Lacrosse is life for Mariner’s Laci Dixon
Milton’s Laci Dixon has played lacrosse since she was 5. Now 13, she’s been playing more than half her life.
The Mariner Middle School student stands nearly a foot shorter than some of her teammates, but she looks menacing in her full goalie gear. She takes her stance and braces for the boys' attempts to sink a shot.
Laci is the first girl to play lacrosse at Mariner. The team is only in its third year, and there is no girls’ team, so joining the boys was Laci's only option if she wanted to play for her new school.
“She holds her own against the boys,” said coach Tom Pickard. “She's very mature, too, so she completely understands there's obviously differences. But she works hard and is dedicated. She'll do anything you ask to make the team better.”
It's been a bit of a challenge, Laci said, because the rules are slightly different, and the ball comes flying at her 10 times faster than she's used to.
“It's not intimidating. I just know some of the boys are better,” Laci said with a shy smile. “I just did what I knew, and they helped me as I went on.”
Laci lives and breathes lacrosse. Not only does she play on the Mariner team, but she also plays goalie for Atlantic Lacrosse and the Eastern Shore Lacrosse Club. She spends 10 hours or more each week at practice, scrimmages and games, forcing her to embrace the concept of time management. The seventh-grader, who also loves language arts, still has to squeeze in her homework, dinner and maybe some time to binge-watch her favorite shows on Netflix.
“It's tiring just because we're moving around all the time, and then we get home late,” Laci admitted, smiling as dirty blonde curls frame her young face. “But it's what I like to do. It's one of my favorite things to do because it's fast-paced.”
Laci's mom, Tiffany Dixon, said her daughter can't wait to show off her battle scars – bruises from getting hit by the ball that sometimes explode into purple blobs the size of a dinner plate.
Tiffany said her tough teen was born prematurely, at only 1 pound, 12 ounces, and spent three months in the hospital before her parents could bring her home. Even then, she only weighed 3 pounds.
“And now think - we're letting people hit her,” Tiffany joked. “If she wasn't confident with herself, I probably wouldn't let her do it. But she's got confidence, and she'll tell you when she's nervous about something. She doesn't hold back much of anything.”
Tiffany said she and her husband know Laci is in good hands and that her teammates and coaches have her back both on and off the field.
The Dixons moved to Milton in June after living in Preston, Md., for more than a decade. Tiffany is taking courses at Delaware Technical Community College, and she and her husband, Phil, were attracted to the offerings at Cape Henlopen School District for both Laci and her younger sister Laney.
Everyone has welcomed them both in school and on the lacrosse team, they said, but Phil admits he was a little hesitant when he first heard Laci might play on the boys’ team.
“Coming from playing sports in high school, I know sometimes boys aren't all that receptive to something like that,” he said. “That was my fear. But I think she went in with the right attitude, not saying, 'Hey, I'm a girl, I can do what you do,' but went in saying, 'I'm going to try to help the team win.'”
It's possible Mariner may get a girls’ lacrosse team, Phil said, but until then, Laci's playing just as hard and fast as she can. She's fearless when it comes to the sport.
Not so much when it comes to stinkbugs, though, her family teases.
Laci's positive go-get-them attitude has set an example for her 11-year-old sister, who also plays lacrosse. She's not ready to join her sister on the boys’ team, she said, but she’s proud of what Laci has accomplished so far.
“I look up to her because she shows that I can do anything I want to achieve,” Laney said.
Laci said she hopes other girls feel that way, too, even though her intent was to just keep playing a game she loves.
“If you think you can do it, then give it a try,” she said. “Don't be let down … and maybe you can show other girls you can have different opportunities.”
