse team. Her team is moments away from their inaugural trip to the Olympic games this summer in Paris, France.” Still smiling, Missy turned away from the camera and faced Addie. “Addie, are you excited that women’s lacrosse has finally become an Olympic sport?”

  “Absolutely. The Olympic Games are the singular greatest athletic event in the world. To be a part of that?” Addie sucked air through her teeth. “It’s an incredible honor to represent my country. And it’s also a great event in the world of lacrosse since this is the inaugural year as an Olympic sport.”

  Missy nodded. “When you were at Syracuse University you not only made first team All-American, but you also graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition Science.” She looked up from the notecards in her hand and smiled at Addie. “It looks like you’ve got the brain to go with the brawn. Speaking of brawn, I hear this is a regular occurrence on the team. Make a muscle for us.”

  Addie laughed but held up both arms and flexed. Her bicep muscles were bulging.

  Missy oohed at the display. Addie felt her face get warm and put her arms down.

  “We should all be as sculpted as you, Addie. So what got you interested in nutrition?”

  “I was a fat kid,” Addie said with a laugh. She was relieved when Missy laughed, too. “The summer between my sixth and seventh grade year, I discovered lacrosse. I was incredibly out of shape for an eleven year old. I couldn’t keep up with the other girls, so naturally, I tried to lose weight. But I didn’t know how, and I didn’t ask anyone for help because I thought I could do it on my own. That didn’t work.” Addie frowned. “I tried to lose weight in an incredibly unhealthy way and ended up in the hospital. After that I met with a nutritionist who helped me understand my relationship with food. My parents and my brother and I learned how to eat a variety of foods that gave us the nutrition our bodies needed which in turn gave us the energy to live life well. I even converted my grandmother to healthy eating, and that was a real challenge, let me tell you. But she is healthy now, and so am I because I found that eating nutritionally and exercising on a regular basis took the unhealthy weight right off.”

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Missy interrupted, “but when you mentioned trying to lose weight in an unhealthy manner, you were talking about anorexia, right?”

  “I was heading that way, yes, but thankfully, my best friend helped me come clean and be honest about what I was doing.
” Addie shot a grateful glance at Kimi who shot her an encouraging smile back.

  “You’re referring to Kimi Takahashi, midfielder for Team USA, aren’t you?”

  Addie nodded, momentarily forgetting the director’s instructions about answering all questions verbally instead of with head nods or gestures. “Yes, Kimi and her parents helped me and my parents pay attention to the food we were putting in our bodies. Kimi and her parents were the first ones to teach me about proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, you name it.”

  “All of that information must have been overwhelming for you at eleven or twelve years old.”

  “It was, but I found it fascinating. Kids’ minds are wide open and ready for new information. And I got lucky, too. I was surrounded by a bunch of people who helped me. By eating right and playing lacrosse, I built muscle and lost fat. I learned how to pick good foods that helped me live at my optimum best. Studying at Syracuse helped me further that understanding. I took so many chemistry courses that I could probably be a chemist, too.”

  Missy laughed. “And you are now a board certified nutritionist, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” Addie said.

  “Tell me about your book.” Missy held the cover toward the camera. “I have to tell you; I laughed when I read the title. ‘Fuzzy Green Things: It’s Okay to be Healthy.’ How in the world did you come up with that title?”

  Addie laughed with Missy. “My brother Troy and I used to refer to vegetables as fuzzy green things. Our family rarely ate them, preferring fast and processed foods. I wrote this book to help kids, or anyone really, understand the basic nutritional needs of our bodies. It’s the book I needed when I was a kid. There is so much information coming at us from so many different sources about what to eat and what not to eat that it can be information overload.”

  “Your mother wrote the introduction, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, she’s a nurse working at Syracuse Medical Hospital.”

  “And she says,” Missy looked down at her notes, “that many of the reasons people land in the hospital is because of nutritional deficiencies which turn into bigger problems. She said, and I quote, ‘People need to educate themselves about food and its benefits for the body. Many of the people I nurse are ignorant or just plain stubborn about healthy eating. The ignorant folks need guidance while the stubborn ones need to realize that while some recreational eating is okay, it isn’t sustaining.’” Missy put her notes down. “Recreational eating. I love that line.”