VGLAX 2024 Nippes Memorial Virtual 5K

Entry to the VGLAX 2024 Nippes Memorial Virtual 5K
Commemorative Verona Lacrosse Trucker Hat - ***PROVIDED TO ALL PARTICIPANTS WHO RUN WITH THE TEAM AT VERONA PARK, WHILE SUPPLIES LAST***
Virtual Race Bib which you can print and display in your photos to post online
Opportunity to make an additional donation to the Verona High School Lacrosse Parents Association to support the scholarship fund

Register for the VGLAX 2024 Nippes Memorial Virtual 5K
After you complete your run or walk, go to the Run Signup website and upload your finishing time.  You can do this anytime and anywhere.  Simply pick your starting location, track your time and distance and get started!
Be sure to post your pictures on social media to share with your friends.

Thanks to all of you who supported the run for Julie and made this scholarship happen. It is a wonderful way to remember a special person who meant so much to us all.

The fall of 2021 we started our first annual 27 run for Julie. The support was tremendous. Julie touched many lives. The money raised went towards a scholarship for a senior women's lacrosse player at VHS. The players each had to write an essay. Chris Nippes helped with the direction of the essay, he wrote that the athlete awarded does not need to be the best player on the team or the person most in love with lacrosse but rather the best TEAM player. The player who gets the most out of the TEAM experience. Julie loved sports, a whole bunch of different sports with lacrosse being one of her favorites. What Julie really enjoyed was being part of a team, whether she was playing, coaching or keeping stats, she loved being involved, being on the sidelines and following the ups and downs of competition.The essay was about what being part of a TEAM means to you. The seniors had to explain what they loved about the team environment and how it has affected their lives? How playing lacrosse has helped them throughout their high school experience?

What Past Winner's Wrote:

The first winner of the scholarship was Emma DiClemente. Clara chose an excerpt of her essay to read at the banquet.

"Being part of this team means that every person pushes themselves and each other harder every single day. It means having a safe space to be yourself and be comfortable. It means to show the many different sides of yourself. It means to go through the extreme highs and lows together"...and to show up for each other no matter what the scoreboard reflects."

We had two winner’s for 2022, MaryKate Dougherty and Meaghan Haughney. Clara read this from each of their essay’s at the banquet.

Mary Kate wrote:

“Anyone who was lucky enough to be coached by Julie knows that everything she did, she did well. Whether it was flashing you the “it’s ok” smile after receiving some tough feedback from Coach Fay, or simply explaining something that seems complex in the most uncomplicated way, she seemed to do everything with ease. This character meant so much to our young teams but more importantly, we are lucky enough to have this team mentality instilled in us. Everytime we see the 27 banner or put on our socks, it is a reminder of what we play for. Not only Julie, but for each other, for Verona Lacrosse.”

Meaghan wrote:

"Julie Nippes could always be counted on for her wise words but the one that stands out to me the most was what she told me on my way to my first DEWLAX bootcamp as she drove our carpool: “You’ll meet some of the best people while being a part of a team, especially in lacrosse.” Some of my fondest memories in life have been made on the lacrosse field. A turf filled rectangle has turned into my second home and I am forever thankful for the family I have created within it." 

For 2023, we had 6 out of the 8 seniors write an essay for the JN27 Scholarship. Two players were chosen: Amanda Cavallo and Abby Petruzzi. Read what Clara had to say about them at the banquet:

"I was especially looking forward to this year's 27 scholarships because I can honestly say that these 7 girls are my best friends in the world. I see so many qualities that capture what the number 27 represents in each of them and I want to thank them for taking the time to write such beautiful essays. This senior class was one of the last groups that my mom got the privilege of coaching. She was with this group from mini lasers to eighth grade. At the end of those 9 years together, she decided to write a special something to our squad before we headed to high school. She decided to write each player a little note to remind them of their talents on and off the field. One of the players receiving this scholarship today reminded me of this gesture my mom made because I completely forgot about it. I have loved watching this girl grow into an outstanding lacrosse player. As my mom wrote in her letter, “She has a phenomenal lax IQ and an even bigger heart. She is a constant source of laughter and representation of strength and resilience.” In her essay, she captured the amount of love and sense of purpose that Verona lacrosse provides these girls. I am lucky to call this girl one of my best friends and I am around to announce that the first recipient of this year's scholarship is Abby Petruzzi."

"This goes to a person who to me optimizes the ultimate team spirit. This person is a complete team player. Over the years I have seen her take risks, struggle, try hard, fail, get up again, overcome it all, and succeed with a smile and a positive attitude with a team-first approach. This person never complained about playing time and always cheered her teammates on. And, when the number and the team needed her to make the ultimate sacrifice and change her position, she not only did it, but she worked her tail off and is now thriving in that position which was a major reason for this team's success this year. I think the world of this person and her attitude and competitive spirit and she is just overall a great human being. So congratulations to Amanda Cavallo."

This year's 2024 recipient was Lauren Gawley and here is an excerpt from her essay for the JN27 scholarship. Coaching with Julie always reminded me that there is so much more about playing a sport than just playing the sport. The prompt for the essay talked about the player who gets the most out of the TEAM experience.

"To me, lacrosse is more than just a sport. When I started playing in 5th grade I did not have any crazy passion for the sport, nor was I skilled at it in any way, but, like with most things, I stuck with it because I found joy in being able to step on the field with people who I valued spending time with and knew it allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and learn new things."

We introduced a new tradition last year, as a team and talked about what it means to play for something bigger than the game and we decided that moving forward #27 will be worn by a player that embodies what being part of a team is all about. Two players wrote essays and did a beautiful job. At the banquet it was announced that Julia Dacey will be  wearing the #27 jersey. Read below what she had to say about what 27 means to her:

JULIA DACEY

It would be an honor wearing #27 in embodiment of Julie Nippes. I think I would be a great candidate to carry on her legacy and her beloved #27, as it represents so much more than just a number. I am a leader on my team, a positive force on and off the field, and always striving for success and “little wins”. I know how important connecting and sharing was to Julie, which has such a crucial role on VHSGLAX. Connections and having fun with your friends are one of the biggest reasons we play sports. I have had the privilege of having amazing teammates and people to make these connections with at VHSGLAX, and I have always wanted to be this person for others. I have gone back and forth wondering if #27 should be passed on or retired. I decided that we actually NEED this number to continue with VHSGLAX because Julie will always have a role on this team, whether every girl knew her or not. We NEED her joy, her work ethic, her kindness, and her spirit in every practice, every game, and every season. If there is one thing I could pinpoint that I’ve learned through this emblem, it would be that life is so special. It sounds silly, but I am truly inspired by Julie’s story and her courage in the face of one of life’s greatest challenges. She was the bravest fighter and she thought of each second as a special one. I would love to continue the idea of special moments on this team and find them in everything we do. Each of the values Julie holds correlate with the values of VHSGLAX and have helped me grow into the person I am today. Be a hard worker, be kind, and be the best version of you that you can. I want to continue to learn how to be these things and to help others become them to by wearing #27.

Lauren Gawley is currently at The University of Wisconsin, Kendra Santos is at UMass and Emma Shaw our team manager is at the University of Arizona! So far everyone seems happy and ready to head home soon  for Thanksgiving break.

The mission of the Verona High School Lacrosse Parents Association is to provide support to the Verona Hillbillies High School lacrosse program and to foster a positive, fun and memorable high school lacrosse experience for the players.

Now it is time to record hard work you put in to complete the race goal by logging in your time.   

There are three easy options for logging your activities:

1.  Log into your Run Signup account which you established when you registered.

Select the Results tab and click on Submit Virtual Results.  This section will allow you to input your time and date completed and a comment if you choose such as "I ran around the park in the rain."
After you select Submit activity,  you will receive a success message indicating your activity has been saved.  From this screen you can do the following:
Manage past activities logged, making it simple to edit and update
View results (either by clicking the x in the upper right hand corner or the hyperlink at the bottom of the page)
2.  Activity Timeline

While logged into your Run Signup account, on the individual results page, there is an Activity Timeline that shows the most recent activity first, with options to See All activity on the page, and simple pagination to view Older activity. There are also simple options for you to update or delete an activity.
3.  No Log in Option

When you are not logged in to your Run Signup account, you can still add your time from your activities.  Simply go to runsignup.com, type VGLAX 2024 Nippes Memorial Virtual 5K in the Find a Race, select our race, click Log Activities from My results page. Before you are able to log activity, you must enter either the email or last 4 digits of your phone number that you used when you signed up for the challenge

You are ready!  Let's get out there and support the Verona High School Girls Lacrosse team and help make their future Great!