Despite breaking his leg at the beginning of this school year and recently healing from his fifth concussion at the beginning of this season, junior attack Charlie Pickell’s passion for lacrosse has not diminished.

Pickell said that while he was injured, it was tough having to watch games and seeing “things that I feel like I could help or things I could make a difference in.”

Although he did not miss any of last season, Pickell’s concussions have all been from lacrosse over the course of the last four years. The injuries are not a big concern to him now, but Pickell said that if it continues, he is at risk of no longer being able to play sports at all. 

“I feel back to normal for the most part,” Pickell said. 

As for what he loves about the sport, Pickell said he likes the dynamics of lacrosse.

“I like it because it is really physical, but also really fast,” he said. 

When Pickell was a sophomore last year, he and his teammates faced some struggles because the team did not have many players. Still, most games were fought hard, partly because many of the players were seniors.

This season, with no seniors on the team, Pickell feels the need to serve as a role model and leader to his younger teammates, who have only been playing for one or two years. Pickell’s teammate, sophomore Trevor Brain, said Pickell got an early start on that.

“For as long as I’ve been on the team, he has always been a leader,” Brain said.

Brain says that Pickell is always hyping up the team and trying his hardest at games and practices, which inspires everyone else on the team to do the same.

In an earlier game this year, “we were down a lot at half, and he told us to win the last half of the game. We ended up out scoring them 5-2 in the second half. It shows the effect his messages leave on us,” Brain said. 

Pickell said this season has been tough because the team again lacks numbers, and many of last year’s starters have graduated. However, he has not lost hope for future games and seasons. He said the team just has to work on the weaknesses that cause them to lose. 

“Our team chemistry is pretty strong right now. I am looking forward to my senior year with this team,” he said. 

Brain is also hopeful for the future of the team.

“We knew this was a rebuilding year, so we are putting in the work to have good seasons in the near future,” he said. 

Pickell said his favorite memories were comeback wins Baldwin had against Hempfield and Central Catholic during his freshman season. 

“I really liked those games because we played as a team, even though we only had 15 kids. It just proves that numbers don’t matter and I look forward to re-creating games like that and winning with a small team,” Pickell said.