Park Sports

SPHS Girls Lacrosse Seniors Now College Bound

After winning three State Championships, the graduated seniors now prepare for new adventures.

The word "powerhouse" describes the Severna Park High School Falcons girl's lacrosse team. In the past four years, the team won three state titles. But it didn't happen by luck or happenstance.  According to her players, coach Carin Peterson knows the game better than just about anybody else. But she also has a work ethic to produce winning teams and expects a lot from her players. She is not a molly coddling coach.  Instead she pushed her players to be the best every time they step on the field. But having a great feeder system doesn't hurt. Because many of the girls have been playing since they were 5 years old and have moved on to the club level during the fall and summer months, Peterson had an incredible pool of talent to choose from…

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Park Sports

Severna Park High School's Number One Fan

Kenny Elkert was recently honored for this contributions to SPHS's athletic program.

If you have been to a Severna Park High School game of any kind in the past five years or so, you have seen Kenny Elkert.  You might have also seen him at the Giant  ood  in Severna Park where he works several times a week and never fails to wave hello. Kenny is a special part of the Severna Park community.  “We knew about Kenny before we even started high school.  We knew that if you were going to go to be an athlete at Severna Park, you were going to eventually become friends with Kenny,”  said Kiersten Muhly. After four years on the field hockey and lacrosse teams for the Falcons, Muhly cannot remember a single game in which she did not see Kenny.  “Whether they were home games or away games, competitive or not competitive, Kenny was …

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Amy Leahy

9:15 am on Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Heartwarming story. So glad there are people out there who still have servant's hearts like Kiersten Muhly, who think of others. Her actions blessed not only Kenny but the others who got involved.   more ›

Park Sports

Local Athlete Heading to United States Air Force Academy

Severna Park two sport sensation had come into his own through academics and teamwork to secure an appointment at the United States Air Force Academy.

Off the field Erik Schuh is a quiet, unassuming young man.  On the field, he is a force to be reckoned with.  Which field?  Take your pick.  From his earliest days as a Severna Park athlete, first with the Green Hornets and later with Severna Park High School, Schuh has excelled at both soccer and lacrosse.   Whether he is juggling the ball through defenders or charging for the goal, he is known as a player that keeps his opponents on their toes.  But for Schuh soccer and lacrosse are more than a game.  They have given him a skill he will carry with him the rest of his life.  “Teamwork,” Schuh said, “Being part of a team has taught me so much.  As a part of the team and then this year as captain helping to lead the team, I learned lessons …

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Carrie Hilliard

2:40 pm on Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Good hard work reaps huge rewards! Congratulations to Erik! Rosie and Ron, you must be so proud!   more ›

Green Hornets Lacrosse Commissioner Has Big Plans

Matt Schaller has big plans for the boys lacrosse Program.

When the position of boy’s lacrosse commissioner in the Green Hornets came available, Matt Schaller stepped up.  Having played for the Green Hornets program as a child, Schaller felt a pull to help the program grow and improve.  Because he had already spent several years coaching his son’s Green Hornets team he was able to see just where those improvements could be made. Schaller started his position as commissioner with a big goal.  Schaller believes there is a certain atmosphere of community that football teams are able to encourage.  This atmosphere starts with getting more parents involved in the team and taking some responsibility off of the coaches.  The program has recently added team moms or managers to take some of the load off of…

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Renee MacSorley

11:53 am on Thursday, April 28, 2011

Great article. Thanks for stepping up Matt and keep up the great work!   more ›

Park Sports

Meet Gretchen Lamon Steele: Mom, Coach and Lacrosse Fiend

For this Severna Park mother of five, coaching three youth teams isn't a chore, it is a joy.

In Severna Park, it is not unusual to hear professions of love for lacrosse.  We are a lacrosse obsessed community.  Still, Gretchen Lamon Steele stands out in the crowd.  As the mom of five children, she could be forgiven for stepping back from any volunteer duties.  No one would think less of her for declining to coach a lacrosse team.  But Steele wouldn’t hear of it.  She loves this sport and feels a duty to give back to the lacrosse community. “When I was growing up there were no lacrosse teams for girls,” Steele said.  “It wasn’t even available in the public schools yet." This lack of an organized program might have been a detriment to her lacrosse career except for the fact that her earliest memories are of having a lacrosse stick in…

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Carrie Hilliard

5:03 pm on Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Is there a link to her Mighty Mites program I could get? Thanks!   more ›

Park Sports

Meet the Green Hornets Girl's LAX Commissioner

As the new commissioner for the Severna Park Green Hornets Girl's Lacrosse Program, this mom wears more than a few hats.

Jackie Harrison, like every other mom in Severna Park, is a busy woman.  With three kids who play on three different teams each spring and a career as a real estate agent, her days and nights are spent running from one practice or game to another.  But the kids and the job are only part of the equation.  This year Harrison has stepped up from being one of the assistants to the girl’s lacrosse commissioner to being the Lacrosse Commissioner. In a program like the Green Hornets, this is no small feat.  The girl’s lacrosse program has 38 teams, at least 76 coaches and assistant coaches and 602 players.  As commissioner, Harrison is the “go to mom” in the club - organizing field times, coaching staff and training and dealing with any conflicts…

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Park Sports

Opening Season Round-up

Severna Park High School spring athletes are off and running.

The spring sports season is in full swing at Severna Park High School where last  week the opening season match ups in lacrosse, baseball, softball, track and field and gymnastics were underway.  With wins from almost every Falcons team, the new season has gotten off to a good start. The Severna Park boys lacrosse team beat the South River Seahawks 5-4 in overtime over the weekend with UMBC recruit Avery Littlejohn scoring his second and the deciding goal with two minutes left in overtime play.  Other goals were scored by Erik Schuh, Joseph Galdi and Tripp Fulton. In women’s lacrosse, Carin Peterson’s team found themselves in a grudge match as   the Lady Falcons played the South River Seahawks last week for the first time since losing to …

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Severna Park's Jaci Gassaway Starts New Season at Princeton

Back from a knee injury, she's playing bigger role on attack and already scored critical game-winning points.

          Jaci Gassaway and the Princeton Women’s Lacrosse team are both making a comeback.       Last year, the Severna Park native was seeing plenty of playing time during her freshman season with the Tigers before being sidelined by an injury.  Princeton, a program that can usually be found in the Top 20 rankings, was going through a rare rebuilding season.  This year, Gassaway is back at full strength and the Tigers are back in the national rankings.      “I was coming off a knee injury from last year,” said Gassaway.  “But it’s also about being a sophomore instead of a freshman.  I’m playing a bigger role on the attack.”      Gassaway’s expanded role has resulted in more victories for Princeton.  She leads the Tigers in scoring with …

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Park Sports

Spring Sports Ready to Blossom

Ready or not, spring sports are here. Severna Park is a hub of outdoor sports activity.

The crocuses have begun to poke their heads out of the near-frozen ground.  Trees are sporting new fuzzy buds.  Moms and dads all over Severna Park are hitting the sporting good stores buying new helmets, cleats, bats and balls.  It must be spring in the Park.  The unofficial beginning of the lacrosse and soccer seasons was marked once again by "Green Hornets Night" at Behind the Back on Friday night.  After a long winter stuck inside, players and parents alike enjoyed the chance to reconnect with teammates as they picked up the season's required gear. But the gear is just the beginning.  Spring sports season is one of the busiest times of the year for folks in Severna Park.  In an effort to let our children find their comfort zone on the …

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Turn the Spectator Time Into Fitness Time

Spring sports offer the perfect opportunity for spectators to create a new fitness routine for themselves at Severna Park parks and the trail.

 As I sit at my desk looking out at the sheet of ice still covering my deck, it is hard to believe that spring sports start in just a couple of weeks.  Sooner than any of us would like, we will find ourselves standing on the sidelines of lacrosse, baseball and the soccer fields for hours at a time.  With the busy lives that we all lead these days, the hours spent watching practices  can seem like the most unproductive part of our week. They don’t have to be.  Instead of standing around chewing the fat or listening once again to how little Suzy is just not getting the playing time she deserves, we can be using that time to get in the workouts we never find time for. Each of the fields in Severna Park, whether at Kinder Farm Park, one of the…

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