Grady’s Lacrosse Team Finishes Undefeated Season!

Grady High’s Lady Lacrosse team went undefeated this season with a score of 11-0! They entered the TILT, the State’s largest and most prestigious girls J.V. Tournament, held at Northview High School in John’s Creek.  Thirty-two teams participated from across the extended metro region, including traditional powerhouses such as Roswell, Alpharetta and Augusta. After two days of spirited competition, Grady returned home with the championship trophy for the West Bracket — the first ever in APS lacrosse history!

These unprecedented accomplishments are the result of many factors, but perhaps the most influential is the arrival of 15 experienced freshmen from Inman Middle School.  Grady High School started a CLUB Lacrosse team five years ago; two years later, Inman began a CLUB team and Grady became a JV team. The expectation was that the programs would improve over time, as the Inman players would enter into the Grady program, and pave the path for lacrosse in APS.  In fact, that evolution has progressed so rapidly that it has produced something more analogous to a revolution. After struggling to win a handful of games in the first few seasons, Grady Lady Lax finished this season undefeated!

“We were so pleased to augment our talented veteran players with this wave of new players,” says Coach Martha Jones.  “They’ve given our team the depth and breadth we needed to truly compete.”  That depth was evidenced as 17 of the 26 girls on the team scored goals over the season.  Grady did not simply compete — they dominated!  The ladies scored an average of 11 goals per game, but gave up an average of only 3 goals per game.

Eighteen of the current Grady players were members of the inaugural team at Inman Middle School, which current Grady Coach Katie Meyer led at the time.  Coach Meyer says, “I’m thrilled about how far these girls have advanced since that first season, but I’m even more excited about the future ahead of them.  We are going to convert the team to varsity next year, which will be tough for this young a team, but they’ll be competitive and will gain a ton of experience.  So the year after next, watch out Atlanta!”

The Inman and Grady lacrosse combo has catalyzed lacrosse activity throughout APS.  North Atlanta High and Sutton Middle are now also fielding teams.  This is consistent with APS Athletic Director Jeff Beggs’s vision for APS athletics, which includes starting lacrosse programs at every APS middle and high school.  Grady Lady Lax has been the vanguard for APS, and next year will be raising the bar by fielding a Varsity Lacrosse team.