From Cheerleader to Division 1 All-American Goalie with Arielle Weissman – LGR Episode 149
By Coach Damon
Last updated: May 13, 2022
In today’s episode of the Lax Goalie Rat Podcast coach Damon sits down to chat with Michigan graduate senior starting goalie Arielle Weissman.
The Michigan Wolverines just made the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament for just the second time in their program’s history.
A huge reason for this was the strong play from their starting goalie Arielle Weissman who was just recently named an honorable All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine and was also named to the All-Big 10 Second Team.
https://twitter.com/UMichWLAX/status/1521918493922185216
A native of Bridgewater, NJ, Weissman has a unique story about how she became the leading lady between the pipes at Michigan.
Prior to fully diving into lacrosse, Weissman was a competitive cheerleader and gymnast. Arielle discusses on the show how her time in cheerleading and gymnastics helped her become a better goalie and what skills she was able to take from those sports and apply them to lacrosse.
Arielle played her high school lacrosse at Bridgewater Raritan Regional High School where she won the program’s first New Jersey Tournament of Champions, was ranked as the No. 1 recruit in New Jersey, and was a US Lacrosse High School and Under Armour All-American as a senior.
Upon arrival in Ann Arbour, it took some time for Arielle to earn the starting position for the Wolverines. However, as she discusses on the show, there are a lot of other things that you can do to contribute towards your team if you’re not the starting netminder.
Arielle use to revel in her role as the scout team goalie where she would mimic the tendencies of other goalies to help prepare the Wolverines for their upcoming matchups.
Weissman was also fortunate enough to learn behind former Michigan great and current Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse goalie Mira Shane. Weissman and Shane developed a close bond during their time together at Michigan and still stay in touch to this day.
Weissman became the starter in 2020 after Shane had graduated and started in all 6 games for the Wolverines before the COVID-19 pandemic ended their season.
With the return of college lacrosse in 2021, Weissman struggled to find her footing in the net and ended up splitting time with teammate Mariah Sweeney. She talks about the struggles she faced during this time period with stress related to choosing whether or not to return for grad school as well as having their season shut down halfway through and how she was able to learn some strategies to help her overcome and return the next season with a much more positive mindset.
And in 2022, Weissman is having her best season ever. She finished the 2022 regular season with an 8.45 GAA (4th in the NCAA) and a .506 Save % (5th in the NCAA) all while leading the Michigan Wolverines to a 10-6 record and a birth in the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament where they will play Notre Dame in the First Round on Friday, May 13.
Arielle joins the show today to talk about her upbringing in New Jersey, her relationship with Mira Shane, the mental game, what it means to have a New Jersey attitude, and much more!
I know you’re going to really love this episode. So please enjoy my interview with Arielle Weissman.
Show Notes
Weissman’s Stick Setup
- Head: STX Shield
- Mesh: 12 Diamond Mesh
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 1 Nylon and two straight-shooting lace
- Gloves: STX Sultra Women’s Lacrosse Goalie Gloves
Video of Interview with Arielle Weissman
Pics/Videos of Arielle Weissman
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