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Freshman Bruvik Shows Maturity In Sparking Stuart Lax's Attack
By Bill Alden
While Kelly Bruvik is a freshman, she is hardly playing like a rookie for the Stuart Country Day School lacrosse team.
Having already seen significant playing time earlier this school year for the Tartans' varsity field hockey and basketball teams, Bruvik came into the spring as a battle-hardened performer.
With the benefit of that experience from other sports, Bruvik has made a sudden impact this spring, having scored a team-high ten goals to help spark Stuart to a 3-0 start.
Although Bruvik acknowledges that she is surprised by her scoring production, she came into the lacrosse season knowing what it takes to succeed in high school sports.
"I played field hockey and I knew that was a lot harder than middle school," said Bruvik, after scoring four goals in Stuart's 14-6 dismantling of Princeton High last Wednesday. "The girls in high school are a lot bigger and faster and I was already used to that before starting lacrosse."
In the view of Stuart head coach Sara Wagner, it is Bruvik's tenacity that has helped her assume a leading role so early in her high school career.
"Kelly goes hard all of the time," said Wagner, who is in her first year guiding the Tartans after a six-year stint as the head coach at Hopewell Valley. "She has an outstanding shot, it's very natural, very hard. She's heads up and she gets in the right space."
As a result of Bruvik's combination of skill and intensity, she has already become a focal point for the Stuart attack. "Sometimes freshmen come in and they can't catch and the veterans won't pass to them," explained Wagner.
"The girls actually look to Kelly. She's a big target, she keeps her stick up. She can catch the ball and do smart things with it and she is still getting back on defense. So as a freshman, that's carrying a big load but she seems to handle it well."
Bruvik is relishing her role as one of Stuart's go-to players. "My job is on transition to get from defense to offense and go all the way if I have it," said Bruvik, who certainly gains some of her headiness from being the daughter of Missy Bruvik, the Stuart field hockey head coach and lacrosse assistant. "I think I pass well and I get back on defense pretty well."
With Stuart off to a hot start, Bruvik knows she isn't the only Tartan who is excelling on the break. "This was our best transition game so far," said Bruvik in assessing the team's win over PHS. "We had really good shot selection. We were trying to be patient and it ended up working really well."
With a cool-headed freshman like Bruvik on the attack, it looks like things are going to work out well this spring for the Tartans.
