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Alisa Silverstein
Professor
ENC 1101H
9 December 2016
Freshman Lacrosse Players: Adjusting to More Than Just School
I have played lacrosse for 7 years, and there is no doubt that the
lacrosse community has been a large part of my life for quite some time.
During these 7 years, I learned terminology specific to the team I was on as
well as communication strategies, which have both factored into making me
successful in the sport. Since deciding that I wanted to continue playing in
college, I have noticed that within the discourse community of lacrosse
players, each team is another community itself, with its own version of each
of the six characteristics of a discourse community. More specifically, I
realized this during my transition from playing lacrosse at West Orange High
School to playing lacrosse at UCF. I became curious as to whether or not
this applies to other people as well, and set out to answer the question: How
well can new players adapt to their new team, and do their prior experiences
help them to be successful on said new team?

Method
A discourse community as defined by John Swales, has a broadly agreed
set of common public goalsmechanisms of intercommunication

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participatory mechanismspossesses one or more genresspecific lexis

[and] has a threshold level of membership (221-222). In my experience, I
have found that lexis and the usage of feedback mechanisms are the most
differentiable between my high school and the UCF club team, and therefore
have decided to focus on those aspects when conducting my interviews. I
interviewed two other freshmen on the team, which include Kristy, an
attacker from Vero Beach, Florida and Brittney, a midfielder from
Windermere, Florida. I will use their answers in addition to my own responses
to the interview questions in order to answer the question of how are players
able to assimilate to the UCF club team and how easily they do so. In
regards to lexis, I asked if there were any specific terminology used by the
UCF team that was either difficult to learn or a term that was never heard of
until they started playing at UCF. I also asked if there were terms used by
UCF that were also used in their respective high schools. By asking this, I
was able to analyze either how easy or difficult it was for each individual to
adjust to the new team. As freshmen, we are at the lowest level of
membership in terms of seniority, but with the help of those who have
played on the UCF team for much longer, the transition from playing in high
school to playing in college can become much smoother. Finally, I asked the
players about whether or not a veteran player on the team assisted them in
learning new material, and if not, what more could have been done to help
them assimilate to the team.

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Figure 1: The interview questions I asked in order to answer my research question.

Case One: Myself

I have been playing lacrosse since the beginning of the 6th grade. I play
defense, and played on the Varsity team at West Orange High School in
Winter Garden, Florida for four years. Of the four years that I played for West
Orange, we were district runner up for three, and district champs for one. So
far, I have felt extremely welcome to the UCF team, and have enjoyed
playing and meeting so many new friends. Specifically, I have felt welcomed
with open arms to the defensive squad, and have had a positive experience
with the older players helping me with every and any question that I have

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Terminology and Feedback Mechanisms

In regards to terminology, much of what is spoken on the defensive end
mirrors the lexis that was used on my high school team. For example, on my
high school team the phrase got ball was used by the defender who was
guarding the attacker with ball. At UCF, I use the same exact phrase when I
want to voice the same information to my surrounding teammates.
Although much of the lexis used is similar to what I have been using
for the past four years, and is pretty much a widely-used set of terminology,
there have been some instances where the veteran players used a term that
I had no knowledge of. When referring to an attacker who is camped out in
the middle of the scoring area directly in front of the goal, I was always
accustomed to yelling middle in order to direct the defenses attention
towards the middle of the area. Once I started playing in college however, I
had to learn UCFs term for the same thing, which is birdie. With this as
just one example of a few new terms I had to learn, it was very helpful for me
to have the Defensive Terminology document (Figure 1) to print out and read
over so I could learn the phrases on my own time in order to lessen the
amount of wasted time due to miscommunications and misunderstandings
on the field.

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Figure 2: Document with key defensive terminology used by the UCF women's lacrosse team; it is sent
to every player on the team in order to help them with learning the terms

In addition to the document, I have been fortunate enough to have a

supportive group of upperclassmen on my team who are more than willing to
help me in any way possible. One teammate in particular, Audrey, went out
of her way in order to help me learn the ways of the UCF lacrosse team. She
is very approachable at practice, and told me to never hesitate to ask
questions in regards to the terminology, such as birdie, that is used by the
defense to communicate. I am lucky to have a mentor on the team who
provides critique and support, and her help has been a significant bridge
between my high school team and the UCF team.

Case Two: Kristy

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Kristy is an attacker from Vero Beach, Florida, who has been playing lacrosse
since she was in the 6th grade. Her team at Vero Beach High School was
crowned state champions for three of the four years she played there. Kristy
has exclaimed that she feels extremely welcome to the team, saying that
Everyone was so nice right off the bat, and practice is always so fun with
them. She has enjoyed playing at UCF, and likes how easy it is to work hard
and still have fun.
Terminology and Feedback Mechanisms
Kristy explained that although there havent been many similarities between
the terminology that she used in high school and the terminology used at
UCF, she hasnt had a lot of trouble adjusting. She did mention however that
whenever she did need help, an upperclassman, Hayley, was more than
happy to assist her in any way possible. Kristy said Hayley plays attack like
I do, and always tries to nicely correct me and help me out whenever I have
a question! Whether it be a question about positioning during a certain
play, or what she can do to improve her skills, Kristy always has someone
who will help her within reach.

Case Three: Brittney

Brittney has played lacrosse for 6 years, and is a midfielder. She attended
Olympia High School in Windermere, Florida, and was part of the varsity
squad for her four years in high school. During her time there, her team was
the state runner-up for two of those years. Brittney has felt very welcomed

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to the team as well, and mentions that her transition to the college team has
been easier because a former teammate from high school is an
upperclassman on the UCF team. She enjoys playing on the team, and has
loved how everyone plays for the girl next to them as opposed to for just
themselves.
Terminology and Feedback Mechanisms
Due to the position that Brittney plays, she must learn both new defensive
and offensive phrases. However, she says that she hasnt had too much
trouble learning the new terminology. She mentioned that the terms used for
the different types of defense at her high school (white man, silver zone,
black backer) differ from how we refer to them at UCF. At UCF, we simply
refer to the type of defense by its given name. On the offensive end,
Brittney has to learn terms for plays in addition to how to execute those
plays. On her high school team, red and green was associated with stall and
score respectively. At UCF however, red and green are associated with
specific plays in order to score. Similar to Kristys case, Hayley has been a
huge part in helping Brittney adjust to the new team. Hayley is a former
teammate of Brittneys, so she was able to explain phrases and plays in
terms of their high school terminology. This resulted in Brittney learning
everything at a faster rate, and she was able to adjust without much
problem.

Analysis and Discussion

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What Ive learned from my own experiences as well as the experiences of

Kristy and Brittney is that the older members of the UCF lacrosse team have
proven to be fantastic mentors, and have made the adjustment from playing
in high school to playing in college a smooth transition. No matter if it is
attack, defense, or midfield, each position has its own set of veteran players
who serve as mentors for the newer members of the squad. These mentors
definitely prove to be successful because many of the freshmen, including
the two I interviewed and myself, start games and play for a large portion of
the game. I can conclude that the different lexis seldom cause problems in
assimilating, and I advise any incoming freshmen not to worry too much
about the differences in terminology. Each position also has a group of older
players who act as mentors, as well as prior acquaintances and teammates
who would be more than happy to put out a helping hand.

Work Cited
Swales, John. The Concept of Discourse Community. Writing About Writing:
A College Reader, Wardle and Downs, Second Edition, Bedford/St. Martins
2014, p.221-222.