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King's Ridge Magazine: The 411- Ms. La"Cross"e
VYPE: What was it about lacrosse that drew you to the sport?
CROSS: "I came from a bunch of different sports growing up. I fell in the love with the diversity of sports that lacrosse combines. Every player has a different skillset and there aren't two players who are exactly that same. The flexibility and creativity that you can play with… it's never-ending."
VYPE: What was it about Berry College that you loved?
CROSS: "I was blessed to have some different options to play lacrosse in college. But you know how people talk about that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you step on campus? It really did feel like home to me. Out of all the teams I was able to visit, I connected most with the Berry girls and I'm super grateful for the opportunity."
VYPE: What is your most fond memory of going to King's Ridge?
CROSS: "I'm about to graduate and I can strongly say that the support system here is unlike anywhere else. The teachers will go to the ends of the earth to be there for you in and out of school. The faculty is 100-percent there for you."
VYPE: So, outside of lacrosse, how do you spend your time?
CROSS: "I play year-round lacrosse, but when I do have free time I'm usually with my family, friends, and dogs. I'm an animal person and want to study pre-vet in college."
King's Ridge Magazine: Early Success
How does that happen?
"Well, people are only seeing the tip of the iceberg," coach Jamie Davidson said. "There has been so much hard work put into this. So much at the middle school level too. We have two seniors and most of our juniors were starting as freshmen. Our middle schoolers are now sophomores and freshmen and they are loaded.
"What I really like is that it's a community effort. It's not about one person or coach, it's about the kids, the parents, and the families who support this program."
It doesn't hurt that King's Ridge has one of the best coaches in the business.
Davidson grew up playing in Syracuse, New York, before starring at Army. He has a tremendous lacrosse background.
"I'd say we have exceeded expectations so far," he said. "We've surprised a lot of people and we are establishing ourselves as one of the upper echelon teams in the state. We aren't No. 1 yet, but we are knocking on the door."
King's Ridge was ranked as high as third in the State of Georgia this season out of 50 programs. The Tigers went 11-5 and 6-1 in area to secure the No. 2 seed for the playoffs.
The squad is led by Robbie Walker, James Davidson (Jamie's son) and Reece Defillippis on offense, and Dean Giacobbe, Jack Deady, and Brant Satterly (goalie) on defense.
"Lacrosse has a lot of similarities to basketball, with the physicality of football and hockey," he said. "It's entertaining to watch. I love when parents come up to me and say they don't really know the sport, but they know they just watched a really good game. It's intense.
"It's a very skilled sport and you have to dedicate the time with stick skills, but there is a real coolness factor to the sport."
What makes it even cooler? When you are really good.
