Kids who are enamored by being on the field dream of playing their sport at a collegiate or professional level, but only a small percentage of those dreams become a reality. Junior lacrosse player, Ryanne Lehman, just made the next stage of her dream a reality by announcing her commitment to Gannon University to play lacrosse at a D2 level. It takes tremendous work and dedication to follow through with big goals like this, and that’s exactly what Ryanne is doing.
Ryanne was first introduced to lacrosse through her dad, Steven, who coaches a competitive boys’ team near Philadelphia. After much convincing her father succeeded, and she finally tried out lacrosse in eighth grade. While playing for coaches Kaytie Costic and Jeff Giordan, her love for the game sparked.
Unfortunately, Ryanne faced a major setback during her freshman season. Due to an incident, she fractured her right wrist. Alas, her bad luck didn’t stop there, at practice going for a ground ball she broke her ulna and the radius in her left arm. Ryanne was out for a total of five months, which meant her freshman season was scratched. Her injury was not only a physical setback but a mental one too. She had to put her newfound love for the game on pause to fully recover. “I was very hesitant to come back, I was super scared to go for a ground ball,” said Lehman.
While gaining the courage to start playing again, Ryanne joined the club lacrosse team, Intrepid, during the fall of her sophomore year. “Intrepid made me more confident in myself and helped me advance my skills. It gave me an opportunity where I was challenged more,” said Lehman. This opportunity made her one step closer to reaching her dreams. After practicing at this competitive level for the fall and winter, Ryanne came back her sophomore season better than ever. She ended that season with a bang, winning the Most Dedicated Player Award and the Jim Walter Award, which is for the player on the team with the best stats.
Ryanne’s hard work continued to show throughout the number of camps, prospect days, and far-away tournaments she attended. Ultimately, one camp would change her for the better. After visiting Gannon University for the first time, Ryanne went back to spend more time with the team and coaches. She was able to stay with the girls and attend practices with the coaches. There were about nine prospects attending the camp. They were told that within a week after the end of camp, they would receive a call from the coach to find out where they would go from there. “It was super nerve-wracking, all I could do was wait around,” said Lehman. After a long four days, Ryanne received the phone call from Coach Pawolski that she had been waiting for and was offered a spot on the team after she graduates. “Receiving that call made me feel so happy and proud of myself. I felt like all of my work had paid off, but it also made me nervous because I had to make a huge decision now,” said Lehman.
In the end, Gannon was an easy choice for Ryanne. “The girls were super nice and made me feel at home. I fell in love with the team and the coaches. Everyone was super supportive of everything,” said Lehman. She chose a D2 school like Gannon so she could continue on her path to becoming a nurse. “I really like the idea of being competitive, but not overly competitive, to the point where I can’t major in nursing,” said Lehman.
It took so much more than what meets the eye for Ryanne to meet her goals. All of those endless hours of wall ball and drills, those boiling hot summer practices and tournaments are what allowed Ryanne to achieve her dreams. “I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without my biggest supporters, my mom and dad, they are always willing to invest in my future and come to my games,” said Lehman.
While tuning into Ryanne’s journey she can be found playing on Rossi field for the next two years, then at Gannon University, and maybe one day even the Women’s Lacrosse League.
