Lacrosse is a sport that you don’t hear many people in Texas talk about, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. This complex sport still gives opportunities to those players who really have the skill and endurance to succeed in it, and this is represented by Sydney Shindler (11).

Sydney has been playing lacrosse as a goalie for almost seven years of her life. She admits that before lacrosse she played plenty of other sports in her youth. Softball, soccer and even recently was on the volleyball team here as a freshman, but with that she said, “I always chose to focus on lacrosse because with other sports, I get bored with them.”

As a lacrosse player, one has to find a team to play for if it is not provided by the school. For Shindler, she not only plays for the club team in our district, but for Team Texas on a national team, as well as two other travel teams at just sixteen years old.

And though college scouts can’t contact a lacrosse player until their junior year, they have all shown interest in this female goalie because, as she said, “I’m in Houston, Texas, and not a lot of lacrosse players come from Houston, it’s always right on the East Coast where they would find most of the other players.”

Many coaches have gotten in touch with Shindler about going to their lacrosse camps, which is a great opportunity to make with other contacts. Though she has yet to go to one of these camps, she anticipates that more colleges will talk to her once the season starts up.

Playing lacrosse is a rewarding thing in itself, but she is also an award-winning goalie.

“Out of all the awards, it’s always fun to win an All State.” She has won twice in a row now, “But the most rewarding thing to me was when I got accepted on Team Texas for the U.S. nationals.”

How the Team Texas process works is each state takes one or two teams to the National Tournament each year, and out of all the goalies in Texas, Shindler was chosen to be one of the two to play for the elite team and represent Texas.

“The tryout process is extensive and when I went, it took about six hours to be run through all the different and trying drills they have prepared for each player,” she said.

“Lacrosse is looking for any and every one. I believe it is a good fit for anyone who loves a challenge, or someone who wants to be a big part of something,” Shindler said, and welcomes other girls to try out for lacrosse this year and get involved in the sport that has become such a huge part of her own life.