Margaret Marshall '17 Recruiting Profile

My goal as an athlete is to excel and get better each time I go to practice, no matter the sport. When I play and compete I give my all on the practice field and on game day.  I play both lacrosse and badminton for my high school, but lacrosse is the sport I love and that I want to play in college.  I know it takes more than scheduled practices and games to play lacrosse at the level I want to achieve.  That means I have my lacrosse stick in my hand for at least 4 hours over the weekend doing wall ball and working on shooting.  This work has helped me achieve superior stick skills with both hands. My eye hand coordination continues to improve.  I commit time to workouts that increase my overall fitness level so I have the strength, speed and endurance required on the field.  

In addition to my physical conditioning, lacrosse has provided me the opportunity to build my leadership skills.  I was one of the team captains on the JV team at Corona Del Sol High School as well as one of the captains for the Desert Vista JV team.  Being captain required me to help develop and mentor other players while continuing to develop my own skills.  As a leader I need to balance when to push the team and when to support and encourage the team.  I continue to develop my ability to understand and anticipate the game, this allows me to call plays and adjust our play based on the opponent. I enjoy being a leader on the team and look forward to being captain of the varsity squad. 

I have had the opportunity to play multiple positions on my teams.  When I played JV my primary position was attack and I took the draw, but I also played defense, goalie and midfielder.  I was the leading player on the Desert Vista JV team in goals, assists, ground balls and draws.   It was my JV experience playing midfielder that made me realize that was the position I wanted to play on the varsity team.  In the off season going into high school I focused on developing the skills and conditioning required to play midfielder.   As a freshman, I was a starter on the Desert Vista High School team and was the second leading attacker/scorer on the team and I also took the draw.  Currently I am a sophomore in the starting line-up of the Desert Vista varsity team. I am now a midfielder who takes the draw and I am one of the top scorers.  I play for the  East Valley Vortex club team coached by Mark Nichols and my father is the assistant coach.  With the support of my coaches, I am focused on developing my midfielder capabilities but also continue to play multiple positions depending on what the team needs.  I was given the outstanding offensive player award and I was also selected to play in the All-Star game of May 2015.   

When I started high school I wanted to have something to do after school in the lacrosse off season.  I decided to try out for the badminton team and I am glad I did.  We have a great team and it is fun, but I was surprised by the level of conditioning my coach required including spending a lot of time in the weight room.  I also discovered that badminton develops hand eye coordination which helps me become a better athlete and prepares me for the lacrosse season.  I have played for 2 years and have maintained a spot on the JV team. 

Academically speaking, I am an honors student in math, history, Latin, and a violinist in the concert orchestra with a 3.9 GPA.  I earned a academic award of excellence this 2014/2015 school year for maintaing my GPA.  I like to challenge myself academically and athletically which makes me a excellent candidate for any team.  I am a strong leader and strive for excellence on and off the field, I'm a hard working, determined athlete and student.  I want to attend a college that challenges me academically and provides me the opportunity to play lacrosse competitively.