With no summer camp offered for girls’ lacrosse at Northwood this year, 17 of Northwood’s JV players came together to form their own non-school-affiliated team to play in the 2025 Summer LAX League.
Under the name “Wolfpack,” the team spent three weekends in July and one weekend in August at Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate School, where they competed against other varsity and JV teams registered by Michael Welter, the league’s organizer and San Juan Hills High School’s head lacrosse coach. No scores were kept; instead, the teams came together solely to practice, improve and engage in healthy competition.
“Being in the league helped me keep my skills in shape,” junior Azra Odabasoglu said. “I was able to get more creative and try out new dodges and shooting techniques that I wasn’t able to practice as much during the school season.”
Wolfpack didn’t materialize overnight. Months ago, junior Lindsay Nagata—one of last year’s JV captains—proposed competing independently over the summer. With her teammates’ support and her dad’s willingness to step in as coach, Nagata formed Wolfpack, running practices twice a week to prepare for the games.
“We had to figure out uniforms and who could come to what game, which was pretty difficult because everyone had plans during the summer,” Nagata said. “But a lot of our team was interested in joining, which showed our dedication.”
Despite the logistical challenges of organizing an independent team outside of the usual summer camp schedule, players say that this experience helped strengthen their team’s bond.
“I loved sitting together in a circle under the tent before games and during breaks with our team,” sophomore Bella Shim said. “We played games, made TikToks and just talked to each other. That helped us to create better chemistry on the field.”
Wolfpack will continue to compete, and they plan on recruiting more athletes from other schools to increase lacrosse’s accessibility, especially for those who are unable to join a club team. For more information about the team, visit @wolfpackglax on Instagram.
