Above-  Brailey Faris controls the ball on offense against Winter Springs.  Thanks to David Evertsen of Phabulous Photos for the pictures. Florida Lacrosse News is profiling some of our state’s top uncommitted talent. Today we will feature Brailey Faris, a midfielder from Lake Highland Prep.  Brailey is great dodging midfielder that also has excellent vision on the field.  When you add her solid defense to the 75 draw controls, 57 groundballs, and 88 points she accumulated last season, you get an all-around phenomenal player.  Plus, Brailey seems like a nice, intelligent young lady!  Check out her highlight tape at the bottom! Full Name: Samantha “Brailey” Faris Position: Mid-Field Height: 5’3” High School Team: Lake Highland Prep Club Team: REV FL High School Graduation Year: 2016 Lacrosse Honors: 2013/2014/2015 Under-Armour All American South Team, LHP Team Captain 2014 & 2015 Season (So./Jr.), 2014 LHP MVP, 2014 Orlando Sentinel All Area Girls Lacrosse 1^st Team, 2013 & 2014 Orlando National Team, 2013 LHP Offensive Player of the Year, 2013 Orlando Sentinel All Area Team Honorable Mention What camps, clinics, or tournaments are on your schedule for the rest of the off-season? Under-Armour All America Lacrosse Tournament, Baltimore, MD- July 3-5 Northern Rise, Gill, MA- July 9-12 Capital Cup, Midlothian, VA- July 17-20 President’s Cup, Orlando, FL- November 20-22 What was your first lacrosse experience? And how long have you been playing? Rita and Tom Kienle’s (TK) lacrosse camp, the summer between my third and fourth grade years—it was in an un-air conditioned church gym and was miserable(ly fun); I still point the gym out every time we drive by.  What is your favorite lacrosse memory? It goes a long way back…. But winning the Heatwave 7v7 lacrosse tournament (maybe 4 years ago?)—there was a torrential downpour in the championship game against Lax Maniax, which meant a mud field and the coolest pictures EVER (with the added bonus of a sweet dog-tag).  How would you describe your style of play? Very aggressive … which is probably why I lead my team in almost every (positive) statistical category, including causing my opponents to turn the ball over …. (and yellow cards).  My mom doesn’t know where it came from; she raised me to be the exact opposite of what I am on the field. What do you think is the strongest part of your game? What are you working to improve? I think the strongest part of my game is my hustle, as well as my field-vision.  I have an innate sense of what is going to happen on the field before it actually does.  I am always working to improve my foot-work, endurance, and stick skills.  What is important to you in selecting a college? If I play lacrosse in college, I want to find a school that I will also be happy at if I get seriously injured and can no longer play. I want to find a home that I could still call home without lacrosse.   What do you think you will study in college? Science or Engineering Which college team or players do you most enjoy watching? I love watching the Rollins Women’s Team.  I know a lot of the team, as well as the coaches, and I will go to almost all of their home games during the season.  They are an amazing group of girls that manage to work hard and still be crazy on the field (plus their eye black rocks).   Who was your biggest lacrosse influence? Not necessarily a player, but rather my old lacrosse coach, Coach Rick.  He taught me everything about lacrosse, and he always pushed the team (which is why we went from losing every single game our first season to winning tournaments in the next years).  He also helped me become the person I am today.  What is your lacrosse goal for 2016? To take my high school team further in the state tournament than where we ended last year. How would you describe your high school team? A family (yes, what a cliché).  But really—we get along so well.  We don’t have any one person that we depend on, which means it is harder for other teams to shut us down—you can’t as easily shut down a 7 man offense as a 1 man offense.  How would you like your teammates to describe you? A leader who works hard to bring everyone together on the field and to make everyone laugh and have a fun time off the field.  What accomplishment are you most proud of? Definitely making the Under-Armour South Team all three years, but the stand-out moment from that tournament for me would have to be last year when we won the first game in the South Girl’s team history against New Jersey.  Do you have any pre-game rituals?    Blast music in the locker room and have a team dance party Would you rather ride the bench on a great team OR start for a mediocre team? I think I would want to start for a mediocre team, because I would be able to set the pace and an example for years to come.  As many coaches have told me, it isn’t always necessarily about winning, but leaving a lasting impact on a growing team that will allow them to be great in the years to come.  What is the last thing you binge watched on Netflix?             Grey’s Anatomy Twitter or Instagram?          Twitter   Lake Highland had a stellar 2015.  The Highlanders finished the season 18-4 and missed out on reaching the regional championship due to a one-goal heartbreaking loss to Timber Creek.   The team also proved that they could hang with the best teams in the state; against state powerhouse Vero Beach, they lost by only 3, Vero’s slimmest margin of victory against an in-state opponent since 2010.  I expect an even better year from Lake Highland in 2016 as the team returns most of its players.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-R-4wEwDAg&feature=youtu.be Best of luck to Brailey!