Making the most of her opportunity

by Matthew Ondesko: Managing Editor

Not everyone is a college prospect right off the bat.

Some are late bloomers. Those who kind of fly under the radar until they hit their peak a little later in high school. Those are the ones that continue to grind away, doing the little things to make themselves better each, and every, day.

Frontier High School’s Erynn Ras wasn’t the highly recruited lacrosse player a couple of years ago. She was having a fine high school career but didn’t join a club team until sophomore season.

In the club world that would be considered late. A lot of athletes will start playing for clubs in middle school as a way to get better. Ras was just happy to go out there and play the sport. It wasn’t until her junior year that she thought about maybe playing lacrosse in college.

Her journey to playing Division I lacrosse at Mercyhurst is different then most high school athletes. She started the recruiting process late, but everything worked out in the end. Once she put her mind to playing at the next level the rest was history.

“Since I had only started club lacrosse sophomore year of high school, I got into the recruiting process quite late,” stated Ras. “For a long time, I did not plan on going to college to play lacrosse, but around November of my junior year I decided to look into the process.”

Because she decided to start later than most, schools were already filling up with girls who have made their decisions. At times it was discouraging for Ras as she had thought her time was slipping away.

That led her to really put in more time on the recruiting circuit. More time putting together her tape and sending it out to potential schools she would like to attend. While she was a late bloomer, Ras still had the skill set to play at the highest level.

“Many athletes my age had already committed to their Division I and Division II schools. I started to get discouraged thinking that there wasn’t going to be any more opportunity for me at a high level,” stated Ras. “I started to put a lot of effort into the recruiting process. I posted videos and pictures daily on my profile, sent countless messages to coaches, and started attending camps weekly. I now knew that it would be harder to get recruited, but I didn’t let that stop me.”

Ras’ determination paid off as Mercyhurst, a college that recently went DI in all sports, took a liking to what they saw on tape and at camps. While she is living out her dream of playing at the highest level, Ras also knows the recruiting process was a lot.

It taught her that if you put in the work, you can achieve any goal you set for yourself. That includes stepping on campus next fall and suiting up for Mercyhurst. There are a lot of reasons why Ras chose to head down to Erie, PA for the next four years.

From the class sizes, to the lacrosse program, to the incoming freshmen class, Mercyhurst was just the right fit for her from the start.

“I chose to commit to Mercyhurst for many reasons. One of my favorite parts of Mercyhurst are the relationships that athletes have with their professors,” stated Ras. “Due to the small class sizes, many athletes can balance their academic and the athletics as well. I love the lacrosse program at Mercyhurst. The coaches, facilities and program all went into my decision to go there. The moment I stepped on campus I knew it was going to be the place I would continue my academic and athletic career.”

Now that her recruiting journey is over, Ras can just focus on having fun this upcoming season. She no longer has to stress about where she is going to college, and what she plans on doing for the next four years of her life.

She see’s the stress that her friends have right now as they try to figure out what school they want to attend. Ras went through that as a junior. She had the stress of trying to make a decision on where she wanted to play, while making sure she got that top-notch college education.

This spring, Ras can focus on leading to Frontier to a sectional title.

“Having the college decision done and over with is so relaxing and stress free. All of my friends from school are very stressed about applying to schools, while I am already accepted into Mercyhurst,” stated Ras. “It is nice and all, but no one ever really talks about the stress that went on while getting to this point of success”

Ras was able to lean on her club lacrosse teammates who were going through the same thing. They were also dealing with deadlines to make decisions on where they wanted to go for the next four years.

It’s a lot of pressure to put on 16-year-old athletes, and their families.

“During my junior year I felt like no one else was worried about college, while I had time caps on my offers from schools, and had to make decisions it felt like no one else had to make,” stated Ras. This put a lot of stress on me, but I found comfort in my club lacrosse teammates going through the same things. I love now that I can focus on lacrosse and hopefully lead Frontier’s girls lacrosse team to a sectional championship.”

The Frontier lacrosse program is rich in tradition. They have been a mainstay for years, always fighting for sectional titles. Many of those battles came with Lancaster, who became a big rival over the years - until recently when they moved divisions and now battle a very good Clarence team each year.

Ras has learned many things from her time with Frontier. It just doesn’t start with what she had learned on the field, but the life lessons off it. Frontier isn’t just about wins and losses, but it’s also about family.

Something they preach all the time, family and trust.

“The Frontier lacrosse program is truly one of a kind. The culture of our program revolves around one world, family,” stated Ras. “The coaches always put an emphasis on how we are family on and off the field. My head coach, Rebecca Galanti, has been a huge part of my lacrosse journey. Through the highs and lows, she has supported me. I owe a lot of success to her. What sets us apart from other teams in our trust in each other. When every player steps on the field we trust each other throughout the whole 90 minutes. Frontier lacrosse has taught me many life lessons that I will carry with me throughout my collegiate career and beyond.”

Throughout her time at Frontier, Ras has grown into a leader. It’s pretty easy to see why she is a leader on this team. It’s because she cares so deeply about the program. She cares about each and every one of her teammates.

She will make sure she does whatever it takes for the Falcons to be successful. That’s the type of leader a team needs. Other players know she will lay it on the line to help this team achieve their goals.

“Being a leader on this team comes naturally, because I care about this program so deeply. It isn’t hard to want the best for your team when you are so passionate about it,” stated Ras. “I care about each and every one of my teammates, and I will do whatever it takes to have them succeed. I always have felt that as a leader it is important to hold yourself accountable, just as much as it is important to hold the team accountable. I communicate with my team when I see something not working and we, as a unit, try to adjust from there together.”

Going into her final year, Ras remembers what it’s like to be the underclassmen on the varsity team. She remembers feeling unsure about herself, and her confidence being pretty low.

She remembers being able to look up to the leaders she had at the time, and how they helped her grow as a player That is something Ras is looking to do this season. The team is only good as the players on it. Ras wants to help those younger players grow in confidence, so they can see their own game grow.

“I feel that going into my senior seasons I am much more of a leader than I have ever been before. First starting on varsity my confidence was very low, and I looked up to my leaders on the team and they helped me grow as a player,” stated Ras. I want to do the same for my underclassmen the season. I want them to trust me and come to me with any questions they may have. I want the best for all of them and I hope I can help them in any way to reach their goals.”

On the field Ras is still looking to improve her game. Last season was the first for Ras taking draws. While she is pretty tall, taking draws is kind of an art. It has nothing to do with being tall.

Ras continues to practice and get good at it. She puts in the extra work in with Frontier alum Emily Josker.

“I started taking the draw for my school team this year. Being that I am so tall, the draw came naturally,” stated Ras. There is a lot more that goes into the draw than people thin. You don't have to be tall to be good at taking draws. I still have a lot of room to learn the draw control, but with the help of Frontier lacrosse alum Emily Josker I know I can reach my goals.”

Her goals are to continue what she had done in the past, score goals. Ras knows there is a lot of responsibility being an attacker on the field. While there can be pressure at times, Ras has lived up the pressure, and exceeded it.

She puts trust in her teammates that they can meet the objective at hand. If the other team makes a mistake, it’s on her and her teammates to make them pay.

“Being an attacker comes with a lot of responsibility. The objective of the game is to get the ball into the back of the net, and that is the attackers main focus,” stated Ras. This can sometimes feel like a lot pressure, but I trust in my teammates to meet that objective. Last year our coaches gave my team a piece of advice…..”If you see your defense make a mistake, think to yourself as an attacker that you have your defenses back and will put the ball in the back of the net for you and vice versa.” I use this piece of advice to motive myself when I am on the field, especially in high pressure situations.”

This past offseason, Ras decided to pick up another sport, tennis. Ras was part of a pretty good doubles team that went on and competed in the WNY ECIC tournament a couple of weeks ago. Playing tennis was probably the best decision she made because it helped her with her hand-eye coordination.

It also helped her with her wrist strength, which will help her during the lacrosse season. She has liked the sport so much that she is thinking about playing club tennis at Mercyhurst.

“Playing tennis this fall was probably one of the best decision I could have made going into my senior year. It got me involved in another sport in my offseason, helped my hand-eye coordination, and grew my wrist strength - which will help me on the draw during lacrosse,” stated Ras. “My coach, Dave Skelley, made the experience unforgettable, and I want to thank him for all the lessons he taught me. I was even lucky enough to compete at the WNY ECIC tournament. It was a great experience and I am considering playing club tennis when I get to Mercyhurst.”