Nisky player picked for women’s national lacrosse team
Niskayuna High School junior Kayla Treanor was selected for the 24-woman roster of the 2011 United States U-19 women’s national lacrosse team competing in Germany this summer.
The Niskayuna Town Board presented a resolution congratulating Kayla Treanor on being selected for the national lacrosse team during its meeting on Thursday, May 19. Treanor is a member of the school’s varsity lacrosse team, varsity basketball team and varsity soccer team. ESPN RISE writer Tom Peace selected Treanor as the number two junior recruit in the nation for lacrosse. While she still has another year left of high school, she’s already committed to play lacrosse for Syracuse University after graduating.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kayla over the last three years, and I have never had a player more committed than Kayla Treanor, said her lacrosse coach Peter Melito. `I’ve never had a player with a stronger sense of desire to be a champion than Kayla Treanor, and she is more than deserving of all these accolades she has received these past couple of years.`
Councilwoman Denise Murphy McGraw also applauded Treanor for her accomplishments.
`To have the accomplishments she has at this age is just unbelievable,` said McGraw.
Treanor also has worked as a counselor for the town’s Blatnick Park summer camp, noted McGraw. To also be a role model for children in these camps, she said, is a way Treanor has given back to the town.
`She is somebody that girls can really look up to,` said McGraw.
Treanor said she always played sports growing up and a bunch of her friends play lacrosse so she got interested in the sport.
`It is the fastest-growing sport in the country. It is just growing and it is getting more popular and popular,` said Treanor about lacrosse. `I want to make my mark in the sport and make a change, so that is why I really enjoy it.`
She added Niskayuna has helped shape her into the athlete that she is today.
`I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else,` she said. `We have a great program here and great coaches and a great community that supports our program.`
For her high school team she practices constantly and even outside of school she finds herself practicing at home.
`Every day after practice I go home and play catch on the wall or shoot, so I play as much as I can,` she said.
Getting picked for the national team, which will compete in the 2011 Federation of International Lacrosse World Championships in Hannover, Germany, was a great honor for her, she said.
`It is an unreal feeling to know that you are going to be representing the USA. It is a great honor,` she said. `I really didn’t believe it, but it has now sunk in.`
She also shared some advice for fellow girls interested in sports.
`Just play a sport. It teaches you lessons you can’t learn from other things,` she said. `It helps me be successful off the field and that is the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from sports. Just always work hard and you can get where you want to be.“
