Focus and Precision Help Keene Master Draw Control and More

Eleanora Keene has accomplished much in her illustrious career at Guilford College. She holds top-10 positions in Guilford’s lacrosse history in points, goals, ground balls, and caused turnovers—all by the end of her junior year. The midfielder is a three-time all-region and all-league performer. She may be remembered most by her command of the draw control, a category in which she currently ranks sixth all-time in NCAA Division III history. The same tenacity that drives her in lacrosse feeds her off-field exploits.

Sports were unavoidable for Keene growing up. She hails from an athletic family that includes a cousin who played lacrosse for the United States National Team. This environment is a large reason why lacrosse head coach Sarah Lamphier calls Keene, “An unbelievably consistent athlete.” Despite her lineage, she did not originally intend to play a sport in college.

Although Guilford was one of Keene’s first choices, she was not totally set on playing lacrosse here. “On moving day, my dad found the [former] lacrosse coach and brought him to my dorm,” she recalls. Keene says deep down she knew she was always going to play lacrosse, it just took some prompting.

Keene didn’t expect to dominate the play used to start the women’s game at both halves and after goals. Now a magician at the draw control, Keene never assumed that role before college. She often lines up against her opponent at midfield with the ball carefully placed between the two sticks by an official. When the whistle blows, the players hurl the ball into the air and Keene usually comes up with the important possession.

“Each draw is an opportunity to have control of the game,” says Keene. “If you win the draw and you have a competent attack, you will score and control the pace of the game.” She says the importance of the draw control is second only to the scoreboard.

The number-one rule of winning the draw? “Never take your eye off the ball!” says Keene. Most people stare at the referee for the cue, but Keene’s eyes are locked on the ball. Boxing out, timing and predicting the ball’s direction are also important guidelines to a successful draw control. It doesn’t hurt that Keene stands 5-foot-7, which usually makes her one of the game’s taller players.

“All aspects of lacrosse are physically tiring, but the draw for me is more mental,” says Keene. Thorough concentration and mental toughness are necessary to master the draw control. “Each one is basically another beginning and you have to bring the same energy and focus to each one to be successful.”

Keene calls getting into “the zone” the most critical mental element of winning the draw control. She drops into this mindset often as an art major. Keene describes both painting and playing lacrosse as getting on a roll. “On the field, I get that runner’s high. You don’t get tired. You’re on a different level,” she says.

Keene is a perfectionist. “I get this itch to get things finished,” she says. This approach has certainly paid off in lacrosse. If the ball is on the ground or unpossessed Keene is not satisfied until it is in her crosse. “Nora has always been consistent since freshman year and has been breaking records almost every year since then,” says teammate Anna Howard. Keene’s teammates joke that her stick is a magic wand given how excellent she is at fielding the ball. “She helps us win and be successful from the draw,” says Lamphier.

Keene could have attended an NCAA Division I school. She decided not to when family members showed her how consuming the sport could be at that level. “I wanted to do art, I wanted to travel and have other friends outside of lacrosse,” says Keene.

Keene realized that she had to unleash her passions after studying the first semester of her junior year in Indonesia. “It was so significant and so challenging I wondered why I didn’t just do what I wanted do,” she says. Keene set on following her dreams and vowed to never hold back as a lacrosse player, student or artist.

As she nears the end of her Guilford career Keene looks forward to one day opening her own art gallery in trendy Santa Fe, New Mexico. If she applies the same precision and focus she has as a student and athlete, she will undoubtedly find success beyond Guilford.

- Jacob Kapp ‘15