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# Schwab aiming high in final season with Pelham girls lacrosse
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/schwab-aiming-high-in-final-season-with-pelham-girls-lacrosse/
- Published: 2019-04-10T17:00:27.000Z
- Updated: 2019-04-10T17:00:27.000Z
- Description: Jillian Schwab wants to make the Pelham High School girls lacrosse team the best that it can be. The senior knew the more the Pythons were able to spend time together during the offseason, working on their skills and their chemistry, the better they'd be once the spring season got underway. That's w
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division III-IV, Division III, girls lacrosse, Jill Schwab, NH High School Sports Insider, Pelham, Pythons, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

Jillian Schwab wants to make the Pelham High School girls lacrosse team the best that it can be.

The senior knew the more the Pythons were able to spend time together during the offseason, working on their skills and their chemistry, the better they'd be once the spring season got underway.

That's why Schwab, a four-year starter for Pelham, went to coach John Fichera in the fall of her junior year and asked if she could try to organize something for her and her teammates to do in the winter.

"We did the (NH Tomahawks) indoor league when we were in eighth grade, and I thought that was a great way to get our sticks in our hands before the season," Schwab said. "We normally do winter workouts, go run as a team, play some catch, but indoor was really the best way to get ready for the season.

"I know how important it is for girls who don’t play other sports, they don’t get a lot of activity in, so I knew for them it’d be beneficial. When we show up (for spring practice), we’re all ready to go."

For two offseasons now, Schwab has had a big hand in organizing what the Pythons do in regards to lacrosse, while also playing soccer and basketball at Pelham.

"It didn’t surprise me when she emailed me and said can I get this started," Fichera said. "She basically organized it last year, too, so it didn’t surprise me when she wanted to take the whole thing on. She’s a leader and that’s what she does. That’s a tall order for someone."

Schwab was just trying to do things that she had witnessed other captains and leaders do when she was younger.

"I had some awesome captains growing up, and they really showed me what I should do," she said. "My parents and coaches really showed me what to do to be a leader. You’ve just got to get everyone on the same page and work for the same goal, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do."

The goal this season for Pelham is a different one from when Schwab was a freshman. Back then, making the playoffs was viewed as a successful year.

But now, after the Pythons have been to the postseason a few years in a row, they are expecting bigger things, starting with a top-four seed and the home quarterfinal that comes with it.

"That’s eluded us by just one win the last couple of years," Fichera said. "We don’t want to start the playoffs on the road. That’s a hard thing to do. Everybody is so far apart (in Division III)."

Getting Pelham its first girls lacrosse championship would be a nice way to finish off high school before Schwab goes off to play at Central Connecticut State University.

"I want to go all the way, and I know this team, if we all work hard at practice, we can do that," she said. "It’s all in your heart. I think that’s the mentality I want to stress this year, that we can do it."

Schwab took that same attitude into her college recruitment, deciding early on what she wanted, and when she found the right school, committing right away.

"My top priority was getting into a good school that had my major and I’ve known for a while that I want to be a nurse," Schwab said. "Starting in the recruiting process, it was hard to find a Division I school that could accommodate me with my academics and athletics. I needed to find a school that would allow me to do nursing and lacrosse, and I wanted to be in Connecticut. When I went there, I loved it. It was the perfect place for me. It was early on sophomore year, but I’m really glad I made the choice."