Feb. 20, 2007

Note: This article appears in the February issue of Lacrosse magazine. Subscribe today by becoming a member of US Lacrosse, and begin receiving monthly installments of the sport's feature publication.

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by Rebecca Lestner, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online

Dreams can come true -- even if they take eight years to do so.

Jordyn Kirr has realized just that.

Kirr, an attacker on the 2007 U.S. Under-19 training team, remembers attending a U-19 team clinic as a fourth-grader in 1999. There, the dream of an international lacrosse career began, and the circle is about to become complete.

"To be honest, I didn't know what the U-19 team was," she says. "My dad encouraged me to go."

Steve Kirr played lacrosse for both Army and Maryland, and he was no stranger to the experience a clinic with the U-19 team could offer his daughter.

"Jordy" Kirr is thankful for the encouragement. As a result of the experience, Kirr made the decision to work toward making the team in 2007.

"I think I was the smallest one out there," she says. "I got a lot of personal attention from the older girls. I remember watching the devo game and [seeing] how good you could get. They encouraged me to keep playing."

Her father saw it too.

"She had a fabulous day," Steve Kirr says. "I remember her coming out of the day and she said, `Maybe I can do that too, one day.' The young ladies [on the 1999 U-19 training team] were terrific and they made such an impact on her lacrosse life, as did Coach Kridel."

"I remember that clinic very well and meeting [Kirr] there," says U-19 team coach Wendy Kridel. "I also remember the [`99 team members] were completely wowed by her. I knew from that point that [being on the U-19 team] was her dream."

And, after some calculations that very day, Kirr and her father figured that she would be eligible to try out for the 2007 U-19 squad right before starting her senior year.

"The timing just worked out perfectly," Kirr says. "I felt I had to do everything I could to get [to the tryouts]."

A lacrosse career that began at age 6, thanks in part to her father's enthusiasm for the sport rubbing off on her, is nearing an apex. Steve Kirr coached his daughter's team from rec league through middle school, and now Jordy Kirr is set for her senior season at Bryn Mawr (Md.) School. She'll take her talents to Georgetown in the fall, where she'll be coached by Ricky Fried, who was recently named an assistant coach for the U.S. Elite team.

"I've always loved competitive sports," Kirr says. "My dad got me to play lacrosse and I loved it from there."

Eight years after her first exposure to the US Lacrosse National Teams Program, the 2007 U-19 team tryouts were within Kirr's reach. But when the time came for Kirr to try out, a hamstring injury kept her from performing at her best. Kirr was able to submit a medical waiver to explain her injury and the effect it had on her mobility during the opening round of tryouts.

One month later, she received permission to advance to the U-19 training team tryouts.

"I didn't give up because I knew I at least needed a chance to try out," Kirr says. "I knew I had the talent."

Kirr remembers the first day of tryouts being "very intimidating." But once she was able to shake her nerves, her performance spoke for itself.

"She really sees the field very well," says Kridel. "She likes to make her teammates look good. She understands space and how to get herself in and out of it. She's a product of a lot of hard work, but it's a labor of love for her."

When the training team roster was posted, Kirr became another step closer to realizing her dream.

"I couldn't stop smiling," she says.

Since making the team, Kirr's father recognizes his daughter "as a person who is thrilled to be part of something so great as this program is," he says. "She is so grateful for the opportunity."

Kirr is now a member of the U-19 training team with the chance not only to represent the United States at the International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations (IFWLA) World Championship, but to also influence the lives of girls hoping to make lacrosse a part of their lives -- just as she did in 1999.

The experience came full circle when Kirr and her training team members held a training clinic of their own.

"The love of her teammates came together at that clinic," Steve Kirr says.

"And now, she was the one wearing the U-19 jersey and instructing the young girls as she had been [instructed]. I think that's one of the proudest moments she's ever had."

With months still to go before the women on the U-19 training team find out if they'll play on the U.S. team in Canada this summer, Kirr is enjoying the experience, as well as playing with her new teammates.

"Every time someone gets the ball, they do something amazing with it," she says. "I'm looking forward to the traveling aspect of the team. You don't realize how big lacrosse is outside your own community. I'm looking forward to playing with the best of the best."

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For more information on the U.S. National Teams Program, click here.