Women's Lacrosse - Chicago
Coaching Staff
Heidi Hansen will take the helm of the Robert Morris College Women's Lacrosse team, becoming the program's founding coach when the Lady Eagles take to the field in Spring 2009.
A graduate of St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, where she majored in languages and minored in anthropology, Coach Hansen has recently returned from a year as a volunteer teacher in Hunan Province in China.
"Heidi comes from a lacrosse family," said Clark O'Donnell of the Killington, VT, native. "She and all her siblings played the sport."
Lacrosse is the national sport of Canada and has been played for centuries by Native Americans. Best known in the eastern United States, the game is played on as field similar in size to football and soccer. Players use sticks with leather baskets to advance the ball up the field and attempt to beat a goalie defending a net about the same size as a hockey goal.
"Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the country," Clark O'Donnell said. "RMC is committed to offering athletic opportunities for our students, particularly our women, and lacrosse fits the bill for a many reasons."
"The game is fast-paced," Clark O'Donnell continued, "and many players pick up lacrosse in college after competing in other sports. The skills and athletic abilities developed in sports ranging from cross country to softball to soccer to hockey all transfer well to lacrosse. We hope to recruit a core of players with lacrosse experience, but we are also looking for student-athletes willing to take on the challenge of college competition from any sports background."
Coach Hansen played ice hockey and soccer while growing up, but found her greatest success on the lacrosse pitch. After an outstanding prep career in her home state, she crossed into neighboring New York State to pursue her college career at SLU, an NCAA Division III school located less than fifty miles from the Canadian border. Competing in the Liberty League for the Saints, Coach Hansen was selected team captain as both a junior and senior.
Upon graduation, she returned to her home state and coached middle school lacrosse for two seasons before her teaching stint in Asia. She is still active as a player, competing in an adult league in Chicago.
"I am really looking forward to sharing my knowledge of lacrosse and my love of the game with the student-athletes at RMC," said Coach Hansen. We'll set some reasonable goals for our debut season. I'm committed to building a competitive program that will be a part of the great athletic scene at the College."