Sept. 5, 2008
It's never too early.
With the 2008 season in the books, our neuroses turn to 2009. From Division I to Division III, MCLA to WDIA, we're spanning the college lacrosse globe for a look at what's in store for coaches and players. Check back to LMO each Friday for a new Q&A feature, as our "Countdown to `09" series continues.
by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
It was just eight years ago when the Maryland women won the last of their seven consecutive national titles. It almost seems like a different era. It's easy to forget the dominance of those Terp teams because of the recent run by Kelly Amonte Hiller's Northwestern squads.
This past spring was the fourth-straight title for the Wildcats, and while they were not able to post a perfect season like they did in 2005, they did get an opportunity to avenge their only loss of the season in the championship game against Penn.
In between scrambling with her camp this summer, Amonte Hiller made some time to talk with Countdown.
Does each of your championship teams have its own personality or do they all seem the same?
Each team is definitely different and has individual characteristics that make them unique and special.
When I talked with Penn's Ali DeLuca, she said she thought Northwestern "learned from their mistakes" during the regular season game against the Quakers. Does that sound about right to you?
Yeah, I would say so. We definitely didn't play smart in that game and Penn played extremely smart and extremely well. I think that we knew to beat Penn in the championship game it was going to take a full-on effort. Our girls were motivated and excited about the ability to have a rematch. They did learn from their mistakes.
DeLuca also thought Penn was too jittery in the finals. With your team's experience in the finals, are nerves no longer an issue when it comes to the championship game?
I think you'll have nerves in a final four or championship game because there is so much excitement. But once the game starts, that becomes less of an issue. If the game stays close there will always be nerves, but we were able to take the lead and have the upper hand, which was very important to us.
Do you have season tickets to the Westwood (Mass.) women's lacrosse home games?
I wish I did. [laughing] I'm a little too far away to have season tickets. To be honest, [Northwestern's pipeline to Westwood] evolved because I have a camp in Massachusetts and some of the Westwood girls started to come to camp. Our first big player that we got from Westwood was obviously Kristen Kjellman, and then the rest of the girls kind of followed. We were so excited.
Leslie Frank is the coach there and we have one of the daughters on the team now and another daughter coming next year, so we've had a good relationship with their program. They are tremendous kids and it is a true testament to Leslie and her coaching ability how well they do at the next level.
You're a Massachusetts native. Do you make a point of getting a bunch of kids from the Bay State or do you try to maintain a broad view in recruiting?
I try to keep a wide open view on recruiting, but I naturally get kids from Mass., because I have a big name there and I have a couple of camps there. The kids know the program, what I'm all about, and my background. Not many Massachusetts kids were being recruiting before, but now they are with our success. It's really exciting for the state.
Your husband, Scott, has had success as a coach and front office guy in Major League Lacrosse, as well as being one of your assistants. When you two get a quiet moment together to shoot the breeze, are you talking lacrosse or do you make sure to stay away from "shop talk?"
No, it's pretty much lacrosse, 24-7. [laughing] Scott is very involved in our program. We try to break away from it, but it is definitely fun for both of us to talk about the team and talk about his team. We just kind of brainstorm together. I feel like we have a good relationship where we can accept criticism and give recommendations to each other.
You were one of five Maryland players on the '05 World Team. Do you anticipate Northwestern alums or current players making up a similar chunk of the '09 team?
I have no idea. I really don't have any involvement in that program. I would assume that some of the Northwestern players would have a chance at it, but you never really know. It's just a wait-and-see game.
If you were to talk with your kids about the Worlds, what's the biggest difference from the collegiate game?
In the collegiate game it's just so special because you have every single day to work towards your goal. You live with your teammates and you're around them all the time. You can not replicate that at the international level.
I would say the same on the men's side. I would say the pinnacle is college. Pro is so fun and it's so fun to play at that next level, but you don't live with the guys that you play with. It's a little bit different, but it's not to say that it's not exciting and fun.
We'll give you a couple of months to enjoy your latest championship before asking the inevitable: should the Wildcats be favored for title No. 5?
You know, I'm not really looking that far ahead. The season is such a long journey. I can tell you that I'm excited about the season and I'm excited about the new kids that we have coming in and the kids that we have returning. We really just want to enjoy the year.
There is a tremendous amount of excitement. Two days after I came back from the championship I was thinking about things, looking on the internet for rosters of other teams to see how we match up and just getting excited about it. I think that we don't focus too much on rankings, we just focus on ourselves and try to get better.
Countdown to '09: Archive
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
