Lifestyles: Lacrosse People in Unique Places
Lacrosse Magazine's "Lifestyles" series features people of
prominence and human interest who possess ties to the nation's
fastest growing sport. These are their stories, as told to Clare
Lochary.
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| Making saves in goal comes easy for Adelphi's Caitlin
Fitzpatrick, an EMT. © John Mecionis |
Caitlin Fitzpatrick makes a lot of saves. The rising senior goalie
put up a stunning .637 save percentage during Adelphi’s 18-0
NCAA Division II championship season. In her spare time, she
volunteers with the Port Washington, N.Y., fire department, where
she saves lives as an emergency medical technician (EMT). From the
August issue of LM, Fitzpatrick speaks about life in the crease and
in the firehouse.
An EMT and a goalie? You must be an adrenaline
junkie.
I think I perform better under pressure. That added pressure keeps
me on my toes. I kind of like that extra nudge.
How did you get into lacrosse?
I first got into it just because that’s what you do here [on
Long Island]. All your friends start signing up and you kinda have
to.
How did you become a goalie?
I initially didn’t start playing goalie. There was a goalie
in front of me, so I played low attack. But once I got to the
middle school level, it got to be more serious. My coach convinced
me to try it. My coach, Raquel Piraino, used to play at Hofstra.
She would warm me up, and she’d rocket balls at me. We joke
that I’m not afraid of the ball right because when I was so
young, she’d just whip them at me.
How did you get interested in working for the fire
department?
I’m a big fan of challenging myself, and I like helping the
community. I figured this was the best way to do it. It’s
kind of like lacrosse in that there’s a lot of teamwork. You
can join the company at 17; I was 18 when I joined. When I was in
high school, I didn’t have time to join, but I had friends
who did, and a bunch of them would tell me how fun it is and how
much fun it is around the firehouse. We are all members of the Fort
Washington fire departments, and there are four separate companies
you can join. I chose the EMS company.
What was your training like?
First you get your orientation around the trucks — where
things are, what it does, when you use it. Then they teach you to
drive. I have to admit, I’m a big fan of fire trucks. I
don’t know why. I hear a siren and just wonder what’s
going on. After that I took an accelerated EMT course and passed
that, and then passed our company’s certification so I can
actually take calls by myself.
How do you balance your athletics and volunteer
obligations?
These past seasons have been really tough, especially as I got more
into my classes. I had to take a reduced points leave, just because
my school requirements and my lacrosse requirements kind of
hindered the fire department. But they’re really supportive.
It’s education, family, everything else, and then comes the
fire department. They grant leaves to most college students. My
company requires 35 points per month. You need 15 in-house hours to
remain not deficient. And then you get a point for calls, a point
for training, a point for work nights, when we stock the trucks and
do some classes. Most people on the street don’t realize that
we’re all volunteers. They always ask, “How much are
you getting paid?” It’s out of the goodness of our
hearts. It’s something we all signed up to do, and no one
realizes it.
What’s it like around the firehouse?
If we do take a duty shift together, we cook dinner together. And
it’s teamwork — one person cooks, another cleans.
It’s a joint effort. We’ll watch a movie. Sometimes we
prank people. We floured our captain once.
What’s the male-female ratio in the
department?
There are probably 300 people total and about 50 women. My company
is predominantly women just because it’s the EMS company.
It’s seen as less masculine. It does take a lot more training
and a lot more work, but the firemen don’t see it that
way.
Is it hard to shake off a bad night as an EMT? Harder than
shaking off a bad goal or a bad loss?
If we have a bad night, a bad loss or a really traumatic situation,
like when a baby dies or a really bad fire, the chief is aware.
They’ll call in the stress debriefing team. We have someone
professional to talk to. But if I see a bad accident, those things
stay in the back of my mind. You can’t really talk about it,
because no one understands. You’re driving and you see
someone acting out of control, and you’ll be a bit more
cautious. They’re never completely gone out of your mind.
You’ve got keep everything in the back of your mind and not
really think about it. Bad calls come, bad goals come and they
pass, but you’ve got to shake it off and wait for the next
shot, the next call.
Tell me about the championship game — what’s
your best memory?
My best moment of the tournament was realizing that we were going
to go to the championship game, because my sophomore year we went
to the NCAA semifinals in Texas, but lost to C.W. Post, 9-4.
That’s one of those numbers that is forever burned in your
brain. And we beat them in the semifinals this year.
So when Sunday came and we won, you were so excited and so happy
that it just took over every emotion in your entire body. I was
handed the trophy to run out on the field. I just remember running
and grabbing it and everyone was jumping on top of each other.
Everybody was so happy. Seniors were happy, freshmen were happy,
parents going nuts. It still really hasn’t set in. I hate to
say it, but it still really hasn’t set in that we won.
Do you think there is a crossover between the EMT stuff and
the lacrosse stuff, in terms of preparation, being calm in tense
situations, etc?
You have to practice at both to stay good at both. You have to keep
a good head on your shoulders to be good at both. Stay calm and
relaxed.
You’re pretty short for a goalie (5’2”).
Does that come up in either lacrosse or with the fire department
stuff?
Actually, in the fire department, being short is a good thing. The
headroom in the back of the ambulance is pretty small and we go
over bumps fast. It kind of works as a plus for me in the cage
because I can bait people high or low. They see more open cage, but
I kind of already know where they’re going to go.
