Athlete of the Week: Alyssa Chen

By Shannon Duff

As a fourth grader at the Foote School in Hamden, Conn., Chen attended Eli Youth Lacrosse Camps, where she fell in love with both the game and the Yale team. "I would go to the Yale women's lacrosse games, and my coaches at camp would be playing in the games. My friends and I would be so excited that we actually knew the players--we looked up to them so much," Chen said. As a seventh grader, she began playing on her school lacrosse team, where the skills she had developed at camp made her an immediate standout. She continued to attend Yale lacrosse games through ninth grade, once even catching a stray ball thrown by one of her Yale heroes. She still has the ball in her room and occasionally throws it around, remembering her days at the Yale Camps.

Prior to her sophomore year of high school, Chen left Hamden and the Yale fields behind for Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Mass., where she continued to play lacrosse. "We had a really good team there, and played in the competitive New England league," she reflected.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH

The chance to return to New Haven was one Chen seized. Not afraid to label herself a "townie," she knew she wanted to attend and play lacrosse at the school she'd grown up with, wearing the blue that her Yale heroes had worn. "I love playing close to home--my mom is at every home game, and family friends often come, too. It's really nice to have a cheering section at games," she said.

One of the team's most potent scorers, Chen plays attack and is a constant threat to opponent's nets. Teammate Emily Groom, JE '98, attributed Chen's outstanding play to several factors. "Alyssa is a very strong player and is the person you want up at the net for the team," she said.

"She plays with a great attitude as well--her intensity is balanced by her fun personality. What makes her stand out, though, is that she has the ability to bring up everyone's level of play, even if she's having an off day."

Another key to Chen's success is a pendant, her "lucky charm," that her grandfather, E.J. Miles, Class of 1933, a star basketball player at Yale, passed down to her.

Amidst this success, Chen remembers the experience she gained at the Yale Youth Programs, and makes a point to be involved in them. "The team had a lacrosse clinic a month or so ago," she said. "It was so much fun to play with the kids--I think teaching kids is one of the best parts of playing lacrosse."

An English major, Chen wants to write fiction after she graduates. To keep lacrosse as a part of her life, though, she said, "Coaching is definitely something I'll consider in the future."

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