The space was small, so Gwen Varley knew she had to be careful. She broke a wine bottle once. She nearly knocked over her laptop another time.
The practice room in her basement was supposed to have other purposes. Varley turned it into a place to improve her lacrosse skills.
Who knows how many times she ventured down the steps to play wall ball there? Twenty-five throws with her left hand. Twenty-five with her right. Over and over again.
Varley puts on a Netflix show, or maybe some music, and gets to work.
“I think that made my stick skills pretty good,” she said. “Make sure I don’t hit anything. All of that pays. If I come into a game and score all the time, it’s because of those moments.”
Garden Spot’s senior scored the first goal in her first game as a freshman. That was a sign. She hasn’t stopped scoring since.
Varley broke the school record, surpassed the 200-goal milestone and has climbed to 253 as her final season nears a close.
Some players target 100 goals for their careers. That’s considered a magic number. Varley blew past that total with ease.
“Gwen is an overachiever,” coach Camryn Shewbridge said. “One hundred isn’t enough.”
Varley discovered lacrosse in third grade. She’s not sure exactly how. She vaguely recalls a gathering at her elementary school where kids were encouraged to try the sport.
Garden Spot’s program was small. So small that Varley played in the same group as eighth-graders. She was 8 or 9. Some of them were 13 or 14.
“I was the littlest there,” she said with a smile. “But I was still shifty. That’s where I got my start.”
Shewbridge, a Garden Spot alumnus, took over as head coach when Varley was a junior. Varley scored 98 goals that season. She has 78 in 16 games this season.
“She’s just a fun player to coach,” Shewbridge said. “You already have a force to be reckoned with on the attacking side. You know where goals are going to come from instead of trying to figure out how it’s going to happen.”
Cocalico’s Melia Van Zant (8) and Garden Spot’s Gwen Varley (3) fight for the ball during first-half action of an L-L League Section Two girls lacrosse game at Cocalico High School’s Talon Field on Monday April 8, 2024.
Garden Spot’s record for career goals was 191. It was set by Angel Adams 11 years ago.
Varley became aware of the total around the time she surpassed 100. Breaking it became one of the senior’s motivations. The number was actually placed on the family’s refrigerator.
Every goal Varley scores the rest of the way will set a new standard at Garden Spot. Her success is nearly a decade in the making. Once the Holy Family recruit picked up a stick, she never wanted to put it down.
Varley has continued to pile up goals despite being the focal point of every opponent’s defense. That’s not an easy feat.
“I like how creative you can be,” Varley said. “Just get the ball in the back of the net. I like to see the different ways I can do it. You really have to have the whole team. I like having a team to back me up.”
Garden Spot made Varley a captain. Shewbridge said her top player is a leader who offers advice to defenders during practices. Varley has tried her best to elevate the program as it hopes to build toward a brighter future.
The senior’s goal total is hard for teammates to fathom.
“It’s really impressive but she works really hard for it,” said junior Alivia Backes, who has 31 goals this season. “So I can see how she has that many goals. I see the work that she puts into it and the hours she spends perfecting it.”
Varley has left a mark at Garden Spot. She will become Angel Adams for the next great scorer to step onto the field at New Holland.
Maybe this record, whatever it turns out to be, will end up on someone else’s fridge.
“I just want to get it as high as possible,” Varley said. “So it’s a ways until someone else breaks it.”
JOHN WALK | Features Writer
