Jenna Giardina '19 Recruiting Profile

I am currently a junior at John Jay High School in Cross River, NY. I enjoy playing all types of different sports and participating on many different teams. I have narrowed my participation down to three sports: lacrosse, basketball and karate. As a high school junior, I'm not sure what my collegiate goals are yet. I know that my academics will require hard work and dedication, something that I do not run from and enjoy the challenge.

I have been studying and competing in the martial art of guju-ryu and guju-te for seven years. I am currently a Shodan black belt in guju-te. I have competed up in down the east coast and have worked hard to achieve back to back Krane National Championships, two NY State Championships, and the Krane Triple Crown along with over 15 tournament wins. Martial Arts have taught me focus, determination, and most of all dedication with effort.

I have been playing basketball for eight years now. Basketball is a great team sport that requires a lot of repetition through practice. The rosters are kept small so you must be fit and ready to play. I was a starter on our varsity team last season as a sophomore. Our team was undersized but we played hard and as a team, and found ourselves battling in the semifinal round for the sectional title. This year we hope to repeat our success under Coach Hackett and make it to the championship game. Basketball is a great team sport that challenges me to give 100% for every second I'm on the floor, and it teaches us all the meaning of team work and camaraderie.

I started playing lacrosse in the 4th grade not knowing anything about the sport. I quickly realized that my martial arts training would benefit me in lacrosse as dodging defenders felt very natural to me. I found the sport to be so much fun and extremely competitive. I played five years for our local youth team along with multiple club teams that included the LI Yellow Jackets and Westchester Elite. I decided to focus my club efforts with Westchester Elite and Coach Cece Berger. Our 2019 Elite team is strong, and under Coach Cece's direction we have had many successful tournaments over the past couple of years. Coach Cece is always challenging us and is constantly bringing excellent assistant coaches and former players to work with us. The team and coaches are great! I have also attended many different lacrosse camps over the past couple of years including Holy Cross, Temple, Boston College, UCONN, BU, UMASS, UNC, Duke, SJU, Binghamton, and Hofstra. I have been fortunate to train with some of the best coaches in the country and play side by side with some of the best players in the country. My time at these camps and clinics has been priceless and will lead me to my dream of playing D1 lacrosse.

I am a three year starter for John Jay High School (Cross River, NY) varsity lacrosse team. We always have a tough schedule playing in NY state section one, along with a few heated rivalries. We are a sure to make the sectional playoff each season, but we have had challenges with stability in the head coaching position. Our team has a lot of talent and we are a threat to win the section if we can get on the same page. Last season I was honored to receive the NY State all league award for section one, but hope to be playing for the section one championship this year.

Sports will teach us so much about life and the challenges we will all face in the years to come. Most of us just play the game because it's exactly that, a game. I have learned that sports and lacrosse can be so much more than a game. Through hard work, dedication and team goals, I've learned how to be a confident and respectable person who can stand on her own two feet. I might get knocked down at times, but I won't be down for very long, and certainly will learn from my mistakes. I have learned a great deal of skills from many different coaches, clinics, and camps, but nothing has taught me more about lacrosse or life than the challenges I faced after losing a game or being knocked down. We must always learn from our mistakes and practice to do better, but there are times in lax and life where we can't control the outcome or others. I know that I can only control my effort, and to always do what's best for the team. Effort is always the challenge. There is always a shortcut to every task or path in life; we learn through sports that only true gratification or success is earned by effort, hard work, and the path worth taking.