Saint Joseph girls lacrosse head coach Katie Neeser has team on right track
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — As Head Coach for Saint Joseph’s Girls Lacrosse team, Katie Neeser trains her team to perfect the basics, work through every drill effectively, and play for the teammate next to them if they want to be successful at game time.
Neeser herself was introduced to the sport through her sister, the senior student manager for the Notre Dame Men’s Lacrosse team. In eighth grade, she began teaching herself the basics and she started playing competitively as a high school freshman. “I played for four years with Saint Joseph (while attending Marian) and also played for a club team called X-Team for two years,” she says. “I briefly played at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania before coming back to South Bend and beginning my coaching career in 2008.” She was a volunteer coach for one season at Saint Mary’s College, helped coach a club team out of Indianapolis called IndyU for two summers, and has been trained as an official for the sport.
The 2021-22 season may have produced one of Neeser’s most memorable wins as a coach. On Saint Joseph’s senior night, the girls’ lacrosse team held their opponents scoreless in the second half of the game, clinching the win in overtime with a rebound goal—with less than a minute left on the clock.
“I think each season I have multiple proud coaching moments,” Neeser explains. “For me, it’s about building up the athletes I have the privilege of coaching. Therefore, my proud coach moment is when the athlete has their ‘ah ha’ moment or the moment everything just clicks for them. You can see their faces light up. Seeing the way they carry themselves with more confidence is so rewarding.”
Neeser admits she’s had hiccups along her journey, but she’s learned through experience that each athlete needs to be coached based on their individual needs. “Coaching is not one-size-fits-all, and if you expect every athlete to love you or your coaching style, you will burn out and lose your love for coaching quickly,” she says. This individualized approach to coaching creates a program that athletes want and choose to be a part of, she explains. “Success is not solely based on the scoreboard. The success of the team, individual athlete, and the program can be based on little wins and not just the record at the end of the season.”
After a disappointing loss, Neeser doesn’t hold a long, drawn-out huddle for her team. Instead, they celebrate their wins and do a team cheer, highlighting players for their effort. “We move forward,” she says. “I don’t find dwelling on our loss is effective. I do find it effective to know what we did well and what we didn’t do well and make sure to put the work in on the areas we were lacking. At practice the next day we discuss how we are going to reset and put in the work for our next opponent.”
Neeser hopes to see lacrosse grow more popular in northern Indiana and, with more students given the chance to grow their love for the sport. “As a coach, mentor, and leader, I hope to prepare young athletes to be kind, hard-working, dedicated, committed, and humble individuals who will one day go out into the community and be the best version of themselves that they can be. To any of my former athletes, remember, ‘the legs feed the wolf.’ Also, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives and I hope you are succeeding on whatever path your journey has sent you on.”
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