Four coaches in four years; does this sound stable?
This is what faces the women’s lacrosse team. Director of Athletics Eugene Doris concedes the program has been unstable due to the coaching changes and several players choosing to quit.
“I quit for a lot of reasons,” said former player Lindsey Cook, ’05. “Instability of the program, the coaches and lack of support from the athletic department – It all got to be too much. The fun was gone and it was not worth it.”
“I didn’t quit because of the coaching changes,” said former player Jess Golden, ’05. “I decided not to play for personal reasons.”
In the last four years, two of the coaches left for salary reasons and the other one was offered another coaching job, according to Doris. Fairfield pays the most when it comes to the salary of women’s lacrosse coaches in the MAAC. Yet the salary was so low that two of the coaches decided to leave.
Last year’s coach, Laura Brand, left because she was offered the head-coaching job of the Rutgers’ women’s lacrosse team.
“It has to be tough on the girls on the team,” said Doris. “But I think we got a very good coach. Her style is very different from Laura’s, she is much more of a disciplinarian.”
Stacey McCue is the new coach of this year’s team. McCue had a solid assistant coaching background and has been offered a three-year deal, according to Doris.
“I think the girls have been handling the coaching changes well,” said McCue. “I am trying to reassure the girls that I will be here for awhile, and they should get used to me.”
Right now there are 15 players on the team, instead of the normal size of 20-plus on a squad. Ten are required to play at one time during a game, leaving only five substitutes.
“It gets a little hard at practices with a small team,” said Defensemen Margot Krah, ’05. “But everyone gets to play and we practice harder. It has been beneficial.”
The multiple coaching changes have also hurt in the recruiting process. Krah hopes McCue is here to stay in order to help add stability to the program.
Doris agreed. “Stacey was the best coach out of all the people we interviewed. I think we got someone very good.”
Despite these problems, the players on this year’s team are very optimistic for their upcoming MAAC season. Right now the Stags are 1-3 overall, after some tough non-conference competition.
“We are going to be great this season,” said Goalie Kathleen Crane, ’04. “We have a smaller team, but the people that are there are the ones who want to work hard. Hopefully that will get us to win the MAAC and get us to the NCAA Tournament.”
McCue will look for leadership and some high-powered offense from players Jess Conahan, ’04, Beth Loffredo, ’06, Meghan Ryan, ’05 and Meg Main, ’03.
“We are definitely fired up to contend in the MAAC,” said McCue. “The MAAC is definitely going to get a surprise from us.”
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