Running through the halls and doing basic drills, girls interested in playing for the lacrosse team begin their conditioning in preparation for their spring season.

“Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation,” lacrosse coach Roger Ellis said. “I do girls soccer conditioning and girls lacrosse conditioning at the same time, so it is actually a great transitional sport for kids who grew up playing soccer. It is fast paced and as long as you can catch and throw with a lacrosse stick, it should be an easy transition.”

Conditioning is held at the high school on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3-4:15 p.m. and is open to students from both Fenton and Linden.

“Right now, we are looking at around 43 girls wanting to try out for the team,” Ellis said. “So the demand is pretty high between the two schools. And if there is only one coach, there are some girls that are going to have to be cut.”

With 43 girls interested, the competition is expected to be high for the upcoming try-outs. Senior Maddy Albrecht is going to try-out and is expecting more competition.

“Last season, try-outs were not as competitive because we were having a more difficult time trying to get players to join,” Albrecht said. “This year, I am expecting it to be more competitive, tryouts and the actual season. Hopefully the season will be more fun and competitive so we can win a lot more games this season.”

There are traditionally 18-20 girls on a lacrosse team. The Fenton-Linden lacrosse team had 28 girls last season.

“Hopefully, for this upcoming season, we can get a JV coach and a JV team together,” Ellis said. “This way, there can be two squads of around 18-20 girls; more girls can get a decent amount of playing time if this happens.”

Conditioning will continue through the start of the season in March.