Nashua South boys lacrosse players take their first jog of spring practice around Stellos Stadium on Monday. Practices for the spring season were underway all over the area. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Nashua Park-Recreation’s Stellos Stadium caretaker James Mulvey was pointing Monday afternoon to the far shaded corner of the facility, on the visitors side.

There, he said, was the last small piece of snow left, probably the size of two pairs of cleats side by side, that refuses to disappear.

But that’s OK, because the true sign of spring, which begins today, was the plethora of local high school lacrosse players at the facility for the first day of tryouts/practice.

Spring, which officially starts today, has sprung.

“It’s great, it’s amazing,” Bishop Guertin senior girls lacrosse player Hailey Leblanc said. “The sun is shining, we’re all together again. It’s nice to be back.”

The BG girls started the day at Stellos from 2:30 to 4:30, then the Nashua High School South boys and girls teams came in. Sure, a little chilly, but it was time to get rolling. The South girls were gathered in the locker room waiting for their time to take the sun splashed field. If you were in the sun, the chill tended to disappear as there was no snow around to bring the temps down. But Nashua North was going to get the colder 6:30-8:30 session.

“I know, I don’t even have my jacket on yet,” South girls lax coach Ciki McIntire said. “It’s so exciting, the vibe in the locker room was so amazing, we were just talking. We have a ton of new kids that are all trying (lacrosse) for the first time. Just so excited to be out here.”

McIntire, who coached field hockey and was a girls basketball assistant, admitted it all runs together at a frantic pace.

“It never stops,” she said. “Some of the three season athletes, at least the ones who play basketball, were kind of hoping for another week. But they’re super excited to be here. … You just get here, you’ve been thinking about it for so long, you’re just excited to get started.”

For Callie Santos, Monday was a very special day. That’s because she is the new BG girls lacrosse coach, and yesterday was her first official day on the job. She came on board to help out the Cardinals midway through last season, and she and the team’s head coach the last three seasons, Leslie Why, swapped places. Why was also on hand yesterday as an assistant.

“It’s a great opportunity,” she said. “I was excited mostly, to be honest. It

‘s good to get out here with the kids, get the opportunity be here and watch the kids compete. The big thing (for the players) is come out here, be present, focus on what you can control, and get excited for another year of awesome lacrosse.”

While lacrosse dominated the facility on Monday, it’s expected bats and gloves will replace lacrosse sticks today with South baseball and softball possibly getting Stellos time as their fields are still a little soft with the March mud. But it certainly won’t be long.

Bishop Guertin’s Hailey Leblanc, left, tries to blanket teammate Bella Dawson during Monday’s first day of practice at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Meanwhile, the preseason for most will last a good three weeks, as the seasons open up the week of April 8. Tennis will start the previous week, and yesterday courts were certainly usable.

“We get three weeks, we’ve got a couple of scrimmages lined up,” McIntire said. “Just getting through the first few days.”

What does McIntire tell her prospective players on Day One?

“We kind of just talk about expectations and culture,” she said. “Everybody’s going to make mistakes, how do you react to that mistake? And we talked about the returners helping the beginners, and trying to get them up to speed as quickly as possible.”

Still, the student athletes can’t wait for the regular season to get here. Especially the Cards, who lost in the Division I semifinals last June and want to reclaim the title they won in 2021 and ’22.

“We’re so hungry,” Leblanc said. “We’re gonna win this year.”

There you go, proof that hope springs eternal.

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