Girls Lacrosse Captain Quiana Bell ’26 has been playing lacrosse since she was six. She started playing to follow in her sister’s footsteps and has played on town, club, and school teams since. Coming to Andover as Junior, she began competing with the Varsity squad and has since remained there playing as a defender.
Bell shared that Grace Hammond ’23, a former team Captain, was especially helpful in creating a sense of belonging on the team. Bell described the impact of Hammond’s leadership and how she strives to foster camaraderie among her teammates as a leader.
“[Hammond] always made me feel like I belonged on the team. She would always come up to me and start a conversation. I would be like, ‘oh my gosh, the Senior is talking to me.’ But that’s something that I’ve been trying to do as a Captain, which is to connect with the younger girls,” said Bell.
Bell elaborated on her aim to truly connect with her teammates, which stems from the personal impact of past leaders’ construction of a strong sense of belonging throughout the team.
Bell said, “One of my goals is to make sure that there’s not really a divide between classes, because my [Junior] year, I felt like I could talk to the upperclassmen. I felt like everyone was my friend. I could go to dinner with anyone. I want to establish that same team culture and mentality now, where we’re always together and you don’t really see [what grade a teammate is in]. You just see someone you could talk to as a friend.
Fittingly, goalkeeper Gracynn Hartley ’27 shared her appreciation for Bell’s approachability and ability to take responsibility for her actions.
“Quiana is an amazing person. Quiana’s somebody you could walk up to and have a genuine conversation with, and she’s not going to judge you for it. She’s just a great person in general, and we love having her on the team and being our Captain,” said Hartley. “She has a very authentic view to her in that she has a lot of integrity. She’s able to take a lot of accountability, which a lot of people, when they’re Captains, don’t really do.”
Hartley also described Bell as knowledgeable in when to shift from seriousness to a more relaxed attitude. Hartley shared how that ability complements Bell’s leadership.
“Quiana brings a very bubbly vibe to the team. She’s serious, and she’s ready to have fun at the same time, so it’s very even. She’s very competitive, and she knows when to be like, ‘guys, come on, let’s lock in,” but she loves to have fun too. She’s very assertive on the field, which I find very inspiring. I like having her as my Captain because it makes me feel like I have somebody who’s very assertive, and I can put my confidence into them,” said Hartley.
Next year, Hartley will compete with Middlebury College’s Division III Women’s Lacrosse program.
