Erin Coykendall

MAKING IT STICK

Erin Coykendall received a lacrosse stick as a gift on her fifth birthday. She didn’t know much about the game. But after watching some videos, she was convinced she wanted to play. It didn’t matter to Erin that no local opportunities existed for girls her age. She persisted in her desire to play, and her parents helped find her a boys’ team that agreed to let her join. Again, Erin didn’t care that the boys were all a few years older. She was thrilled for the opportunity to practice and learn. Her hard work helped her hone her skills and earned her a spot on the high school’s varsity lacrosse team in 7th grade. Just one year later, Erin was recruited by Northwestern University in 8th grade, committing to their lacrosse team as a freshman in high school. Erin has set five school and three district records and will play at the Division I level at Northwestern University in the fall.

Lacrosse is not Erin’s only athletic passion. She played on her high school’s varsity basketball team as a freshman and has been on the bowling team the past two years. She is also an accomplished all-state soccer player. She scored the tying and game-winning goals for her team at the New York State championship game, earning the title of Most Outstanding Player.

While sports and maintaining a 4.4 GPA keep Erin busy, she finds time to serve her school and community. She’s a student council representative and leads her community’s youth lacrosse and soccer teams. Erin also volunteers for the Dogs In Need Organization, and she and her family foster orphaned kittens and puppies. Putting in hours to bottle-feed the animals and help them survive has taught Erin critical lessons in sacrifice that continue to make her a strong, supportive teammate and leader, on the field and off.