As president of the University of Georgia’s women’s club lacrosse team, Skylar Deluca isn’t just leading on the field; she’s shaping the future of a fast-growing sport at Georgia.
With the No. 1-ranked team heading into the national tournament in Wichita, Kansas., Deluca shares what it takes to balance leadership, competition and her passion for the game. She dives into the grit behind club sports and offers timely insight into where progress is still needed at Georgia.
Q: Skylar, You have held a leadership role on this team for two years now. Vice president last year and now president. How has being a club team member shaped your experience as a player and a leader?
A: So I’ve actually been on the executive committee for three years now. I was PR chair my sophomore year, so I’ve held leadership roles for the past three years and especially being on a club team, it’s very, very rewarding because it’s a fully student run pretty much. We have coaches who come to our games, but ultimately we have an executive team that runs the entire program. It’s given me so much leadership experience and so much organizational and planning experience.
I think running a team of 25 girls is hard enough as an a graduated adult, but like doing it while you’re in school really just teaches you a lot of patience and leadership and really sets you up for the future. I’m just like learning things that I normally wouldn’t, would never have learned.
Q: When you found out a couple weeks ago Georgia was ranked No. 1, what emotions and expectations came with that moment?
A: I think being on this team for four years, we’ve worked so hard to maintain such a precedent coming into every season. We are such a powerhouse in the Southeastern conference (also known as SWLL) division, and I think that being ranked number one after such a long beginning of the season and such hard work from this entire team was just so rewarding, especially being the president and captain of the team. I think it just shows that all of our hard work pays off.
We are now No. 1 going into nationals, which is so insane. We’ve just come up so close every single year and going into this tournament number one is such a rewarding experience. Like we have such a young team, half our team is new, and I think that brings a really unique perspective on the season and how well we’re doing and how well we’re playing. We lost like six of our starters last year and lacrosse has 11 on the field, so that’s half our starting lineup. So to be able to come back from that and just overcome all of it is just really impressive and I’m really, really proud of the girls and the teamwork that they’re putting in this season.
Q: How did it feel to win back the Southeastern Conference after an over-10-year streak ended to Clemson last year?
A: It felt so good, especially that last game with Clemson. Having that championship game be with them was truly special because they were the ones that took it away from us last year. I think we prepared really well for the game and it really showed on the field. We were working so together and you could tell we wanted it more and that’s just what happened at the end. It was really a truly amazing feeling to bring back that trophy after a year of not having that title.
Q: Georgia had five first-team conference players including yourself, two second-team, and then the conference’s most valuable player, Kayleigh Page. Can you speak on the wide range of talented players on this team and how they all come together to form the number one team in the nation?
A: Yeah, I think our talent comes from each other. Our team is very, very driven, but I think it’s the way that we connect on the field that makes all of us stand out as players. Our team obviously is majority from out of state, so I feel like it helps bringing everyone’s different upbringing of lacrosse onto the field. It makes us all better players. It’s just learning from each other. Yeah, like in practice every single day I will play on Kay in practice in order to make my defense better and in turn that helps her be better at attack too. So like it’s just everyone really pushes each other and that’s just the way that we all get better.
Q: Does your No. 1 ranking and conference title shift how you approach practice or preparation for the national championship tournament?
A: No, I think we always come into practice knowing that we have a target on our backs. We’ve fallen short the past couple years that I’ve been on this team in the national tournament and that’s just because we’ve underestimated teams, and I think going into practice this these next couple weeks to prepare for nationals are so crucial, and we’re just gonna be pushing each other extra hard because we want it and we’ve been working toward this for so long.
Q: You said that it’s a young team and that you lost six starters. What else sets the team apart from past seasons?
A: I think the way we play on the field, it’s very, we’re playing as a team and we’re not playing individually, which is how we fell short the past couple of years. I think we have people who are just wanting to work together and wanting to get better and are very selfless with every play that they make on the field and that makes such a difference when playing on a team.
Q: Georgia Athletics does not have a varsity women’s lacrosse team, but with your team’s success, do you think it’s time for UGA to invest in women’s lacrosse at a Division I varsity level?
A: I think it would be great for this university especially as it’s spread around the South. Obviously FSU is having a team next year. Clemson just has a team, just opened up a team. I think bringing lacrosse to the SEC would be a game changer. Like we see it with Clemson, UF and FSU, all opening up teams and how successful they are. It would be such a great shift for Georgia to have a varsity team, but at the same time, it’s great to just be the only lacrosse team on campus. So whatever the school decides to do, I think it will, it will benefit them in the long run.
Q: If UGA were to add a varsity lacrosse program, how do you think that would impact the club team?
A: Yeah, I mean that’s hard to answer because we, we don’t know, like how it would impact us. We don’t even have a field to play on here that’s turf. So I mean if lacrosse came to Georgia, I would hope that the club team could utilize some of their field space for games, since we struggle with that. We don’t have a regulation turf field right now to play any home games on, which is really a struggle that we have.
Hopefully it would highlight more of our struggles within club, but I don’t think it would impact us a whole lot. Like obviously we wouldn’t be the only lacrosse team on campus, but I don’t really know.
Q: Do you feel like your team is proving there’s already a demand and a talent pool here?
A: Oh yeah. When we host tryouts, we have over 50 girls come in the fall and that just shows how many girls want to play the sport and want to get involved, and I think it’s really impressive, especially being from the North and coming to the South, I didn’t know how popular, how the sport was growing so fast in Georgia, and I think it just goes to show the opportunity that lacrosse can bring to girls who wanna play.
Q: Back to you running your club and the leadership aspects, what kind of sacrifices or extra responsibilities do you and your teammates take on to keep this club running at such a competitive level?
A: I think being in different leadership roles and then coming into the role of president is vastly different. You don’t realize how much responsibility you have to take on whether that’s personally and logistically. I am pretty much in charge for everything that happens on the team no matter what it is. I’m helping every exec position excel like in their own way.
I’ve had to make a lot of, I wouldn’t say sacrifices because it’s something I love to do, but it is just very time-consuming. Planning all the travel planning, all of the games, communicating with club sports and SWLL. It’s really great to be involved in all of that, but it is time-consuming and it is a full-time job, so it’s hard to have time for other things on campus when my whole life is the club sport. But I love to do it and I love the girls and it makes it so rewarding that everyone on our exec team is so amazing at their job. It is hard work that does pay off.
Q: Are there other goals besides national championship that you hope to accomplish in these final weeks?
A: Obviously, the national championship, but my freshman and sophomore year on the team we were runners-up in the national championship to BC (Boston College) so we were so close but we just didn’t clinch that final win. And then last year we thought we had it in the bag and we got upset by UCLA, which is just very devastating. I think a national championship would be the greatest thing because it does fall on our graduation for seniors, so unfortunately I won’t be able to attend my graduation. So yeah, I guess that’s a sacrifice, but I won’t be able to attend my graduation due to WCLA national tournament, so it would be really nice to come out with a championship to make that all worth it. But I think we really, the seniors and I, are really looking to leave this team with just confidence that they’re gonna thrive next year and I think that we have a lot of juniors on this team who I’m so confident in their abilities to run this team. Like they don’t even need us, you know.
Q: You said how UCLA ended your run last season in the national tournament. They are seeded No. 2. Are there certain things that you’re focusing on if that matchup comes up again?
A: I think time, just like wasn’t on our side last year in that semifinal game. We don’t have a shot clock in WCLA, which just doesn’t help when teams are holding the ball on either side. We’re just trying not to overthink it. I think in years past we’ve gotten so nervous overthinking games and then we come in playing scared.
Our team is really strong, and we’re really looking to just play our game. I have never seen such a cohesive team in my four years of being here playing on the field. It’s such beautiful lacrosse and everyone’s working so well together. It’s honestly just, we just have to play our game and not overthink it and we should be okay.
Carly Smith is a student in the undergraduate certificate program at the Carmical Sports Media Institute at the University of Georgia.
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