Welcome to “5-and-5,” a new series from US Lacrosse Magazine that features prominent athletes, coaches and personalities combining on-field perspective with off-field persona.
Tari Kandemiri has been embedded in lacrosse social media since she started falling in love with the game as a sophomore in high school. She had moved to the United States from Zimbabwe and was hesitant to try a new sport, but lacrosse soon became one of the pillars in her life.
Kandemiri wanted to share her passion for lacrosse with others, so she started the Twitter account @OfficialLaxGirl. Almost a decade and over 18,000 followers later, Official Lax Girl is one of the most influential accounts in the lacrosse community.
“I would describe the lacrosse community as an endless watch party,” she said. “We’re all in the stadium together, virtually, continuously watching games, halftime, eating snacks and then watching more games.”
Given her experience on social media and in the lacrosse community, we couldn’t think of a better subject for our next edition of “5-and-5.” Kandemiri gave Matt Hamilton her five best social media follows in the lacrosse community — not including herself, of course.
Sylvia Queener
We really started talking during the PLL Championship Series. She’s so funny. She’s a person that uses GIFs just as much as I do and loves lacrosse. She’s so knowledgeable about the game and finds really good ways to merge her personality with insights about the game. Coming from a family that’s really influential in lacrosse, both on the men’s and women’s side, it’s always fun to see her tweets and interact with her. She brings lots of personality, and I really enjoy following her.
Mikey Diggs
I saw his Instagram first and I was like, ‘Who is this person and why are they so funny?’ You could tell is was effortless. Things were coming to his mind and his head as plays were happening.
I just found out his name is Mikey Diggs. I just referred to him as Diggs Tape. What I love about all the people on the list is that they find ways to infuse their personality and passion for the game with how they present content. Every video he posts, he’ll be narrating a play and he’ll have really funny phrases with it, or he’ll rewind a play and show everyone how it’s happening and have some laughs in there. It makes it really fun to watch tape and watch lacrosse content. We’re finding out how fun and enjoyable it is to hear about the game from different people’s perspectives, and now him being on TLN, he’s an awesome representative of the game and finds a great way to present lacrosse content in an engaging way.
It would be cool to see him announce an All-Star Game or something because it brings so much flavor.
Alex Powers
As fans of social media, so many of us have met good friends over the Internet, and Alex is one of my good friends. We met seven or eight years ago, whenever I started my Twitter account. When I came to Atlanta, that’s when we really started hanging out. Now, she’s like a sister. Going from tweeting back and forth about lacrosse, to being someone that I rely on and talk to every day, she’s a big part of my life. She has had three ACL surgeries, but she’s been positive about everything. She did all her rehab and got to play at Rhinehardt.
You’d probably see some really funny takes about everything happening in the game. She’s probably a little more nuanced than me, pinpointing specific plays when I’m just sending random GIF after random GIF. She knows so much about football and loves that game, as well. She just has nuanced sports takes. She also loves Xbox and PlayStation, so you can see some gamer tweets in there.
Kenya Lacrosse
I was introduced to Kenya Lacrosse a couple years ago. I met the founder of Kenya Lacrosse, Storm Trentham, and she’s just amazing. She is consistently going to Kenya and doing clinics and providing materials. What I love about her is how much she’s communicated with the community and the players and the coaching staff; it really ensures the health and well-being of the players. Some of the players come from a background where they’re in rural areas that aren’t as advanced as the cities. Lacrosse has been a great step-up to provide opportunities for players to go to school and meet people and practice the English language. I feel the love for the players on and off the field. As an African, I was born in Zimbabwe, so any time I see fellow African nations playing lacrosse and making a positive impact, it’s always a positive to me.
Amari Pollard
Got to hype up my sisters. She went to UNC, so you know she’s good. She has a podcast called “So-Called Oreos,” and they make really good Instagram Reels, so she’s giving me Reels tips. She writes for IL Women, amongst other publications. When we first had a chance to sit down and meet, it was for my podcast talking about being Black women in lacrosse and sports. Alex and I had talked about being Black women in lacrosse, but within a podcast, Amari and I are both people that ask a lot of questions, so we just laid it all out there for an hour-and-a-half.
It was so awesome to connect with someone who understands both being a lacrosse player and a black woman, and the spaces we have to occupy and try to stand out in but also feel oppressed in. But we also talk about the joys of Black womanhood, and that regardless of what happens, we’re still coming out on top and following our passions. It’s a peer in the game that I respect so much. She covers all aspects of the game and current events. She finds great ways to convey information and share it in a nuanced way.
Snack Time with Tari
Because you need fuel for when you're browsing social media for memes.
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Hershey Kisses
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Funyuns
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Chicken burrito
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Lemon pepper wings
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Red velvet cupcakes