Rebecca Magro may want to look into getting a cable TV show, considering her prowess for prophecy.
Magro, a Notre Dame High School guidance counselor, was the Irish’s JV girls’ lacrosse coach in 2015, and recommended that freshman Julia Rossi, a lifelong soccer/basketball player, try the sport. The coach’s sales pitch was that lacrosse had several basketball tendencies that Rossi could pick up on.
The Hamilton resident was reluctant at first but finally was coerced by some friends and Magro.
“It is actually funny looking back at it now,” Rossi said. “Mrs. Magro even said, ‘You never know, maybe you would want to play in college.’ And here I am today, debating on it!”
Score one for the psychic. Rossi is attending West Chester University next fall and is toying with playing for varsity lacrosse or “settling” for club soccer and lacrosse.
“I have a lot of options, which I am thrilled about,” she said. “Just big decisions to make, and I hope to make the right ones.”
One of her best decisions came from listening to Magro. No one is happier about that than Irish coach Bryan Fisher, who calls Rossi “a great kid.” After honing her skills on the JV team for two years, she was a starting varsity defender as a junior and a defensive midfielder this year.
Her efforts helped Notre Dame to a 12-3 record entering the NJSIAA Group III Central semifinals May 22.
“She’s pretty tenacious defending,” Fisher said. “Lacrosse is like soccer but the defensive part is a lot like basketball. She played basketball (at ND) for three years. Being a multisport athlete is rare to find these days. Her knowledge of all these different sports has helped her become a really good lacrosse player.”
Leadership is also part of her persona, as she was captain of the soccer and lacrosse teams this year.
“She’s played a pivotal role,” Fisher said. “We needed her leadership, we were a young team. She stepped into the captain’s role and has been a great burst of athletic energy for us.”
That’s not surprising, since athletics runs in the family. Her mom competed a high level in gymnastics and her dad played soccer. Growing up in Hamilton, her whirlwind days consisted of dance classes, T-ball practices, soccer and basketball games.
“In Hamilton, there are plenty of things to do for a kid like me, and I took advantage of it,” she said. “You name it, I did it.”
After playing basketball and soccer for the YMCA, Rossi began travel soccer with the Hibernian Cyclones in fifth grade and joined a travel basketball team in Pennsylvania in ninth grade. Her focus went more toward soccer and she played for Next Level Academy in Pennington as a sophomore.
By then, she had already delved into her new sport and was starting to get a handle on it.
“My first lacrosse tryout was very foreign to me,” she said. “All I had in my mind was one job—catch and throw the ball. I had no idea about the techniques (such as) dodging or rolling the crease or even the zone the defense played.”
‘I personally think defense wins games and that a defensive player has just as much potential as an offensive player.’
Thus, early on all Rossi did was play catch on the turf in order to get comfortable with her stick. From there it escalated, and she was pleasantly surprised at making the JV team as a freshman. She credited the hand-eye coordination that she developed in basketball, along with a fire in her belly.
“People are inspired by the way she plays,” Fisher said. “Even in practice there are times you’re lacking your full focus. Rarely do you see Julia take time off. She loves to be outside, she loves to play, it’s honestly refreshing to see a kid like that. When she’s ready to compete, she’s ready. She competes like no other. She’s not barking orders at anybody. She goes out there and has a good time, makes a great play with her stick, and gets everyone else going.”
Her attitude is one that has been nurtured since youth, and Rossi feels the fact she has played three sports—she gave up basketball to focus on lacrosse this winter—has a lot to do with the way she goes at it on the field.
“I believe I am a very competitive player and I take everything very seriously,” she said. “Everywhere I go, my competitive attitude follows. Since I started out with soccer and competed very hard, when I tried lacrosse, the competitive attitude followed, helping me adapt to the new sport.”
New sport, but same position.
“I play defense in lacrosse the same way I play in soccer,” she said. “Playing multiple sports really helped me adapt to lacrosse. Soccer really helped with defending and seeing the field and basketball really helped with hand-eye coordination and stick skills.”
Being a defender has long been Rossi’s first love. She would rather get a turnover and spark her team in transition then score a goal. Nothing gives her a bigger rush then regaining the ball for her team.
“The mood of the game changes, your teammates get excited, the crowd cheers and your confidence just boosts because you are the one that potentially just started something big for your team,” Rossi said. “When I am playing good defense, I hear my coaches, team and parents cheering, which gets my adrenaline pumping. Forcing a turnover against your opponent is such a big deal for me.”
Rossi feels the key to playing good defense is to constantly be aware of the situation and know how to handle it. She transferred a skill from soccer to lacrosse and watches her opponent’s hips.
“When a player is driving right at you, you have to watch their hips to see if they will go left, right, fake or spin and you will get it every time,” Rossi said. “One other thing I do is watch someone’s eyes when I am off ball defending. You know exactly where they are passing and get that interception.”
In team sports that flow, such as soccer, lacrosse and field hockey, a defender’s one-on-one conquests throughout the game are usually their biggest reward. It’s usually the goal scorers or goalies that gain the headlines, since statistical numbers are attached to their achievements.
Rather than give the old “as long as the team wins” comment, Rossi had a refreshing response when asked if that bothers her.
“To be honest, it does,” she said. “I personally think defense wins games and that a defensive player has just as much potential as an offensive player. Our zone defense is very difficult and requires a lot of attention. Not everyone can play in it, nor is it easy to pick up. It takes practice and awareness to master the zone. Defensive players are the ones that protect the one thing the opponents want most— a shot on goal.
“At the end of the day, goals are put on the scoreboard, not turnovers and knockdowns from the defense. Those goals are originated from those knockdowns and turnovers, which I think some people instantly forget about and just focus on what goes on the scoreboard, not how it happened. But, in the end, an offense would not be successful without a defense, and a defense would not be successful without an offense. We would not be the team we are without our offense.”
One would think sports are Rossi’s entire life the way she speaks, but that’s hardly the case. The well-rounded Rossi is a member of the National Honor Society and the National Honor Society for Italian. She is also a Peer Leader. Coming from a gifted music family, she was a three-year member of the band and can play four different instruments.
“Music is one thing that lets me escape from reality,” she said. “Either before a game, or just doing homework.”
It’s a reality she doesn’t need to escape from too often, however. Rebecca Magro could see that four years ago.
Notre Dame senior Julia Rossi had never played lacrosse when she picked up the sport as a freshman. Now, she’s a key to success for the Irish. (Staff photo by Rob Anthes.),
