Not Far Removed From Playing Days, LaGrow and McFadden Making Impact On Sideline For Gators
Saturday, May 14, 2011 | Lacrosse, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At first glance, it's easy to assume they are injured players not in uniform or perhaps student managers standing on the sideline. And then you notice that Erica LaGrow and Caitlyn McFadden sure are involved in what is happening on the field.
They are in constant communication with the players and Florida lacrosse coach Amanda O'Leary. Their talks are intense and they obviously have the players' attention.
Still, it's difficult to get past the duo's youthful looks. They can't be coaches, can they?
LaGrow, a four-year starter at North Carolina and a member of the U.S. National Team, is 24 and could easily slip on a uniform and look right at home with the rest of the Gators. The urge for McFadden to jump onto the field and grab a stick is even greater.
“Can I play today Mandee?” McFadden will ask occasionally before practice.
If O'Leary could say yes, she would immediately insert the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner – lacrosse's version of the Heisman Trophy – into the starting lineup. The 22-year-old McFadden won the award last year while leading Maryland to a national championship.
Instead of playing on Saturday when the No. 4 seed Gators (15-3) host 13th-seed Stanford (16-2) in the first NCAA Tournament lacrosse game in Florida history, LaGrow and McFadden will take their normal places on the sideline as O'Leary's assistant coaches.
Both are young enough to be O'Leary's daughters, but that didn't stop the veteran coach from hiring two of the youngest full-time assistants in college athletics. LaGrow joined O'Leary's staff soon after her playing a career at North Carolina ended in 2008, getting on-the-job training from O'Leary and then-assistant Jen Ulehla.
When Ulehla moved on after Florida's inaugural season in 2010, McFadden was hired nearly as soon as she took off her cleats against Northwestern in last May's NCAA championship game.
“I laugh because whenever we talk about the playoffs, I'm like, 'Caitlyn, tell them. You were just there last year,' '' said O'Leary, who served as Yale's head coach for 14 seasons prior to coming to Florida. “She has a great rapport with our student-athletes.''
O'Leary entered coaching soon after her playing career ended in 1988 when she led Temple to the national title. When she took the Florida job in the summer of 2007 – before any players existed or Dizney Stadium was built – she knew she wanted to add at least one young coach to her staff.
In a case of good timing, LaGrow suddenly faced the reality of life without lacrosse around the same time. For most of her time in college, LaGrow envisioned physician's assistant school after completing her undergraduate degree.
But with her college playing career nearing an end, LaGrow developed a different outlook that eventually led to her riding around UF's campus on the back of O'Leary's scooter during her official interview.
Before the ride was over LaGrow knew Florida is where she wanted to be.
“I love the sport. I love the University of Florida,'' LaGrow said this week in a meeting room where she and McFadden spend numerous hours breaking down film and studying opponents. “I don't think in my wildest dreams I could have landed in a better spot than here.''
The transition into coaching has been a smooth one for LaGrow considering her career-altering decision to change directions and enter a profession known for its grueling schedule and constant pressure to produce.
“When you play the game to be a leader on the field, you have to direct and you have to understand the game so you can help your offensive unit or your defensive unit,'' she said. “That translated from when I was a player to a coach. The part I enjoy the most is being a student of the game and learning from other great coaches.''
While LaGrow's transformation from player to coach was more spontaneous, the transition is one that McFadden anticipated for years. She grew up in a lacrosse family and played the sport since she can remember walking.
“My first baby gift was a mini lax stick,'' McFadden said. “'Both my parents played in college.''
She has made an immediate impression on a young Gators roster that features mostly freshmen and sophomores. They remember watching her dominate opponents the past four years at Maryland.
“Having seen her on the field, you could just tell she would be a good coach,'' O'Leary said. “Not all great players make good coaches.''
When the Gators practice it's not unusual to see LaGrow and McFadden on the field working against the players if that's the best way to get their message across. They clearly know what they are doing.
“I think it's just such an advantage for us,'' said Gators leading scorer Kitty Cullen. “I have so much respect for them and just being able to learn from them by them showing me things is awesome. They can just go out and do it.
“We can relate to them easily.''
The benefit of having young assistants is multi-faceted for O'Leary. Not only do they connect to the players well on and off the field, but they also have shown a tremendous interest in learning from her experiences and vice versa.
O'Leary spends much of her time on defensive strategy and turns the offense over to LaGrow and McFadden. The young assistants also play a crucial role in using the latest technology to study opponents and perform other behind-the-scenes chores that come into play on game days.
Since LaGrow and McFadden are so young, they also help bridge any generational gaps the players may have with O'Leary or other veteran administrators associated with the program. Teammates on the U.S. National Team, LaGrow and McFadden share youthful traits but take different approaches as coaches.
“They overall have the same ideas because they do play together on the U.S. team,'' Cullen said. “Erica is more of the vocal coach. She'll yell at us and tell us what to do. Caitlyn will pull us aside more and talk to us. They kind of balance each other out.''
In her short time as a coach, McFadden has quickly adopted to her new role. At first, she was hesitant to instruct players a couple of years younger than her. As the season progressed, the job brought out the coach in her.
She now looks at the game in a way she never has before.
“As a coach, there are so many more things on the field that you see and have to analyze,'' McFadden said. “As a player, you are going on and playing as hard as you can. It's seeing the other side of things.''
Ultimately, LaGrow and McFadden want to help the Gators reach their potential on the field the way they did as players. They also want to earn respect regardless of their age.
And if they are lucky, they will build relationships that will last for years to come like they did with their coaches as players.
“I feel like we can joke around and keep it light at times and have fun,'' LaGrow said. “Those are the things they are going to remember. They are going to remember beating Northwestern and being regular-season ALC champions in their second year, but they are also going to remember how many fun times they had with their teammates and hopefully their coaches.
“Those are the important things.''
As O'Leary prepared for the Gators' historic NCAA Tournament game, one thing was clear to her. LaGrow and McFadden may be young and not far removed from their playing days, but they are coaches now.
They clearly belong next to her on Florida's sideline.
“On the field, they make great decisions. Across the board, I just think that the two of them have a bright future in front of them,” O'Leary said. “In any job, you want to surround yourself with the best of the best. We wouldn't be where we are right now without their leadership and without their ideas.''
