The Middletown High School girls’ lacrosse team looks to improve on last year’s solid 10-4 record with a boost in conditioning and working
on solidifying the defense.

“I feel pretty good about the season, we will be pretty competitive in Frederick County,” said junior midfielder Brittain Altomare.

Coach Dawn Rothenhoefer is making sure her team is well prepared with increased training which includes a lot of running. She is also making sure the holes on defense are filled and the transition game improves. These will be the keys to their success and compliment their already dangerous offense from last season.

A major attribute of the team is the bond they all share and their teamwork as a whole.

“We all work together to help each other become better,” said Altomare.

“We have a strong team, we mesh well, and we should be pretty successful this season,” said junior goalie Emily Boyce.

A couple of their biggest matchups this year is their opening game against South Carrol, Walkersville at the end of the season and if they play Winters Mill in the playoffs. Winters Mill beat them in the regular season and knocked them out of the playoffs last year.

Some other key players on the team include seniors Erin Kilonsky, Erin David, Madison Murphy, and Hannah Linthicum. Juniors Kati Rothenhoefer, Kelly Murphy, and sophomores Erin Wein, Julia Karcewski, Sam Barbeito will contribute on the field this season.

A beautiful turf, 100 yards of manmade grass, painted the perfect shade of green.  Freshly painted yard numbers lead to the bright yellow field goal posts that sit on both ends of the field.  The smooth, clean, black track, covered.  The flawless field, covered. The chance of having a regular start to the spring sports season, demolished by not inches but feet of snow. 

Though the sky is blue and the sun is shining now, Middletown High School was hit by a snow storm just days before the start of the season, leaving the administration, coaches and athletes with no choice but to give up or be creative and start the season in a unique way, different than any other year in the past.

The blizzard of February 2010 was to put the start of spring sports to a halt… until the clever ideas of the MHS students and staff found a way to make it happen.

Because the Frederick County Board of Education banned the use of heavy machinery and even snow blowers to remove the snow, the MHS administration and team coaches were left with almost nothing but their bare hands, but their hands are exactly what they used.

Original and very out of the ordinary, the lacrosse coaches decided the field would be cleaned by having a Snowman building competition. Not only would this provide a team bonding experience between the boys and girls lacrosse team, it would also create a safe (and fun) way to remove the snow from the field without breaking any rules.

Though some schools may have seen the blizzard as a setback to spring sports, girls varsity lacrosse coach Dawn Rothenhoefer believes otherwise.

“I think it’s only negative if you make it negative.  With every disappointment in life, there’s usually an opportunity.  Our job is to find the opportunity.  I see this as not only a girls’ lacrosse team building opportunity, but a multi-sport team building opportunity. What a great way to kick off the season,” said Coach Rothenhoefer.

In reality, not enough snowmen can be built to clear off the entire field and track.  Being aware of this, the teams, coaches, and administration plan to let the sun do the rest of the work. For the first few weeks of practice, snow on the ground can still be expected.

“Practices will not be cancelled, but I think the snow will limit the teams’ ability to run specific plays, but teams will still be able to work on drills and endurance in the parking lots after school,” said assistant principal Mike Watson.

In addition to getting used to having snow on the ground at the start of the spring sports season, the athletes will also be adjusting to a rotating practice schedule. The boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams will share practice times, as well as with the boys’ and girls’ track teams. Because of the dangers of loose lacrosse balls making their way out to the track, the teams cannot practice together.

It would be ideal for the lacrosse teams to run agility drills and practice conditioning in the gym, but because the MHS gym floors have recently been resurfaced, this is not an option. The hard lacrosse sticks can scratch and damage the gym floor.

“Even though getting used to the snow will be weird, I’m excited to see how our new practices will go. We may even get pool time for aerobics,” said MHS junior lacrosse player Kati Rothenhoefer.

By looking at a bad situation through positive eyes, the MHS coaches, athletes, and administration have managed to start a regular spring sports season in a very offbeat way. Many other teams in Frederick County may suffer from the blizzard, but Middletown will reap the benefits.