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Hello and thanks for clicking on my blog! My name is Ginger Miles and as Virginia’s women’s lacrosse volunteer assistant coach – and former goalkeeper – I’ve decided to give anyone who’s interested a behind the scenes look at life on the road with our women’s lacrosse team. We’re certainly a fun bunch and I’ll be posting weekly with the inside scoop. Thanks for reading!
April 13, 2009
In our little universe of Virginia lacrosse there are a number of phrases/sayings that have worked their way into becoming a common place on this team. These are things we regularly say but to the outsider may seem nonsensical, absurd or even hysterical. To keep you in the loop, the following is a list of some of the inside lingo of Virginia women’s lacrosse:
On the Field:
“blob stretch” – This is the opposite of an organized stretch with lines or in a circle. Read as “do what you want stretch.”
“hook her up” – Julie’s way of saying pass your teammate the ball.
“arena run” – What the team does when its snowing/raining and outdoor practice is virtually impossible. Usually at least one person will throw up (don’t ask me why) and your legs will feel like putty for at least 24 hours.
“on the endline” – Nothing good in my entire life ever started with those three words. For me it always meant “try not to throw up.”
“get the balls up” – Easily everyone’s favorite saying signaling the end of practice.
“drill killer” – This is someone who commonly ruins a drill by dropping the ball, not understanding or being a general idiot. You DON’T want to be a drill killer.
“You’re not the playmaker!” – Pass the ball already before you do something dumb!
“sweep the corners” – Don’t take short cuts. Do it right!
“bows and toes” – Semi-push up position on one’s forearms that must be held for a given amount of time (usually as punishment but hey swimsuit season is always right around the corner!).
“My hang cleans hurt” – “my traps hurt from doing hang cleans”
“With speed!” – Do the drill at game speed. If you hear this, you’re probably jogging, tisk, tisk.
“Make it make sense” – Don’t be an idiot.
Off the Field:
“A few quick things…” – How Julie Myers stars the game/practice wrap up. Brace yourself for a long list of practice times for the week, lift/film schedule, training room availability, equipment turn-in deadlines and reminders to make good decisions. Usually a handful of people listen and everyone else spends the rest of the week asking the handful to rehash it.
“For this next clip…” – This is how Julie normally kicks off explanation of the next drill at practice.
“people clothes” – People clothes means dress nicely, i.e. no flip flops, sneakers, jeans etc. For most of our dinners we are required to wear “people clothes.” I learned quickly in the real world that this is not a common term.
“quick turn around” – “All 25 of you will have approximately 20 minutes to shower and look presentable for dinner in your people clothes – and don’t even think about wearing flip flops!”
“Legitimately awesome” – Julie’s explanation of all things great.
“Start a count” – We never pull off anywhere without each player counting off. Don’t want to leave anyone behind!
“back door/front door Bodo’s” – Our popular bagel spot for lunch and breakfast. Front door would be the one on 29N and back door is on Preston Ave. for those of you who don’t know. And don’t bother asking for it toasted because they don’t do that.
“Quince Quince/The Cage” – Term used when referring to the fourth year house (soon to be second year’s!).
“404” – A throwback term referring to the class of 2006 who lived at that address. The class of 2006 ushered in the current crop of fourth years when they were just wee first years. (Ok so most of the current team doesn’t know this term but I had to give a shout out to my old teammates).
Nicknames:
“jap2v” – part of Julie’s email address and thus her nickname.
“Blah” – Blair Putnam, our athletic trainer’s nickname coined by a two-year old Kelsey Myers.
“B-money” – As far as I can gather this nickname refers to both Blair Weymouth AND Brittany Kalkstein.
“Pop pop” – First year Julie Gardner’s apparently grandfatherly traits have garnered her this nickname.
“Itty Bitty” – As in “itty bitty Whitty,” referring to Whitaker Hagerman who stands at a diminutive six feet even. I believe her mother coined this one.
“Cowboy” – John Truslow, our lovely equipment manager whom we all refer to as Cowboy. If you’ve ever met him you know why. The name speaks for itself.
“Skinny” – Kaitlin Duff. The explanation is once again obvious.
“The Entourage” – A group of the third years that are seemingly inseparable consisting of Skinny (see above), Yeardley Love, Caity Whitely and usually Marye Kellermann.
“Hack, Smack dog, Smacky” – Sarah Hackman
“Beaner” – Lauren Benner
“Hairy” – Sarah Hairfield
“Millet” – Molly Millard
“HD” – Heather Dow
So there you have it. Now you’re really on the inside of Virginia women’s Lacrosse. Huge week for us as we have two final regular season games left. Our last road trip is Tuesday vs. George Mason and we end the week with our final home game against NORTHWESTERN. Game on.
See you on the field,
Ginger
P.S. Go Hoos!