Oct. 24, 2008
by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
When Marie Johnson finished her career with the Harvard women's lacrosse team in 1985, she figured that was it. She had a great run, but there were other goals off the turf she wanted to pursue. Namely, earning a doctorate in geology from Brown University.
With lacrosse seemingly out of her blood after nearly a decade away from the game, it still managed to drag Johnson - and that's Dr. Johnson to you - back in. A professor of geology at the United States Military Academy at West Point, Johnson was lured onto the lacrosse field in the mid-90s and hasn't left the Black Knights' program since.
Last spring, Army won the East Coast Women's Lacrosse Association (ECWLA) to earn a bid to the Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates (WDIA) championship. Countdown caught up with Dr. Johnson to find out the current state of the Long Gray Line of Army women's lacrosse.
Army had to beat ECWLA rival Rhode Island to earn a berth in the WDIA tournament. Did you feel pretty confident heading into the game? What was the mood of the team?
We were very, very excited to play. They had beaten us earlier in the season and we were very thrilled to try them again. They are a very good team on their home field, but we were ready to go.
The Black Knights lost to Colorado in the first round of the WDIAs, but is that trip something you can build on? Did you graduate a lot of that team or is a return trip doable?
We graduated eight of 24, so a third of the team, which is painful. But we've got some new plebes - some new freshmen - who we're excited about and players who are ready to start this year that didn't start last year. That's what is so great about the preseason; anything is possible at this point.
Is your roster made up primarily of student-athletes who have played the game in high school or do you have some first-timers?
I'd say about half-and-half; half have played before and half have never picked up a stick. So we need a big-time nurturing process to introduce the newbies to the basic skills. Throwing and catching, especially with a women's stick, is not the most natural thing. So yes, we have to go slow in the fall like right now and try to get people up to speed. You can't jump into scrimmaging if you can't throw and catch yet.
Is there any kind of recruiting aspect for you or do you take who happens to show up every year and mold them into a unit?
Zero recruiting. We're a club sport, not a varsity sport, so we have no pull in the admissions office. What I do, though, is in the summer I ask the Dean's office to get me a list of all incoming female cadets who did play high school lacrosse and I specifically send our team captains to those people's rooms to say, `Hey, do you know about our team? Come try out.'
You lost to Navy, 19-2, in your final match-up before they made the jump to NCAA status. Was it nice getting them out of the league?
I was afraid you were going to ask me about that. [Laughing] No, it wasn't nice having them leave the league because Army-Navy is such a natural rivalry, they are a ton of fun to play, and we won't have that chance again anytime soon.
But in the last few years before they made the jump, it wasn't as much fun to play them because they were a varsity sport in all but name while we remain a true club team. It was apples and oranges when we played. When we were true peer teams, it was hugely fun to play Navy, win or lose, because the rivalry is so intense. But when it's lopsided - so David and Goliath - no, that's not fun.
Speaking of Navy, what are the chances Army follows in their footsteps? What are your thoughts on a potential move?
There is talk of it. I think club sports have a real role at the Academy and varsity sports are such a different animal. I think club sports are really pure, and the cadets can really run the team whereas they can't run the varsity sports. It's about leadership, which, at the end of the day, is what we're trying to teach here, not lacrosse. They'd lose that leadership chance, but on the other hand they'd gain things, too - wider exposure, playing Navy again, a paid full-time coach as opposed to me. [Laughing]
Does the structure and discipline at West Point make it easier to coach lacrosse?
It makes it easier in the sense that the players tend to be Type As, motivated; they will be where they need to be, when they need to be, and wearing what they need to be. So they're disciplined. But harder in the sense that the cadets have a lot of requirements on their time that other schools don't have to deal with.
Do you have a fairly high attrition rate in the program because of all the things the cadets are required to do?
No. Actually, practice and being together as a team is the best part of the day. There is 13 percent women here, maybe 15 percent now, so I think they really enjoy the chance to be on a women's team and be in the majority. They don't get that in the rest of the Corps. When we get players on the team they tend to find it a positive experience and stay for their four years.
How did you start as the coach at Army? Do hold another position at the institution?
I played in college - I mean I played my whole life, middle school, high school, college. I graduated from college and hung up my stick; that's the end of that. I got this job as a college professor. We are expected to work with the cadets outside of the classroom and they said, `Hey, you played college lacrosse, why don't you come down and look at the team.' A little snowball started to roll downhill and 14 years later I'm still the head coach.
You talk about a snowball. What made you want to stick with it?
The cadets are great. It's fun to work with them in something that they choose to do instead of being required to do. I love the sport and I feel like I can give that joy to them.
Who are some Army players the ECWLA and WDIA should know about heading into next year?
We have a player, she's our captain, who tore her ACL last year and did not play,who is one of the best athletes I've ever seen: Rachel Neasham. Really talented. I've coached 14 years and she's very talented.
When you are at the end of the year at your banquet, regardless of the record, what constitutes a good season?
That we're a closer team at the end of the season than we were at the start of the season. That we really built a team, because that's what the players are going to do as lieutenants out in the Army - build teams. That we improved all season long; that we are a more skilled team in May than we were in September. That the players experienced personal growth; they grew as players and they grew as leaders.
Do you get much feedback from Army women's lacrosse alumna?
Yes, and that's really fun. I always talk to the team about how the Long Gray Line of Army women's lacrosse players is very special. There were people who came before you and people who will come after you, and you're all connected. You played on this team. We get emails from former players who are now in Afghanistan or in Iraq running into old teammates. That's the Long Gray Line of Army women's lacrosse players in action. It's very cool.
Countdown to '09:
Archive
Oct. 17,
2008 - Harvard's John Tillman
Oct. 3,
2008 - Vanderbilt's Cathy Swezey
Sept. 26,
2008 - Mercyhurst's Chris Ryan
Sept. 19,
2008 - NYIT's Keith Henderson
Sept. 5,
2008 - Northwestern's Kelly Amonte Hiller
Aug. 29, 2008
- Cabrini's Scott Reimer
Aug. 15,
2008 - Hobart's T.W. Johnson
Aug. 8,
2008 - Penn's Ali Deluca
Aug. 1, 2008
- Chapman's Mike Wood
July 25, 2008
- Southern New Hampshire's Mary Squire
July 18, 2008
- Michigan's Trevor Yealy
July 11,
2008 - Johns Hopkins' Dave Pietramala
July 4, 2008
- Hamilton's Kallie Briscoe
June 27,
2008 - North Carolina's Joe Breschi
June 20, 2008
- Colby's Jon Thompson
