Some students at The University of Alabama have found a second family by joining the women’s lacrosse club.

Club president Sarah Blackwell said after she joined the team as a freshman, she quickly developed close relationships with everyone in the club. She said those relationships have only grown stronger over the years.

“They are some of my best friends that I have made on campus,” she said. “The entire team hangs out a lot outside of this.”

Senior Morgan Hunter has played lacrosse for a majority of her life. Hunter said that developing close bonds with the rest of her team has always been important to her. Here at Alabama, she said she feels like her team is closer than other teams and groups she has been a part of.

“Actually I came here and started the whole sorority thing and I dropped because I felt my team was more of a family than anything,” Hunter said.

Blackwell said the team’s atmosphere is one of the reasons she decided to become an officer. She wanted to help the club grow so the team could realize its full potential, and over the last few years she said the club has experienced consistent growth.

That growth has allowed the club to field more competitive teams than in previous years, and that competitiveness is important to the team. Junior Jordan Scorzelli said the club takes pride in the close bonds that they have formed with each other, but they still take everything very seriously.

“It’s fun to see other universities with your friends, and [you] get to support and represent your school,” she said.

Representing the school in lacrosse is important to the club. Blackwell said a majority of the girls who join the team are very passionate about the sport, and girls only miss practice for serious reasons.

That dedication is put to the test sometimes, though. Hunter said sometimes it is hard balancing the demands of the club with the demands of school. She said that ultimately the family she found in the club helps her manage her busy life.

“I can count on anyone of them to be there for me,” she said. “If I didn’t have them, I probably wouldn’t be able to make it.”