On March 16, the stands were filled with cheering parents and students before the lacrosse game on Saturday afternoon. The sun beat down on the turf as Sophomore Bentley Huffman lined up in the center of the field to take the draw. When the whistle blew, Huffman fought to gain possession of the ball.
Sophomore Bentley Huffman is a Varsity women’s lacrosse player who finds success on the lacrosse field by practicing and improving her skills.
After making the Varsity lacrosse team as a freshman, Huffman quickly became a star player; however, Huffman has been playing since she was in sixth grade, after she quit gymnastics.
“I started playing lacrosse in sixth grade originally, I honestly didn’t want to play, and my mom made me do it because I recently quit gymnastics. [She did it] just to put me into something, and I ended up really liking it,” Huffman said.
Clainey Penzenik, captain of the Varsity lacrosse team, explained that she admires Huffman’s dedication to lacrosse.
“Something I really admire about Bentley is that when she shows up, she’s there to work. Like, she’s not taking any baggage with her. . . . You’ll never catch her crying because she missed a ground ball. She is there to get better. She just has such an athlete mindset that I’ve always admired,” Penzenik said.
Penzenik also explained that Huffman’s work ethic and skills led to her becoming one of the leading scorers as a freshman.
“She has so much skill, like stick skills and awareness of the game, but she’s also just so athletic. She’s just a whole package. She’s such a smart player, and she’s just so skilled,” Penzenik said.
Revere women’s lacrosse coach Sean Kobunski explained that Huffman leads by example on the field by doing the right thing and hoping others will follow in her footsteps.
“Bentley’s determination to master lacrosse is one of a kind. She is driven to have success and make not only herself but her teammates better. She has a lot of leadership qualities and many of them are by example,” Kobunski said.
Penzenik shared the same sentiment, sharing that Huffman tries to be a good influence for the team.
“Her attitude and mindset [are] so set on just being the best version of herself, and not only as a lacrosse player, but as a teammate. She really tries to be a good influence and a good friend to her teammates,” Penzenik said.
Huffman’s dedication and skills on the field led to her receiving multiple awards at the end of last season.
“Last year, I won the second team all Suburban [League], and then I got the MVP for our Varsity team,” Huffman said.
In addition to lacrosse at Revere, Huffman plays club lacrosse for a team named Impact based in Columbus.
“I’m playing with a bunch of people just from all over Ohio, and I feel like playing with people who are better than me helps make my skills better. And just the coaching staff, they’re super good, too,” Huffman said.
Though she is still a sophomore, Huffman plays club lacrosse in an effort to get recruited by colleges in the future. Club sports give athletes the opportunity to showcase their skills to a larger audience of coaches and recruiters.
“I’m playing club [for a] so that I’m able to get exposure to play in college. It has always been a big dream of mine to just play any sport in college. But this is just how it’s starting,” Huffman said.
Huffman plans to continue playing club lacrosse and lacrosse at Revere in hopes to eventually get recruited by colleges.
