Chloe Jones: A Name You Should Get Familiar With
***This article originally appeared in US Lacrosse Magazine***
Chloe Jones committed to the Syracuse Women's Lacrosse team back in September. Despite being signed to the number one ranked team in the country, this arguably isn't the most impressive thing she's done so far this year. Jones started making a name for herself in the lacrosse community because of the ways she has utilized her time during the pandemic.
In a time riddled with uncertainty where many events including lacrosse practices have been canceled, Jones has still found a way to take her game to new levels. She comes up with creative workouts to improve her strength, speed, and lacrosse IQ. The most recent innovative drill was a fast-paced treadmill workout while simultaneously throwing a lacrosse ball against a rebounder.
Ursuline Academy lacrosse head coach Feffie Barnhill said that Jones's work ethic comes as no surprise to her.
"Everything she attempts she's got to do it to the best of her ability," Barnhill said. "There's not a high percentage of student-athletes at that age who know that direction and have that internal motivation to improve."
Jones says that while a lot of her motivation to get better is just part of who she is, she also has her father to thank for pushing her to be the best version of herself on and off the field. As a former collegiate football player and longtime football coach, Jones's father is no stranger to the amount of work it takes to be the best in any sport. He says he started instilling the value of hard work into Chloe from a very young age.
"Our slogan is 'grind for greatness,'" Jones said. "You want to be as fast as you can be, you want to catch as best as you can. When you start looking at other people, you take yourself off of your own path." The results of his message have paid off, evidenced by the tremendous success his daughter has had on the field in her freshman year at Ursuline Academy.
As impressive as Chloe's mentality and workout regimen is, her real mark on the lacrosse world has come from her ability to find ways to enrich the lives of others off the field. For this she has earned US Lacrosse Impact Athlete honors.
Back in September, Jones attended the Nation United Summit, a two-day event with the goal of bringing together a mix of girls from different club teams to one space to play the game they love. More importantly, they discussed ways that they could bring more diversity to the sport. As of 2019, the NCAA reported only 3% of collegiate women's lacrosse players were black across all divisions. Lacrosse originated in Native American culture. Now, the modernized version of the game played at the collegiate level is made up of predominantly white athletes. As of recently, events like the Nation United Summit are trying to find ways to promote diversity within the sport. This is a movement that Jones wanted to be a part of.
"Being someone who is black, I think that my complexion and my color means a lot about me," Jones said. "I think it is important for people to recognize the problems that they [black lacrosse athletes] have to go through, especially being one of the only [black] ones on your team. It just makes the environment very different."
Jones then took the information from the Summit and decided to see what changes she could make at the local level. She started a youth clinic for younger girls aged 8-14 who live in disadvantaged communities. Once a week, she spent an hour teaching girls the basics of lacrosse. More importantly, though, she gave them a positive way to spend their time.
"Kids have a lot more time on their hands so they should be doing something that will keep them on the right path," Jones said.
Chloe Jones with the girls she works with at the clinic. ©Dante Jones
Jones comes from a family of 7 where she is the older sister to 4 younger girls. As a result of her role in that environment, she is used to being the one that sets the example.
"It really motivates me to be a better person knowing that I have four other girls looking at me," Jones said. "I'm showing them that you can help others, you can be a good role model in your community."
Jones's father has also been involved with the clinic because it is hosted at a Boys and Girls Club in Dover where Jones's dad works. He says that another added perk about the youth clinic is that it is allowing young black girls to be exposed to lacrosse at a young age.
"If we can expose more young girls to it [lacrosse] at an early age, maybe there will be a lot more Chloe Jones's that come along," he said.
No one could be more proud of Chloe's efforts than her father, and he feels confident that her work ethic, mature mindset, and high level of self-confidence will allow her to excel academically and athletically.
"When you have all of these characteristics already built inside of you from family structure, success is just inevitable," he said.