Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/26/15
From Press Release
Emily Mathewson wasn’t one of those kids who always grew up with a lacrosse stick in her hand. Rather, she found herself occupied with a softball bat.
“I didn’t play lacrosse until seventh grade,” the Garnet Valley senior explained. “I played softball all the time, but all my friends loved lacrosse, so I decided to try it. It was a much faster-paced game, so I wanted to give it a shot.”
When she started, it didn’t take her long to get hooked, especially when the Jaguars were winning back-to-back PIAA titles in 2011 and 2012 under head coach Kate Henwood and her staff.
“I was in middie school when they won that first state title and I absolutely adored Coach Henwood and that team,” Mathewson said. “I wanted to be them so bad. I wasn’t very good at first, but that team kept me playing lacrosse. I was disappointed when she left to coach UC-Davis, especially since her presence encouraged me to play in middle school.”
Things have changed since then. Mathewson has two state titles of her own. She scored matching five-goal, two-assist stat lines in both games, cementing her status as a big-game player. She’ll go for the third state title this spring before she heads off to play for Vanderbilt, but before that, she’s joined The Cradle Life as one of several high school standouts who have given back by coaching at Cradle Lacrosse’s sessions.
Once Henwood came back to Philly as NXT Lacrosse Club’s Girls Director, she made sure to reach out to Mathewson to see if she wanted to Cradle Everywhere.
“Once Coach Henwood asked me, I was so excited to join,” Mathewson said. “I love little kids. I think they’re awesome and they have so much energy. I played in the Girls Philly Showcase (where she was a Fab 40 All-Star), which was put together so well, so I knew that if NXT was doing something, it would be done right.”
Mathewson never had the chance to be exposed to something like Cradle when she was growing up, but as a coach, she’s been able to fully appreciate everything that the best introductory lacrosse program offers its young players.
“Everything is so, so high energy,” Mathewson said. “It’s all about making them love the game before they really get into it with pads and everything. That’s what I really love about it. I’ve also gotten to work with (former Garnet Valley All-American and teammate) Coley Ricci (Delaware) and (Episcopal Academy and NXT 2016 All-American) Christian Feliziani, so it’s been so much fun.”
See more info on Cradle Lacrosse and register for Winter sessions
