WOODBURY– As the grass starts to turn green and the flowers start to sprout Nonnewaug starts getting back out on the turf for all their spring sports. For some it’s a baseball and others it’s a track, but the 4 years for the Lakeview, Nonnewaug, Thomaston co-op, it’s a lacrosse stick. 

But is that all going to change?

The Lakeview Co-op, formally known as Northwest United, first started out as just a club team and was created by Haley Sarandrea. The club was only active for about a year before the team started speaking up at meetings to create a real team. In 2023 the team became a real co-op known as Northwest United. In 2025 the team became known as what we know today, Lakeview Lacrosse. 

Though both the boys and girls team for the Co-op is under threat of not having a team, weirdly it’s for different reasons. 

“We might not have enough people to fill a team. It’s not that there’s too many people and like the teams have to go on their own,” said Connor Segers, a student at NHS and player for the team. “It’s not enough kids who want to play or not enough kids know about it, but where you can feel the field of the team.”

The boys are under strict pressure with numbers. With low numbers there may not be enough kids to fill the field. Unlike the boys, the Lakeview girls team has too many girls, just all from Nonnewaug.

“The co-op could possibly be split due to budget issues at Lakeview and the fact that Nonnewaug has enough players to fill their own team so our co-op will no longer be eligible for state tournaments.” said Lakeview student and captain of the girls team Caroline Donnelly. “Because Nonnewaug has so many players and the fact we have zero Thomaston players and only around 4 Lakeview players the co-op may have to split up and we [Lakeview]  will be left with no team.”

Jadyn Heron, an upcoming captain for the girls team, has a lot of feelings involving what will happen to this loved co-op.

“Honestly I am kind of sad if this coop ends. This sport means a lot to me and I’ve put in a lot of effort with this team. Building the team, the atmosphere and coaching new players to get to the place we are now,” said Heron. “I think that lacrosse could continue to grow if we got the chance to continue playing.  It’s sad to see the sport I have put so much effort in end if that’s going to be the case. I have gained so many friendships.”

It’s not just the girls who are feeling the heartbreak of the possibility of this team splitting up. Segers is feeling for the possible loss of his senior year sport. 

“I mean, it kind of sucks. My senior year, I’ve been playing for three years, and now, at the high school level, I played all throughout my youth,” said Segers. “Now I might miss out on the opportunity to play one more time because I’m not going to college to play for it so it kind of sucks for my last opportunity to play lacrosse to be taken away from me.” 

Nic Sniffin a senior of the boys lacrosse team also is hurt by the possibility of not having a sport to play for his last season of high school.

“It’s gonna suck because the kids play to meet new kids make new friends and do what they love and they can’t if they don’t have a team,” said Sniffin. “Its my last time to play a sport before I graduate high school and I want to go through my senior season without problems and just get to hang out with my friends and play the sport I love.” 

Donnelly has been hit hard by the news and does not want to let her senior season be affected by something she can’t control. 

“As a captain this year, It makes me upset to think about our co-op lacrosse team that we had fought for for a number of years being possibly split up,” said Donnelly. “We started this team my freshman year and lost our head coach my sophomore season. It’s been a struggle to maintain a stable team since then, but the people I have met along the way have made my experience on the team worth continuing.”

So what can the team do to prevent the split from happening?

“We as a team need to come together, gather freshmen, educate others on the sport, and have a drive on the field and as a family,” said Donnelly. “At this point, our team doesn’t search for skill, we search for the dedication from teammates and the connections built with one another. We just need numbers and commitment. I hope we can build our team stronger this year and have an even balance between the schools in order to maintain our girls lacrosse co-op.”

Like the girls, Segers is also hoping for numbers and commitment along with determination for a good season. 

“I feel like people got to reach out to people in their school that might have interest. They’ve done a little bit about it here, with announcements, and the main office to sign up,” said Segers.  “Two years ago we had a captain, we had off-season workouts, and we were building a competitive program. Now it seems like all those steps we made over the past few years are just going backwards and we’re not making any more progress.”

Snifin believes that if the team just gets more number this may save the Co-op.

“We can ask kids who have lied formerly or getting younger kids to try the sport,” said Sniffin.  “We can also see if the older kids who will play if they can give them rides so they don’t have to worry about it. Maybe this can get us more number and save the team from anything bad.”