Straying from the commonplace in the world of high school sports, junior softball player Caitlin Bowers spends her off-season participating on Lee’s Summit North High School’s lacrosse team. Because lacrosse is not popular enough to have a team at all area schools , all players gravitate towards LSN and form one team. Along with Caitlin, three other girls from BSHS and one from BSS played last season.

“It doesn’t bother any of us that we are from separate schools. We’re a family and we all love everyone on the team,” Bowers said.

Bowers started playing lacrosse in the spring of 2019 when her upperclassmen friend Haylee Smith made her come to practice with her. She instantly fell in love. Bowers played midfield, meaning she played both offense and defense. 

Starting a new sport can be difficult, and sometimes skills from other sports can get in the way of creating new habits. For Bowers, the skills she’d learned from a lifetime of playing competitive softball only benefited her in her new sport.

  “Skills from softball help me a lot. My shot is a side arm shot which is a lot like the swing of a bat in softball,” Bowers said.

Playing and practicing based on another school’s schedule can be difficult. The girls practice Monday through Thursday at LSNHS; they compete both in both home and away games. Along with practicing for lacrosse, competitive softball, high school softball, and regular school activities, Bowers is a very busy girl. She loves what she does though, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It really helps that I play with my friends. It makes it easier and more fun,” Bowers said.