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05/21/2024 11:20 AMMikella O'Brien is always soaking up knowledge and taking on new challenges to strengthen her repertoire with lacrosse. That determined drive has led to her being a sharp swiss army knife and one of the more diverse defenders in the Shoreline Conference for girls’ lacrosse.
The Thunderbirds senior and defender started with lacrosse all the way back in second grade, and, aside from the Covid year during junior high, she has never relented with the sport. After serving as a co-captain for the girls’ soccer squad this past fall, she is back on the turf this spring as a high defenseman who can also play low when needed for the Thunderbirds–just finishing off another superb regular season record of 12-4.
“I loved being around my family with the sport and my dad coaching me. They made the sport so enjoyable for me. My friends have also made the sport so enjoyable, and the girls on the team now are some of my best friends,” says Mikella. “[Head Coach Lori Connelly] is one of my biggest supporters. She is a hands-on coach and knows how to motivate me and push me to do better, as do all of the coaches. It is all very positive in the end because it is all to make me better.”
Beyond her speed, stamina, or legs, Mikella has also become quite ambidextrous with a lax stick in her hands. She details making that move to her non-preferred side can put her in rough predicaments at times, though she has a sound defensive core of colleagues that can read her like a book.
“It can be tough playing on the left side at times because I am right-hand dominant, but trying that side has opened up my hand skills to carry the ball better,” Mikella says. “We have such a great defensive unit this year. We are all comfortable with each other. We can communicate with each other without really talking. We flow very easily together.”
The cohesion and confidence among her teammates has inspired Mikella to take new chances defensively and step outside of her comfort zone. She explains that it has translated to her taking on the rock fearlessly in virtually any spot with swiftness in her head and heart.
“I just have to be comfortable with each defensive position. We play a zone defense for the most part, yet I practice high and low defense. It is mainly about what our coaches put into practice to help me,” says Mikella. “I have gotten better with bringing the ball upfield. I want to ask to bring the ball up the field while weaving. I think sometimes I got too far to one side, so I am working on quicker feet.”
There are certain moments where things can build up in one athlete’s head, especially in someone with Mikella’s responsibilities. Yet she curbs that anxiety by taking a step back and looking at why she got involved in sports in the first place: to have fun playing a game.
“One thing that has helped me is thinking that games are not that serious; they are not a matter of life and death,” Mikella says. “I also make sure to take responsibility for my mistakes and communicate with people. You just have to know you will survive in the end.”
Mikella makes the most of her spot as being a senior leader on the club. She details that she does not have an official captain designation to drive her to be an impactful teammate and friend at every tier of the team.
“I know I am not a captain, but it is nice to have some authority to help lead the girls,” says Mikella. “It is also nice to know them all and be able to help them with anything. It's a great feeling having them look up to me.”
Mikella does all the little things that do not show up in a scoring book, according to Connelly. She completes those actions with sparse penalty time while being a source of motivation to her teammates about the payoffs of maximum effort.
“Mikella has been a quiet but deadly force over the past three seasons. Her play isn't flashy, but she is always doing the right thing. She is super aggressive but in a good way that gets the job done with limited fouls. She has also grown into a player that is confident to move the ball up the field without crumbling under pressure, and this has been a huge asset to the team defense this year,” says Connelly. “Mikella is also always smiling and is a great friend and support system for all her teammates. She is the kind of athlete that works hard every season and just continues to grow week by week and season by season. She is a great role model for showing the younger athletes that even though you are already a great player, there are always ways to grow even more if you are willing to show up every day and work hard.”
The Thunderbirds will enter the postseason with probably the sharpest hunger pangs in the Shoreline in terms of craving championship glory after being the two-time reigning runners-up. Mikella mentions that they will look to work diligently in their preparation to shake the bride’s maid-type reputation they have had and turn Shoreline silver into gold.
“Our goal is to really win the Shoreline Conference title again. We won it my freshman year, but it would be great to finally do it after losing in the finals the last two years,” Mikella says. “We really want to make it back there and win it. We are just trying to push ourselves at practices to get us ready for the big games.”