VWC Women’s Lacrosse volunteers with the Special Olympics

An email to my best friends…

Thanks for checking in, Kate [one of my best friends since high school who was a great field hockey player at the University of Maryland]. After Saturday’s loss, that makes 4 one goal losses for our team in a row. (In my entire time at VWC, I can only recall 2 other games total that we’ve lost by 1). It has been heartbreaking. However, we have never played better lacrosse than we are right now. After every one of these losses, the team has come out stronger and played better for longer. We have been forcing other teams to have the best game of their season to beat us. I have seen so much character out of the girls from these games. I told the girls, “no, our season has not been a fairytale so far. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be a cinderella team in the tournament.” No one wants to play us again, I know that for a fact. It’s actually a pretty exciting thing. After spending a lot of time thinking on the drive home from the game on Saturday and on Sunday, I’ve gotten to this place of positivity that I’m in right now. Believe me, I have not always been feeling like this. But the bottom line is, if we want to get anything out of the team for the conference tournament, we have to have this attitude right now. So, tomorrow we are playing for the 4th place spot in the tournament. It’s our senior game against Lynchburg and if we win that means we host the 5th seed (which will be Lynchburg again) next Wednesday. If we lose, we are 5th and we have to travel to Lynchburg. It’s webcast (or supposed to be) if anyone’s around their computer tomorrow at 7pm.

UPDATE: We came out ON FIRE for our senior game and pulled out a big win against a talented Lynchburg team. 18-11 was the final and it was a great team effort. Now we’ll be hosting the Hornets again next Wednesday at 4pm.

4-4, but better than .500 in many ways

With three of our four losses coming from Nationally-ranked opponents, the Marlins have been steadily improving over the year. Saturday’s loss to #10 Washington & Lee, showed us just that as The Marlins finished the game ahead in draw controls and shots. Our goal of playing “marlins lacrosse” for a full 60 minutes is getting closer and is what it will take for us to beat those better opponents.  We’re excited for our upcoming game at Goucher College in Maryland, especially because many of our seniors are from the Baltimore area. Next home game is Saturday, 3/28 against Sweet Briar at 3:30pm. Hope to see you there!

Senior-laden Marlins ranked No.3 in ODAC preseason poll

The following press release was published on February 11, 2009 after the preseason rankings came out…enjoy…I’ll share more soon…

SALEM, Va. — To say expectations are high for the 2009 women’s lacrosse season at Virginia Wesleyan College just might be a little bit of an understatement.

Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) coaches obviously think the Marlins are a team to keep an eye on, as they ranked Virginia Wesleyan as one of the league’s title contenders this season with a No. 3 preseason position.

But, fourth-year head coach Fran Amasia (33-20), who needs only six victories to become the most successful coach in the 12-year history of the women’s lacrosse program, fields one of the most experienced, senior-laden teams in program. In fact, the Marlins will compete with 10 seniors, the most ever for VWC.

Jillian Boyd, a 2008 All-South, All-Virginia, and four-time all-conference and offensive leader for the past four years, has graduated, but there is no reason for Marlin opponents to expect any drop off in the competitive level that helped VWC post a 12-6 record in 2008.  That returning senior class, combined with seven other letterwinners, and a highly promising group of newcomers should keep the Marlins on pace to record a seventh winning season in eight years.

Two-time All-ODAC honorees Bethany Adomanis (Arnold, Md./Severn Archbishop Spalding), Aimee Sraver (Timonium, Md./St. Pauls), and Laura Norris (Hollywood, Md./Leonardtown) will all be back on the field for the Marlins, along with 2008 all-conference honoree Suzie Mace (Dumfries, Va./Woodbridge Forest Park) and 2007 all-conference honoree Kasey Marchwicki (Boyds, Md./Poolesville).

Adomanis, Norris, and Marchwicki complemented Boyd’s scoring abilities last season when the Marlins netted 245 goals, the third highest total in program history, but are expected to step into leading roles offensively this year.  All three women rank among VWC’s all-time top 10 in scoring. Adomanis is currently No. 6 (114 points), Norris No. 7 (102) as a sophomore, and Marchwicki No. 10 (87).  Marchwicki leads the trio with 74 goals scored.

Boyd also led VWC in ground balls and draw control victories last year, but the Marlins are deep in each area.  After Boyd, the top six leaders in ground balls are back, led by senior Stacy Trow (Mont Vernon, N.H./Souhegan), Norris, and Mace, as are the top four in draw control wins, led by Trow and senior Kathryn Simmons (Lutherville, Md./Towson).

Experience spreads from the offensive side of things into the defense where Ashley Sippel (Leesburg, Va./Ashburn Stone Bridge) anchors matters as as the program’s first four-year goalie. She recorded 184 saves last season, the third highest total in program history, and enters her senior season as VWC’s all-time saves leader with 482.

Virginia Wesleyan, two wins away from recording the program’s milestone 100th victory, opens the season on Wednesday, Feb. 25, motoring to Salisbury, Md. to face the No. 3-ranked Sea Gulls of Salisbury University in a non-conference contest at 6 p.m.  The Marlins open the home portion of their 2009 schedule on Saturday, Feb. 28, hosting the Quakers of Guilford College at 3:30 p.m.

The 2009 ODAC preseason women’s lacrosse poll is as follows first place votes in parentheses):

1. Washington & Lee University 78 (7); Roanoke College 71 (2), 3; VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 63; 4. Randolph-Macon College 56; 5. Guilford (N.C.) 43; 6. Lynchburg College 39; 7. Sweet Briar College 26; 8. Bridgewater College 20; 9. Hollins University 9.

First week

As we start our second week of practices, I thought I would take a look back on how the first week went for our team. Many of our players would describe the first week in one word–busy. It’s been an adjustment for everyone–starting back up with classes, practice and lifting as well as study halls and internships. On Friday and Saturday we hosted some prospective student-athletes while they were touring campus for VWC Day. By the time we got to our first Marlins School for Girls Lacrosse Winter Workshop on Sunday, I was anticipating walking zombies on the field. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw each of our players really focused on the girls at our camp–giving them individual attention, making them laugh and really being great role models. It was great to see the players “finish strong.”

The Countdown is on…

One week until we officially begin our 2009 lacrosse season, it’s been a long time coming! Although I sometimes being patient, one of the aspects of coaching a spring sport that I really love is the build up and anticipation to the season.

All summer, I travel up and down the east coast (and sometimes west, as I went to California and Colorado this past summer) looking for potential student-athletes for our program, running youth camps and spending time with my family and friends.

The fall brings a short, non-traditional season when we take time getting the freshmen up to speed, getting all of the players on the same page with our expectations and goals for the year.

The start of winter brings a time of workouts and wall ball for the players while the coaches focus on recruiting, administrative duties and preparation for the spring. The holidays come and we spend some time with our families and loved ones before they may not see us for a while (except on the sidelines).

And then… spring is finally here!  Although it may not feel much like spring for the first few months, we get back to practice and preparation for our upcoming games. January and February practices always zoom by and the next thing you know, we’re walking out onto the field for our first game. Our first game will be at Salisbury University on February 25th at 6pm. Hope you can make it!

This weekend, my last “free” one until May (hopefully a few weeks into  the month as the National Championship is  May 16-17 in Salem, VA), I was up in my home state of Maryland for the US Lacrosse Convention . This was my 7th year attending and each year I come away pumped up for the season and with a bunch of new ideas swarming in my head. This year I especially enjoyed a presentation from Georgetown coach, Ricky Fried. Coach Fried’s presentation was in conjuntion with a live field demonstration from the US National Team. You can really grasp the way different concepts are meant to look on the field when you have the best players in the country demonstrating! I had an opportunity to coach a team against the US National Travel Squad this past summer in Prague (check out the photo gallery on my website) and I hope the Australian players have been working hard in their off-season!

Enthusiasm

A few of our current players stopped by yesterday and they were exuding something that every coach hopes to see before the season begins…Enthusiasm!

Here’s a quote on enthusiasm that I feel is very poignant:

“Enthusiasm brings on Excitement
Excitement then produces Energy
Energy generates Extra Effort
Extra Effort develops Excellence”
-Frosty Westering

Before the fitness test and morning lifting and even stepping on the practice field, all that exists is an attitude–a state of mind. If enthusiasm is the state of mind our team has right now, I couldn’t be happier!

What will 2009 bring?

Happy New Year! I am so excited for our 2009 season. The student-athletes that started with me at VWC are now seniors. It has been great getting to see each of them grow as players and people. I know they are excited to end their collegiate careers on a high note and I can’t wait to see what our team can accomplish this year. With each new year, new challenges will surely arise, but these challenges with help us to learn new things and make us each stronger.