September 19, 2016 – As part of our Biola Lacrosse Connections newsletter, we feature a player from the current team, and ask them “Why did you choose to join the Biola lacrosse team?” Our first featured player is Jon Prichard. Jon is a senior and will be playing his fourth, and final, season in 2017. Here’s why Jon chose to play lacrosse at Biola:

I started playing lacrosse at the age of 7 and quickly fell in love with it because of its physicality, creativity, and freedom. As I grew up playing the sport of lacrosse on the east coast, I was always looking to the next level desiring to be the best player I could be. I dreamed of playing at historic programs in high school and college. After moving from Virginia to the suburbs of Chicago prior to starting high school my desire to be the best lacrosse player I could be continued, however, my motives began to evolve. It was in high school when lacrosse became my favorite form of worship. I began to use every practice and game not only to improve my skills but also as an opportunity to glorify God and witness to my opponents. Once the college recruiting and search process began I took full advantage of it looking at dozens of schools all over the country. After visiting Biola University during a west coast college tour with my family, I immediately knew Biola was where I wanted to attend college and play lacrosse. While visiting, I had the opportunity to stay with current players and experience a Bible study and a practice with the team. I was able to see first hand that Biola lacrosse was a competitive team who tried to be a light for God in the sport of lacrosse and treated the sport as worship.

Since being on the team I have always been encouraged to excel as a lacrosse player and grow in my academics and my walk with God. Coach Klett has poured into me both as a player and as a Christian. He has been a model of humility and knows when to be serious and when to pump us up. One thing we teach as a team is the difference between having a goal and having a purpose. We can have the goal to win, but our purpose is to glorify God and be an example of Christ to the teams that we play.

Biola Lacrosse is the closest thing I have to family here on the west coast. The guys on the team have become some of my best friends. I have particularly enjoyed the fact that several of my high school teammates play with me at Biola. I am so thankful that I have been able to be a part of Biola Lacrosse for the past 3 years, and am looking forward to a great 2017 season.

CLICK HERE to learn how you can support Jon and his teammates.