Young, Restless Berger Takes Charge at UMBC
by Chris R. Vaccaro | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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At 25, Kelly Berger, one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA women's lacrosse history, has guided UMBC to an 8-4 record. © UMBC |
At James Madison University, Kelly Berger was one of the best
lacrosse players in school history. She started for four years and
finished second all-time in goals (184) and points (262), but
didn’t know where a kinesiology degree would take her.
Since the Dukes didn’t win big in her final season in 2008,
Berger wasn’t ready, “to put down the
competitiveness” just yet, she said.
Coaching was intriguing to Berger. She knew she’d be involved one way or another, and was certain she wasn’t ready for the normal 9-to-5 desk job. After two years as an assistant at UMBC, she was named one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA history prior to the 2010 season. At 25, Howard coach Jessica Morgan is about a week younger than Berger.
“It was something I’ve always wanted to do,”
she said. “I didn’t think [the head coaching position]
would come so quickly though.”
“Kelly did an outstanding job as our top assistant the last
two seasons, and I believe she is ready to step up and coach our
Retriever women’s lacrosse team,” said UMBC athletic
director Dr. Charles Brown when Berger was given the keys to the
program. “She has been a success as both a player and an
assistant coach, and I expect the same as a head coach and look
forward to great things from our women’s lacrosse
team.”
It helped in Berger's transition to the helm of the program that
she didn’t have to adjust to a new school or players. Her
first win as a head coach was in UMBC’s opener at
Jacksonville – an 18-2 thrashing.
“It was neat realizing we won and won big,” said
Berger, who was a two-time IWLCA All-American and 2006 CAA Player
of the Year at JMU. She remains active as a member of the U.S.
national teams program. “It was special for me and the
coaching staff.”
Berger grew up in a competitive household in Columbia, Md.
alongside her older brother Stephen, who was a three-time
All-American at Washington College and plays in the MLL for the
Long Island Lizards.
Add that sporty upbringing to her experiences under Kelly Young
– her former JMU coach, who is now at Louisville – and
the lessons she learned from her father Ed, and Berger had the
right mix of people to influence her life.
One of the key lessons she learned was to relate sports to
life.
“It’s just a game, but it’s not always about the
philosophy of the game,” she said. “It’s about
the philosophy of life. You can learn so much about life within the
game.”
Berger finds herself acting like an older sister with the team
sometimes, which is natural since she isn’t too much older
than her players. The Retrievers are 8-4.
“I worry about them like a mom sometimes too,” she
joked, but, “it’s cool to be able to talk to them on
their level.”
America East Women's Lacrosse Notes
Albany’s (8-1) Christine Grueniger
scored a career-high five goals against Binghamton in a 24-3
beating on Saturday. The win marked Albany’s record-setting
eighth straight victory… JoJo Curro scored
a career-high six goals for New Hampshire (7-3) in
a 16-8 win over UMBC… Boston
University (5-6) lost to Syracuse, 17-11, last weekend,
but Traci Landy tied her career high in goals with
six goals in the loss … Melissa Cook scored
with two seconds left for Vermont (2-7) to an
11-10 win over Stony Brook (3-8) on Saturday.
