Chico State’s women’s lacrosse team is a very close-knit family, according to first-year Macy Meyers, sophomore Janelle Bettencourt, junior Lauren Irick, and senior and team captain Addison Risbry.

All four of these players sat down to talk about how the team makes goals, beats individual challenges and live out the best advice they have received.

With a team full of varying grade years, some have been able to play on the team longer than others. For Macy Meyers, joining the lacrosse team was a scary thought.

“I was really scared showing up to my first practice at 6 a.m., not knowing anyone, but everyone welcomed me,” Meyers said.

The team practices every Monday, Wednesday and Friday 6-7:30 a.m. in the stadium.

“Some nights you go to bed not wanting to get up in the morning, it is really early but it gets easier,” Bettencourt said. “You are all having to go to practice so you do not have to do it alone.”

Coach Becca Hintz pushes the girls to be the best players they can be. Hintz played at San Diego State and really cares about her players.

“Coach Hintz is really easy to talk to and is always there to give advice,” Risbry said.

With a supportive coach behind them, the girls have been able to overcome the struggles that come with being student athletes. Time management, motivation and making sacrifices are just a few of the challenges this team has dealt with.

“I realized what I’m doing now will help in the future; you will have to make sacrifices,” Meyer said.

“You realize how important time management is to fit in practice, classes and homework, but not staying up too late because of early practices,” Risbry said.

While on the road for games, they have created respect for those who choose to do studying.

“Most girls bring homework and they go off during alone time to study. We all respect that and leave them to get their work done,” Risbry said.

This team is 100 percent committed to their sport and are looking forward to the upcoming season. They have learned teamwork and to work together to achieve their goals.

Feb. 12-14, their hard work paid off as they beat out Oregon State and Boise State in the Santa Barbara Shootout.

The ‘Cats celebrated all their seniors in their last home game this season against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The team will now hit the road for four away games. They are hoping to continue growing and bonding as a team, putting their coach’s advice into action.

“Coach always tells us ‘You get out what you put in,'” Risbry said.

They will continue to practice harder and push each other to grow as people and players to give themselves a great season to be proud of.

Esther Briggs can be reached at [email protected] or @EstherBriggs191 on Twitter.