[ Return to the Monthly Celebrity main page ]
 

Jess Slater
September 2003 Celebrity

Jess Slater constantly pushes herself to become even better in the net, and she plays with a love of the game and a refusal to be intimidated in the net -- regardless of whether her opponents are girls or guys. Like last month's Monthly Celebrity, Kari Frazier, Jess has played on both boys' teams and girls' teams, except Jess spent her first 4 lacrosse years with the boys.

Former coach for both her boys' and girls' teams, Coach Bob Slater, who is also Jess' father, commented about Jess first playing on a boys' team:

“ I thought it would be great experience for her. I knew she could handle it growing up with two older brothers. They would dress her in every pad we had in our garage and put her in goal with street hockey and let her have it, this became a two to three times a week starting when she was 4 years old.

I think every girl goalie if possible should play a year or two in the youth leagues with the boys' lacrosse program, their stick skills and response on speed of the shots will improve a lot quicker. I coached my first girls' team this year it was tough but girls' lacrosse without a tough and skilled goalie are in trouble there are a lot more one on one than boys lacrosse. ”

Coach Slater was right -- it was indeed a great experience. Determined to prove that she could be an equal to any boys' goalie, she has grown into an excellent goalkeeper. In fact, she went beyond being an "equal" and was the starting goalie of the boys' all-state team and she has earned the reputation of being a "wicked awesome" goalie by boys and girls alike.

What sets Jess apart from other goalies? Coach Slater states:

“ She is very competitive and wants to be the best she can be, she works hard and is very vocal on the playing field which is another key part of a goalie. I have coached her for 5 years and know if the High School coaches work with her she will excel very quickly. She just got selected for a fall league in Massachusetts (the Top Gun league) starting in October.

Her goal is to play for a big school in college and I am excited!!! ”

Interview

Goalie Nation: Why did you first start playing goalie?
Jess Slater: I was playing around in the backyard with my older brother, and at that time it was my second year and his first so we were practicing shooting. He told me to get in the net so it would be more difficult and I actually ended up being good at it, so I asked my coach if I could try it at practice and I ended up sticking with it.

GN: At what point do you feel you made the transition from an average goalie to an outstanding goalie, and what sparked that change?
JS: When I was younger I was always a little on the chubby side, so I wasn't very fast our in shape, but when I was 12 I lost about 20 pounds and it just completely changed my game, I was quicker stronger and now loved the game because I didn't have a hard time running anymore. I used to dread going to practice up until that year. Now, I never want to miss a practice. Once I reached that point and I started receiving compliments from the other teams' parents and such, it just made me want to become even better, and I realized that this is what I love to do.

GN:  What was it like playing on a boys' team?  How did people respond to you playing goal for the guys?
JS: It was great, I got so much respect from my teammates when they saw me play. I became friends with all of them too, I think I have more guy friends than girls. When we had games the other team was so mean to me. They would make fun of me, even call me a lesbian! It was horrible I would get so upset because they were saying tons of things that weren't true at all. As soon as the game started they would shut up pretty quickly, and they were the ones getting made fun of because they got stuffed by a girl. After a year or so I learned how to just ignore their comments because I knew they weren't true, and I realized that they said things just to feel macho and cool because they knew I was better than most of them. Adults were great though, they would come up to me after the game and tell me I was doing a great thing playing with the boys, and tell me to stick with goalie, some even knew my name after a couple games.

GN: Describe the transition from playing on a boys' team to a girls' team.
For example, what was the biggest adjustment you had to make?
JS: Most people think that boys must've been harder, but I disagree. Last year when I played with girls for the first time I got so frustrated, they knew just where to shoot, and I thought I had lost everything I had worked for. Boys shots are harder, that's for sure, but they don't get near the crease because the defenseman are all over them, but in girls they can't touch them so there's a lot of one-on-ones which are the hardest shots to save. Luckily though I got the hang of the girls shots and had my best season of lacrosse yet. The biggest adjustment was not being able to come out and stick check them on one-on-ones. One of the first girls games I had a girl wrapped around the crease, so I came out and tried to check her stick, but I missed and hit her in the head.

GN: How did playing on a boys' team influence the way you play goal, in regards to both the physical aspect and the mental aspect of the game?
JS: I have very good positioning because of playing boys. I hold my stick correctly and know my angles, a lot of the girls' goalies I have seen have a terrible stance and hold their stick so oddly, so they're not ready to react. Also I can clear a lot further than many girls. As far as mentally, I am fearless, one important thing in goal is to never ever be intimidated. Also when you're playing a team that makes fun of you before a game or what not, I just listen to what they say and then get my revenge in the game when I save their shot. I'm so used to mean comments before the game, the boys' teams were so cruel! They always thought they were going to crush us because the other team's goalie was a girl. Again I would just prove them wrong in the game.

GN: Do you mentally prepare for the girls' game differently than you did when you played for the boys' game?  If so, how?
JS: I prepare the same basically, listen to a good CD right before the game. Something that gets your adrenaline flowing. Lately, though, I have been picturing myself doing things right, that I 've been doing wrong. It helps you get your body into the habit of doing what you're picturing, and gives you the confidence that you can do it.

GN:. What is your favorite aspect of playing on a boys' team?  and a girls' team?
JS: The best part of playing on a boys' team was showing the other team, and the crowd that I was able to compete with the boys and be as good as them and even better. I felt like I was making a statement for women and girl athletes all over the world. Like I was living proof that men and women are equal. The best part of playing on a girls' team was the respect I got. The comments from the other team at the end of the game were no longer negative, but positive. I had the best teammates too, they voted me captain and I was so glad that they looked up to me as a leader. It was awesome when the other team had heard about me and I could hear them saying things like, "they have a wicked awesome goalie, she played for the boys", it just makes you feel incredible that people talk that way about you, and that all your hard work pays off.

GN: Who is your role model and why?
JS: I don't have a role model. I don't want to follow in someone's footsteps, or be just like them, or accomplish what has already been done. I don't want to be average either, average is one of the worst things in the world to me, because it means you're just like everyone else. I want to do things no one has ever done, and be well known for doing something great. I want to become someone's role model someday.

Why Play   |   About Goalie Nation   |   Sponsors   |   Feedback & Nominations   |   Nation Lacrosse