Girls lacrosse teams sharpen skills in local pickup games

By WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Correspondent

Over the next several weeks, players from high school girls lacrosse teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) will gather in Old Bridge to further their skills in a series of pickup games being organized by Old Bridge High School coach Steve Gajewski.

The Lady Knights’ mentor noted that the program had originally been run by South Brunswick High School coach John Coppola from 2011-12, but a field was not available last year. Fortunately, Gajewski was able to secure Lombardi Field at the Jonas Salk Middle School for each Tuesday in July.

“John [Coppola] really deserves the credit for starting this, and I’m just happy we’re able to get it going again,” the Old Bridge coach said. “After the season, several of the coaches talked among ourselves to see what we could do to keep the girls playing.”

Gajewski said the coaches discussed entering a few teams in a lacrosse league, but they kept coming back to the pickup style games Coppola started.

“It’s a nice alternative because entering teams in a league can be expensive,” Gajewski said. “Here, the girls can attend when they can. It’s really designed to be a fun experience. And best of all, it’s free for them.” The Old Bridge coach said he expects at least four or five other GMC coaches to be in attendance and teams will vary. If there are several girls from two or three schools, they may play against everyone else — or it could be a team composed solely of midfielders taking on the forwards and defenders.

“This will be a great experience for our girls,” said North Brunswick Township High School coach Danielle Bussiere, formerly an assistant under Coppola at South Brunswick. “We have 30 girls coming back into our program and many incoming freshmen. I’m encouraging them all to attend.”

Bussiere said it’s a fun way to keep her team together, while at the same time amalgamating new players. The Raiders are coming off a turnaround season that saw them win the GMC Tournament.

“It’s also invaluable for them to play with different people,” the North Brunswick coach said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the girls to meet and get to know players they’ve only played against in the past. They’ll make connections they otherwise would have been unable to make. I think it’s good for the GMC and for lacrosse in general.”

Gajewski said he was expecting 30-40 girls on July 8 and hoping more players will attend on upcoming Tuesday evenings. The program runs 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays through July.