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 Having already developed a competitive spirit from several seasons at the rink playing hockey and ringette, Jen Cassidy stepped onto the playing field at Whitby’s Henry Street High School in grade 9 ready for a new challenge in a new sport.
Since then, her star has been on the rise.
In her first two years, her team made it all the way to the LOSSA Championship final.
In grade 11 she saw an opportunity to turn her lacrosse focus to the world stage and tried out for the Canadian U-19 Team. She was selected to the final squad in the spring of 1999, and later that year travelled to Perth, Australia for the IFWLA World Championships where Canada won bronze.
Since then, Cassidy has translated her lacrosse success to a full scholarship south of the border, where she is likely to be a starter in goal as a freshman in her first season at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
While she loves to play, Jen has also taken up coaching, and has coached with the Durham Stingers/Oshawa Blue Knights U-20 team for the last three seasons.
While she devotes a great deal of time to honing her lacrosse skills, she has managed to spread her energies in a number of different areas. In the community, Jen has also coached girls peewee and atom house league hockey in Whitby. In 1999, she received the Vicky Sunohara Award of Excellence (Canadian Olympic Hockey Team member) for her contribution to the Whitby Girls Hockey Association and her community in general.
As a “Peer Helper” for grade nine students at Henry Street, Jen discovered that respect is earned and goes both ways, and her involvement with “Parenting” at Henry Street (working with four and five year olds) gave her an understanding of the diversity of learning needs. Both experiences have provided her with a glimpse of the teaching profession, a career path she hopes to someday take.
For all that she has accomplished in a few short years, Jen Cassidy is a great role model. If young girls are in search of someone to look up to in this sport, this is one player who’s star shines just a little brighter than the rest.
Ontario Women’s Field Lacrosse is proud to name Jen Cassidy as the recipient of it’s 2000 Scholarship.
Congratulations Jen! |