Mariann Trecki (on defense) has gone all-in with lacrosse and results continue to appear.
Photo courtesy of Jill Trecki
Two years ago,
Mariann Trecki didn't know the first thing about lacrosse.
Then she got a passion after her older brother, Matthew, taught her the sport.
"I thought it was really cool using sticks to catch it and stuff," Trecki said. "I thought it had a really cool background, originating from American Indians. I'm very coordinated with my hands more than my feet, so I thought it was a good sport for me."
Trecki's brother is the one responsible for
introducing her to the game.
Photo courtesy of Jill Trecki
It's because of girls like Trecki that lacrosse is the fastest-growing sport in America. She is in her second year playing on the
Flagler Palm Coast (Palm Coast, Fla.) girls team. The sophomore has latched onto lacrosse, and it's taken over her athletic life.
"She's definitely an advocate for it," Flagler Palm Coast lacrosse coach Katie Kastner said. "She's always got the T-shirts on and she's always encouraging everybody to play. You can tell she's so into it and she wants to know everything about it. She wants to know the best gear; she wants to know the best players."
Trecki has become the best player on her team in just two years of playing. According to her coach, Trecki is leading the team this season in scoring. She played attack as a freshman, but has become a utility player this year. She fills in at all three offensive and defensive positions, wherever her team needs her.
"She's good because she's very versatile," Kastner said. "She can play anywhere on the field. She's improved so much and she's just such a natural leader out there."
Trecki was named a team captain his year by Kastner, who said it was an easy chose because of how responsible the sophomore is on and off the field.
"Our team's really young. We only have one senior and a few juniors, but she's just one of those kids if you're losing by two points in the fourth quarter, she's going to pick you up," Kastner said. "She's going to do what's best for the team in any situation. She's very mindful of a lot of things. She's very smart."
Being named a captain in just her second season playing lacrosse means a great deal to Trecki. She's won over her coaches as well as her teammates.
Learn more about the MaxPreps US Marines program at www.maxpreps.com/marines"I didn't see myself being even on varsity as a freshman and to come in as a sophomore and be varsity captain and be a main starter on midfield means a lot to me," Trecki said. "I get to push my girls and help motivate them and just pretty much lead the team. I'm building the program as a sophomore and I know our girls will be really, really good after I leave."
The 16-year-old is wise beyond her years on the field. Lacrosse isn't the easiest sport to comprehend, but Trecki is constantly learning.
Club lacrosse has helped Trecki develop her skills
to a higher level.
Photo courtesy of Jill Trecki
"I'm naturally a very fast learner, so I pick things up very quickly," Trecki said. "I pick up skills and stuff quickly, but my lacrosse IQ and knowing what to do in situations during games, that took me a little bit to kind of build upon. I really like it."
After the high school season wrapped up last year, Trecki played on two club teams in Florida, LaxManiax out of Jacksonville and Blue Skies in Flagler Beach. Playing with top-notch, talented players really boasted Trecki's game.
She said the coaches at the club level, who are former Division I athletes, broke down her technique and made sure her basic skills were where they needed to be.
"From a freshman who was pretty good, she wasn't a starter last year, but she was pretty good -- I was like, ‘Ah, this kid's got some talent,'" Kastner said. "Then she played club and overnight she was so much better. Her stick-handling was better. Her stick skills were better. Just her awareness on the field was better. Everything was better. You could tell she put a lot of work into it and playing at that higher level made her a much better player."
"I think I've definitely improved my stick skills," Trecki said. "Just being able to see when to pass it, when to shoot and seeing the lane to the goal. More situational things like what to do when I'm being double-teamed."
Lacrosse consumes a large chunk of Trecki's life, but it doesn't stop her from being overly active in school.
She ranks in the top 4 percent of her class of nearly 500 students and has a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She is involved in the International Baccalaureate program, so all her courses are advanced. She is already earning college credits as an underclassman.
Trecki is also very involved in extracurricular activities at her school, including band, Student Government Association, Future Problem Solvers and Community Problem Solvers.
In addition to athletics, Trecki participates in band
and has a 4.0 GPA.
Courtesy photo
"I don't know when the kid sleeps, to be honest with you," Kastner said. "She's always so busy. She's just a good kid. And that's something I looked at too when I was picking out the captains: can they be a role model in the classroom?"
Away from the classroom, volunteering is important to Trecki. She has spent about four hours every weekend for the past nine months at Florida Hospital Flagler in Palm Coast. She generally works in the emergency room helping doctors, moving patients, sending items to the lab and restocking medical supplies. She's also had the opportunity to shadow a doctor.
"It definitely makes their jobs easier a lot, especially when the ER is swamped and there's a lot of people coming in and out because they're sick," Trecki said.
It's also beneficial for Trecki. When she heads off to college in two years, she plans to study pre-med to become either a neurosurgeon or cardiothoracic surgeon.
"That's kind of been a way to get a taste for it and see what it would be like and just being in a hospital setting," Trecki said. "I just find it really cool to help people and be able to perform surgeries and just help people everywhere and save lives."
Trecki would like to pursue her degree in the medical field as well as play lacrosse in college. Her dream is to play at the Division I level just like coach Kastner, who played at Jacksonville State.
"I'm mostly academically driven, but lacrosse is definitely a big part of my life and I definitely want it to be a big part of my future," Trecki said.
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