After finishing up your career with the women’s lacrosse team at Ohio State University you transitioned straight into a coaching role with that team; can you share some of the challenges that this brought?
This transition definitely proved to be a challenge, not only did I have to adjust to my new position but now I was coaching my former teammates. Right from the start I was welcomed on the staff and by the team. Establishing my roles and values allowed for a tremendous amount of respect from the team. Aside from that, the experiences gained, and knowledge learned from some of the best in the business at the NCAA Division I level was brilliant. Being a coach at Ohio State is an extreme honor and opportunity to pay it forward for those who came before me. The opportunity to get my foot in the door as a Division I lacrosse coach was one I was not going to waste.
A year later you had a unique opportunity to become part of a coaching staff at Kent State University where they just begun a women’s lacrosse program with your first year would be theirs as well. How has this been for you?
Becoming an assistant coach at Kent State has been a dream come true. Not many coaches get to go into their first year of coaching and help establish a program. Starting anything from the ground up takes an awful lot of work. Kent State’s lacrosse program was long in the works before I was even considering where to go next. I met the current KSU head coach, Brianne Tierney, at one of Ohio State’s women’s lacrosse summer camps right after I had finished my undergraduate degree. Everything that she envisioned for Kent State was exactly what I stood for in building a culture and a winning program. In the middle of August in 2018 I was officially hired with that fall being our first official fall ball season. With 27 new student-athletes, I knew of the importance to hit the ground running. In a few weeks I was able to learn everyone’s names and faces on the field and who they were outside of the lacrosse field. Although our first season had its ups and downs, I was able to enhance my learning as a coach. Also, in working as a staff and being able to balance our different coaching styles and philosophies to make the team better in the long run.
How is it being a younger coach who coaches players that are possibly only a few years younger than yourself? What are some of the major benefits you see from this?
Being a younger coach has helped me establish a sense of trust and security within the team. By demonstrating in and viewing activities from a different perspective, I can help them better understand the ‘why’. Since I went through the newest rule changes that have happened to our game as a player, I am able to help guide them to answers. Also, as a recent student-athlete, I understand the difficulty of balancing school and lacrosse at the same time. Study table hours, academic meetings, and being involved with other interests are all aspects I’ve experienced recently.
How has the Masters of Sport Coaching been applicable in your daily activities in both a coaching and non-coaching context?
The Masters of Sport Coaching has been extremely beneficial to who I am as a coach today. From my past experiences coaching club lacrosse and an athlete at Ohio State, I was able to reflect, craft, and apply what I learned to design my personal coaching philosophy. The program is tight knit where interactions and communication is crucial which once I got to Kent State, was the norm learning from both Brianne and Amanda’s coaching styles. In the course called pro-seminar, I was able to interact with many collegiate and professional coaches at Ohio State and around Columbus. They provided advice and knowledge for on and off the field coaching and balancing life, which I try to apply every day in my career. I have a greater understanding of who I am and have the confidence to be myself with my team standing up for what I believe in.