PS-Abington Rallies Around Cancer-Stricken Coach
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
|
| Members of the Penn State-Abington athletic teams and
faculty, along with the greater Penn State and lacrosse communities
rallied around PS-A's former women's lacrosse coach Deb Andress
(left) by raising $35,000 for the Brain Tumor Society - smashing
the organization's record. © Karen Weaver |
Penn State-Abington athletic director Karen Weaver had the
women's lacrosse program she wanted and the coach she coveted.
And then Aug. 28, 2008 happened. Deb Andress was diagnosed with a
brain tumor.
It was a stunning blow for both the Abington community, where
Andress taught kinesiology for 23 years, as well as members of the
fledgling lacrosse program, who were drawn to her boundless
energy.
"Uncertainty is always difficult," said Weaver, "but I was
impressed with the way our core group of student-athletes stuck
together. They were remarkable."
The announcement of Andress' malady also hit Weaver hard. Not only
was Andress a perfect hire for Abington - she is a former standout
at Penn State, a member of the U.S. national team from 1980-84 and
a coach in the game for 25 years - but she was also one of Weaver's
former high school teammates. When Weaver was looking for a mentor
to guide the Lions from the beginning, her wish list was short.
"If you've got somebody on your staff who is so well-respected, to
me, it's the first ask you make," said Weaver.
With Andress leading the way, Weaver envisioned the Penn
State-Abington program cleaning up in the fertile lacrosse areas
just north of Philadelphia where the school is located. It would be
a signature program when the school was finally accepted as an NCAA
Division III school (it is currently unaffiliated), which was
expected in the fall of 2009.
As Andress was preparing for her surgery in September, a small
idea started circulating on the Abington campus and proceeded to
get a lot bigger. It centered on the third-annual Race for Hope 5K
Run/Walk hosted by the Brain Tumor Society (BTS) on Nov. 2 in
Philadelphia. With Andress raising the awareness of brain tumors at
PS-A, several members of the campus community came up with the
concept of "Team Andress" to raise money for the BTS.
Members of the women's lacrosse team signed on, along with
numerous members of the school's faculty and staff. Not too long
after, the men's lacrosse, women's basketball and softball teams
joined Team Andress. Members of the Philadelphia lacrosse
community, where Andress is a USL chapter hall of famer, and the
greater Penn State community were added.
By the time the race started at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on
the morning of Nov. 2, 700 people were wearing dark blue t-shirts
with "Team Andress" on the front. By the time the race ended, Team
Andress was not only the largest group in the BTS, but it smashed
the record for most money raised in the organization's history with
over $35,000.
"It's absolutely amazing. All these people out here for the same
person, wanting to give back," said Pam Brobst, the women's
lacrosse assistant coach. "Hundreds of people I have never met,
they all know Deb. They are all here for her: families, a guy
running pushing a baby jogger, a dad with his two girls running
with their lacrosse sticks. It's a clear and true reflection of all
the people Deb's touched."
With chemotherapy and radiation treatments racking her body for
the past couple of months, it became clear Andress would not be
able to coach the Nittany Lions. She had enough energy to care for
her five children, and not much more.
"This treatment has a way of sapping all of your energy and
turning your life upside down," said Weaver. "When it was evident
she would not be able to be the head coach, and our assistant was
not in a position with her work to be the head coach, I started
networking the position."
Weaver, with Andress' input, turned to Mary Fran Riffel. A member
of the Temple program that won four Atlantic 10 championships in
the early part of the decade, Riffel was coaching at Great Valley
High School when she received the call.
"I knew Deb's situation, because we're both on the local US
Lacrosse board for Philadelphia, and I also grew up in Bucks County
and attended a lot of her camps. The lacrosse world is very small,"
said Riffel. "I thought it was a great opportunity to get in with
an inaugural program, to work at the college level, and to help Deb
out because she has done so much for the sport of lacrosse."
This season will likely not feature many wins for the Nittany
Lions. They are a little thin on numbers - "We're right there,"
said Riffel, cryptically, when asked how many players were on her
roster - and playing a schedule filled with established D-III
programs.
But when it comes to the game of life and giving to those who need
it most, the Penn State-Abington women's lacrosse team, and the
university as a whole, remains undefeated.
