High school sports: Reichart sets summer tone for Central Square girls lacrosse
Aug. 12—CENTRAL SQUARE — During their exit meeting following the Central Square girls lacrosse season, head coach Tyler Renaud expressed to Hannah Reichart that she is next in line to act as the team leader.
The sophomore-to-be has wasted little time taking the mantle, setting the tone for the Redhawks with a hard-working summer dedicated to enhancing her individual skills in hopes of also elevating the program.
The highlight for Reichart has been her experience playing in the Under Armour All-America Underclass Tournament in late July at Maryland. The attacker played for the Upstate NY team in the Command Division for what has become a premier recruiting event for college coaches nationally.
"The whole experience of just lacrosse all week was cool, and the level of play at the tournament was so different, just being able to play against that many girls that are better was a good experience overall," Reichart said.
Reichart was selected as a standout from her division by Inside Lacrosse with the publication describing her as an "effective distributor that also drives with purpose and force."
The outlet credited her speed and ability to quickly change directions, which allowed the college hopeful to score crucial goals in key moments during the event.
"It's priceless, you're dealing with Hannah going up against the top players in the country," Renaud said. "No. 1, it's an honor to be chosen for the team, but the experience alone, it just allows the individual to gauge themselves against the best. From that point, Hannah is going to bring back to Central Square a higher level of play and a mentality of what it takes."
Reichart was among 60 area players who tried out for the Upstate team earlier this summer at Tully High School.
They held mandatory practices leading into the prestigious showcase tournament. Reichart credited coaches Dennis Kennedy and Rachel Hillhouse for quickly developing chemistry between the unit.
"They put our team together and wanted us to connect and be more like a family, and I think that really helped us going through the tournament and being able to keep positive attitudes," Reichart said.
She later added: "One of the biggest positives was being able to meet so many new people and making connections on the team, you'll always remember those people from the tournament. I learned that you have to be able to trust your teammates, it's never a one-man sport, so you have to trust everyone on your team or you won't get anywhere."
Reichart also played for the Central Team during the New York State Regional Tournament in July and has played club lacrosse with the Salt City Snipers.
She works to improve her shooting with former Syracuse University men's lacrosse All-American, Dylan Donahue, and trains on speed and footwork with former SU football player, Antwan Cordy.
She also works out regularly at the Platform Facility in Syracuse and has participated in Central Square team activities throughout the summer. According to Renaud, the Redhawks had their best summer league turnout of his coaching tenure.
"I've seen a big difference in my level of play and the people I train with during the week, I've seen them make a change too," Reichart said.
"I think seeing at the beginning of our travel season in October, everyone else was working equally as hard and if I wanted to get somewhere, I had to work as hard as they were or even harder, because it doesn't just come overnight," she later added. "So, I think working and knowing what can come over time has really pushed me."
Reichart scored 48 goals to rank second among Central Square players as a freshman last season, and she led the team with 27 assists. She also plays soccer for the Redhawks.
