Athlete Profile: Marnie OBrien

As the Junior and Midget team Nova Scotia Girls prepare for the "Chicks with Sticks" Tournament this weekend in Whitby Ontario, we’re kicking off our athlete profile segment with a member of the Midget Girls team, Marnie O'Brien. Marnie has been playing with Southwest for 7 years and is currently a member of the Southwest Midget Girls team and Midget Club boys team. She also volunteers her time coaching the Peewee Girls Southwest lacrosse team. She is a multisport athlete, playing both Field and Box lacrosse and was recently named Nova Scotia Female Snowboarder of the Year. As a long time member of Team Nova Scotia, Marnie is looking forward to representing her province at the Female Box Lacrosse Nationals in her last year of Midget. Female Box Lacrosse Nationals take place July 21-25 at the BMO centre in Bedford and we hope the community will join us in supporting her and our teams!
 

---

Q. Why did you decide to start coaching?

1. I started coaching because I love kids and I idolized my two coaches Jenn and Haley and wanted to be like them. I started coaching the tyke team, and it was one of the best experiences. Teaching younger kids and growing my favourite sport was awesome.  

Q. What has playing on 3 different box lacrosse teams this season taught you?

1. Playing on three different box teams this season has taught me a lot. Managing my time wisely and prioritizing certain events over others made a big difference in my busy schedule.  It has also showed me different game perspectives, and each team brings something different. Like with the boys team, it is way tougher and the boys are tougher and it helped me a lot with my defence and how to take hits.  The girl’s teams has helped me improve on how to move the ball around and working as a team.

Q. How do you balance school, life guarding, coaching and playing on 3 different teams? 

1. With so many things on my plate, it is impossible to balance everything! Lacrosse season is hectic as it is for every family, plus all other sports as well. Work, snowboarding and most importantly school all clash on my lacrosse schedule. I get by with prioritizing certain things like games over practices, trying to fit my work schedule around it all, and I do my school work whenever I have the chance (even at school). Occasionally, I have to take a night off for school work, and that’s okay, as long as there is nothing I can do ahead of time.

Q. As you were named Female Snowboarder of the year this winter, what skills are transferable from snowboarding to lacrosse?

1. From snowboarding, one of the skills that is very transferable is aggressiveness.  I race snowboard cross, so I am on the course with four people at once. Getting a head and using my speed, body, and contact is exactly like lacrosse. Another skill would be team work, since I do basically live with my team all winter long when we travel and keeping my chin up after a loss or if something didn’t go as planned. My sport is known to be very unexpected and to have many surprises, just like lacrosse... one wrong / right move and there is a win or a defeat.

Q. What are your future aspiration in Lacrosse?

1. My future aspirations in lacrosse are to go as far as I can in box and field. Field lacrosse does bring more opportunity to women, so I might have to make sacrifices to pursue that dream when the time comes.  I’d love to go as far as I can, but I don’t know where that is right now, and I want to make more and more kids love lacrosse as much as I do.