This article appears in the September/October edition of USA Lacrosse Magazine. Join our momentum.
“Take Me Back” connects today’s lacrosse stars with the next generations of players from their hometowns. This month, Annabelle Finney, a 12-year-old attacker with Coppermine 2029 and a seventh grader at Maryvale Prep (Md.) — not to mention an Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse super fan — interviews AU pro and three-time Maryland captain Grace Griffin.
Annabelle: What was your biggest challenge moving from high school to college ball?
Grace: The speed of the game is something that’s very different.
Annabelle: You’re an incredible player, so what’s your greatest piece of advice for younger athletes like me?
Grace: Aw, thank you! Whenever I talk to younger players, I think about what I would want to hear when I was younger and things that helped me. The biggest things are always working hard, doing the little things right and being a great teammate.
Annabelle: That’s incredible advice. Thank you so much. Which player did you look up to the most growing up?
Grace: Two that really stick out to me are two former Terps — Alice Mercer and Katie Schwarzmann. They played at Century High School, which was right down the road from where I grew up.
Annabelle: You were a three-time captain at Maryland. What type of mindset and actions did it take to accomplish that?
Grace: It was such a huge honor. The way that we were selected was mostly team-voted. My teammates year after year believed in me and trusted me. As a captain, I realized that I had to lead in different ways. You’re with a different team, a different group of people each year. You have to adapt. My biggest thing as a leader is bringing out the best in others and instilling leadership in them.
Annabelle: How did you handle days when you didn’t play as you wanted to?
Grace: In those moments, something I learned was bringing up others around you. If you’re not having the best day, it’s the beauty of a team sport — you can really bring up the other people around you.
