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05/16/2023 08:02 AMFor over a decade, the one steady aspect of Mea Riordan’s life and athletic career has been the game of lacrosse, and while even through switching positions this spring, it has been a labor of love sprung by the pride and passion she maintains for her teammates and the sport.
The senior captain and attacker started lacrosse a dozen years ago after being introduced to the sport through her sister, Alexa. After working her way through the youth ranks, she has emerged as a final-year leader for the North Branford girls’ lacrosse team, moving from high attacker to low attacker offensively for the 11-3 Thunderbirds with her 33 goals and 22 assists in 2023.
“I love being part of this team. Lacrosse has been the only constant in my life for the last 12 years. I love the competitiveness of the sport and the team support,” says Mea. “I have been just focusing on things that I have struggled with in the past, and I have seen improvements in my personal play after spending extra time in practice. I use advice from my coaches to better myself as a player.”
The shift switch has parlayed the way for Mea to be a bit more passive and pensive as a player in terms of the scheme of each play, though she still has a very active mind knowing that the point of the offense is to produce just that in points.
“I have had to adapt to the position and learn how to play it. I love that I get to be involved with a lot of goals through assisting, which is the whole point of being an offensive player,” says Mea on low attack. “Being aware of my surroundings has been the biggest adjustment; you always have to keep your head on a swivel and your eyes open. With high attack, I was used to being on the move, but now I just kind of stand there and let the play develop. It has been about developing more patience.”
As Mea has developed a more acute form when it comes to sniping the ball and feeding it up the field to her fellow T-Birds, she further details that the priorities and pressure may shift and increase at various tiers of the sport, but the main target is still entertainment.
“I have become more skilled in catching the ball and making accurate passes and with my aim for scoring,” Mea says. “It can be a very hard transition from youth to high school lacrosse. The main priority is more just about having fun at the youth level, as it is in high school, but with high school, it is also about advancing far in Shoreline and state tournaments. I had confidence issues early on with wondering if I belonged on the field, but I have gotten better with it by knowing I am out there for a reason.”
Mea matriculates that newfound confidence to her fellow colleagues as a captain, and she additionally knows the full-on impact synergy can have on a squad. It does not matter the talent level of each individual component of a club, because if they do not mesh together, it all falls apart.
“It is definitely an honor to be captain, and I have always tried to be a very coachable player. I realized that all my hard work and dedication paid off when I was named captain,” says Mea. “I also have been doing my best to uplift and encourage others. Being captain has also shown me the importance of teamwork. It will lead us to success in lacrosse, and I try to instill that mindset into the other players.”
Right from first glance, North Branford girls’ lax Head Coach Lori Connelly saw a fire and determination in Mea’s eyes, which has also ignited brighter through the years as she simultaneously added a strong swagger about herself as a player and leader.
“My first interaction with Mea as a player was during winter conditioning when she was only a freshman. Mea came to every single conditioning practice and impressed me right away with her work ethic and attitude,” says Connelly. “Since then, Mea has continued to work hard and never gave up when things were not going her way. Mea has always been a strong player; she just needed to find her confidence and, now that she has, she is unstoppable. She is a great leader on the field who helps control the offense and she has a cannon of a shot that is very hard to stop. She is also super strong on the draw when we need to step in and is super aggressive when chasing down ground balls or defending the clear. Mea has really stepped out of her shell and become a powerhouse all over the field, and I am so proud of her.”
While she may be moving onto the next phase of her life as an aspiring nurse at Sacred Heart University, Mea cannot separate herself from the stick and the field. In the waning weeks of the T-Birds’ regular season, Mea makes it clear that morale needs to stay at an all-time high.
“Lacrosse has taught me in general about teamwork, communication, and hard work. For this team, we just have to lock in and focus on our goals,” says Mea. “We have to be a team who encourages one another and supports each other, because without that, we will struggle, so we have to keep our bond strong. I may play club lacrosse in college just to keep that stick in my hand.”