Emily Maier Goes to Israel!

In the suburbs of Washington DC in Loudoun County Virginia, I grew up in a family among many others who loved sports. I was always bouncing back and forth between “travel level” sports and thrived in the midst of it. I would have a soccer game and then quickly be on my way to a lacrosse game. When lacrosse and soccer seasons were over, I was already onto my next basketball or cross country season. This continued all the way through high school as I was on the varsity cross country, basketball and lacrosse teams while also playing for the capital lacrosse club in the fall and summer seasons. 

I had a known love for the game of lacrosse and during the fall of my junior year in high school, I was fortunate to commit to Jacksonville University. This past year 2020-2021, I completed my first year of college and was an athletic redshirt freshman for the women's lacrosse team. Looking back, I lacked a growth mindset through high school and my year at Jacksonville. I was seemingly going through the motions, relying solely on my natural talent, and rarely taking the time to think about what I genuinely wanted for my future and how hard work and believing in myself could get me there. I have a new found respect for those willing to put in the hard work outside of practice and games to be successful on the field and even greater respect for athletes who had the courage to go onto college in pursuit of academics and or a “typical” college experience despite having the talent to compete at the collegiate level.

So it seemed a gap year was in order for me to determine my next steps. Did I want to continue playing lacrosse? At what level would I want to play? I spent this past summer and recently this fall working 2 part-time jobs and I have grown over that time, but now it’s time to see if I can fall back in love with the game of lacrosse.

I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to spend the 2022 spring semester in Ashkelon, Israel with Israel Lacrosse's Gap Year Program. I will be able to help grow the game of lacrosse through recruitment and coaching Israeli youth. I will also have access to the Israeli National training facilities where I can train and get better outside of fully organized practices and games. 

From a personal growth perspective, I am very much looking forward to being in Israel, meeting a lot of new people, learning Hebrew, traveling, and learning more about the Israeli culture.

I would appreciate your prayers for my safety and personal growth. Here is a link if you feel compelled to donate to my journey.  No amount is too small and every bit helps, thank you!