EASTHAM — Senior Coral Punch is one of the standouts of the Nauset Regional High School girls lacrosse team. She recently eclipsed 100 career points for a team that has been on the rise, thanks in part to the work of this year’s seniors. But come the end of the season, she said, it’s college itself she’ll be focused on, not lacrosse.
“I really wanted to play in college,” said Punch, who lives in Orleans. “But over the summer, playing club lacrosse changed my mind.”
Punch played for Aces Lacrosse, a leading northeast girls club based in Plymouth. The Aces have had nearly 50 college lacrosse commitments on their roster, and at the end of the 2023 spring season, she wanted to become one of those names. Games were competitive, she said, with play at a level comparable to college. But its intensity made her think.
“It was just such a big commitment, and I don’t think I would have been able to handle that alongside schoolwork,” she said.
The 18-year-old was coming off a junior campaign during which she racked up 53 points and was one of Nauset’s leading scorers. That was on top of the 31 points she scored as a sophomore; she had none as a freshman. When she started in lacrosse, she said, “I was very, very bad.”
The fact that, according to Next College Student Recruiting (NCSA), a college recruiting firm, fewer than 2 percent of high school student athletes in the sport are offered athletic scholarships gave Punch pause. As did the lack of any professional post-college opportunities in lacrosse.
As she moved through senior year, Punch also began to realize she wanted to go to a larger school. Yet despite her prowess in front of goal for the Warriors, she felt her game was not at the level of the schools she had on her list. “I was super aware that I wasn’t nearly as good as all these girls I was competing against,” she said. “And I was OK with that.”
For any athlete, she said, it’s important to know whether you’re at the level you want to be playing at or not. She’s glad, she said, “I was able to admit it to myself.”
Still, Punch is thankful for the platform high school lacrosse has given her. It’s been a chance to grow — on and off the field. When she arrived at Nauset, she struggled academically, she said. And she couldn’t take constructive criticism — nor deliver it.
Girls lacrosse coach Heather Stevens said that through good student-teacher and student-coach relationships Punch has matured and come out of her shell. “She’s spinning frustration in a positive direction,” Stevens said.
When asked at the end of her junior season if she would be applying to be a captain, Punch was strongly against the idea. Stevens agreed with that decision. But Punch’s summer experiences led to a change of heart, and she penned a letter to Stevens about becoming captain. “That letter showed me what I needed to see,” Stevens said.
It’s been a big shift for Punch to be a positive voice for the team, she said. She still gets frustrated, but her delivery remains upbeat. “I give the coaching staff a lot of credit for helping me be able to change my attitude,” she said. “Coach Stevens has always been there for me. She’s been a great support to have.”
Despite her decisions about her post-season trajectory, this season is important for Punch and the rest of the seniors on the team. They’ve progressed from a winless freshman season into a team that can compete for the playoffs, and they’re holding the younger players accountable to match the effort it took to get to this position.
“The younger girls don’t know how it feels to be on a team that doesn’t win any games,” Punch said.
Punch said she hopes to pursue a degree in health care and eventually be able to help people. But mainly when she thinks about college, she thinks about just being able to experience it.
“College is a time in your life to find yourself and to figure out what is going to set you up for the rest of your life,” she said.
