Lakers Take The Stage

Some days it is the sound of skates gliding across the ice and a stick tapping against the frozen floor. Other days it is the sound of exhausted exhales that fill the air. No matter the scenario, The Lakers Hockey team is always working hard to improve their skills.

According to their website, they accept players from Antioch, Lakes, Grant and both Grayslake Community High Schools, with the exception of one team member from Zion. The team also accepts eighth graders as long as they will be a freshman in high school by the time the fall season starts.

The team has two seasons, with the longer season during the fall. The longer season includes more games, playoffs and a few tournaments. The shorter one is during the spring; it has fewer games, no playoffs and very few or no tournaments.

One would have to try out for both seasons, however, it is a no-cut team. Instead, the tryouts determine whether someone will play on varsity or junior varsity. Before tryouts, extra practices are held.

“The pre-evaluation practices allow you to shake the rust off,” team member and ACHS junior Zachary Leitza said. “Then you start practicing with the team you made right after.”

Typically, The Lakers only have two teams: varsity and JV; however, during the previous season, they had an extra JV team due to the number of players. Though their team was large, that did not take away from their teamwork. In fact, the team hopes to gain even more teammates this year to further expand the team and skill levels.

“It’s a really fun group of hardworking people,” team member and ACHS junior Thomas Williams said. “We’re always looking to gain new members.”

Although The Lakers is a team that consists of a variety of schools, the members are able to put their differences aside in order to achieve their shared goal: play hockey and win.