Player Spotlight: Drew Balfour

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In our relatively smaller community, freshman varsity athletes are still seen as a novelty. After losing nine talented seniors, the girls varsity lacrosse team was expected to have many underclassmen. However, only one freshman, Drew Balfour, was chosen.

Do not let the label “freshman” fool you; Balfour has more experience than most of the varsity players. She has been playing since the second grade on three different teams. Girls varsity coach Jesse Rutter has been happy with Balfour’s ability to step up on the team.
My expectations for Drew were to step into a starter’s role immediately and make an impact. She has met those expectations to a tee. Beyond this season, I expect Drew to take more of a leadership role and really become the undisputed leader of our defensive unit,” Rutter said.

Balfour’s fearless demeanor and athletic dexterity exemplifies what a team player should strive to be. Sophomore midfielder Jillian Krawczel was in Balfour’s shoes last year when she was the only freshman on varsity.

“She’s a role model to future freshman varsity athletes. She was very loud and outgoing coming into the season whereas you’d expect someone in that situation to be more quiet and shy,” Krawczel said.

Along with being a starter on the varsity girls lacrosse team, Balfour was the second ranking singles player for the girls varsity tennis team. When she is not perfecting her skills, Balfour takes on a rigorous academic schedule, taking all honors classes as a freshman. She plans to take the AP route the next few years in hopes of graduating as an AP scholar.

Despite having a difficult season with a 1-11 record, Balfour’s talent and hard work still shone through as she led the defense in ground balls. She specialized in defending her team’s goal, but that did not stop her from scoring a few goals herself.

This season has most definitely been difficult, but the important thing to remember is that every game is a new chance to go and play your heart out and that it’s important to use that chance to be the best player you can be,” Balfour said.