Charis Innarella is no stranger to coaching. The long time Freedom field hockey coach has plenty of experience as her long tenure with the Pates program is well established, but Innarella is now facing another challenge with Freedom as she enters her first year as head coach of the girls' lacrosse program.

The Pates entered this week 2-1 following wins over Lake Lehman and Saucon Valley and Innarella is expecting a good season for the young program.

"The expectations are high and my players understand what they are capable of accomplishing as a team," she said. "The LVC is loaded with great teams and we need to prepare for each one. I want my players to always stay focused on the team that is on the front of their jersey and play hard for each other."

Making the transition to lacrosse was one that was sold to her by Tammy Healy, President of Freedom Lacrosse Club of Bethlehem.

"I decided to accept the position after meeting with Tammy and the board members," Innarella said. " I do bleed Black and Gold so having the opportunity to help build a team and represent Freedom High School in lacrosse was a challenge I was excited to take on."

Helping her with that challenge are three senior captains that Innarella is counting on. Macey Walker, Natalie Rold and Erin Healy are the leaders of the team who hope to keep things competitive for the Pates, as they enter the rest of their schedule.

"The intense work ethic and strong leadership they are bringing everyday has been crucial to the teams growth early on," said Innarella. "They have been such positive role models for our younger players. I just can't say enough about the character of these kids."

Freedom will have to show what they're made of now moving forward, following last week's 16-3 defeat to league contender Nazareth. With Easton, Liberty and Moravian Academy on the docket this week, Freedom has a chance to regain momentum and take a stab at their divisional opponents.

"Every player on the team is making contributions and they are all such great kids," Innarella said. "They have responded to the challenges I have set forth. The energy and excitement is high and I could not be more proud of the effort. The true success of our team comes from each other."