"Practice does not make perfect. 
Only perfect practice makes perfect."

As Fall Ball is winding down, Coach Grella has been pushing the girls into making every practice a game-changing one. Each drill must be completed to the best of their ability, because how they practice is how they will eventually play. 

"Practice is essential to building a dominant team. Not only does it improve skills necessary to perform at the highest levels during games, but it allows a chemistry and comradery to develop between teammates, which is essential to success," said grad-assistant Meg Brown. 

Focusing on increasing stamina and perfecting stick-work, the Panthers push themselves to the limit during their 2.5 hour practices.

"When we push ourselves in practice, it makes us play that much better in real games because there is never a let up. If we run to our fullest potential, we are helping ourselves get into game shape," said senior defender Stefani Jackson.

In preparation for their tournament against some top-tier Division I teams, including Fairfield and Lafayette, the girls have been working hard on their defense. In 3v2 drills, 3 attack players go up against 2 defenders. The defenders must adjust to where the ball is being thrown and who is a bigger threat. This makes it much harder than just locking off 2 girls and letting 1 go right to the cage. 

The Panthers practicing 3v2s:

Other drills that are done during practice are the Box Drill, which is essentially a full-field scrimmage where midfielders are cleared the ball (passed from the goalie) and run back and forth on both offense and defense. 

There is also the 3v2 Continuous drill, where 3 attackers once again go up against 2 defenders and tries to score. Whether they do or don't, the ball is cleared to a girl in line and the two low defenders run up the field and join the outlet pass against 2 other defenders that had went in. 

Look at the video below of the women's lacrosse team performing the 3v2 continuous drill during practice to get a better idea of what it is all about: 

The progress the girls have made and will continue to make is all in preparation for a stellar 2014 season.