This past week, details of what is now known as the Maybelline Women’s Lacrosse League have been announced.
We not only have four teams, team names, and some pretty awesome rosters, and a league title sponsor, but there’s one aspect of this professional league that was missing (well, somewhat) from the four-year run of Athletes Unlimited.
That is, the presence of coaching staffs.
In the days of the United Women’s Lacrosse League and the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League, teams did have staffs, although it was notable that, in the one season of the WPLL, the majority of the coaches in the league were male.
In Athletes Unlimited, teams were expected to run affairs on their own — strategy, practice, tactics. However, AU did assign coordinators to teams in order to call timeouts or ask for video review of plays.
In the upcoming Maybelline Women’s Lacrosse League, each team has been assigned a head coach and an assistant. Of the eight, only one is a male: Adam Sear, late the assistant coach at Notre Dame. He will be heading up the California Palms alongside Ginny Capicchioni, the head coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 2024 WorldLacrosse women’s box lacrosse World Cup.
The Boston Guard will have Laurie DeLuca as its head coach. DeLuca is a veteran assistant at the NCAA Division I level, and is the director of NXT Lacrosse Club. She will be assisted by Tracey Sullivan, who directs the Laxachusetts girls’ club program.
The New York Charging franchise will have former Northwestern star Colleen Magarity on the sideline alongside Molly Wolf, who played with distinction at Loyola and has coached the oldest scholastic program in America, Baltimore Bryn Mawr (Md.).
The Maryland Charm might have the biggest “name” hires for their coaching staff. Taylor (Cummings) Danseglio, the three-time Tewaaraton Trophy-winning midfielder out of the University of Maryland, will be the head coach. Danseglio also holds not only a number of international titles, but has never lost a game wearing a U.S. shirt. She will have Emily (Garrity) Parros as an assistant. The UNC product is a veteran of a number of pro leagues. After stints with the Philadelphia Force of UWLX as well as the Baltimore Brave of the WPLL, she played with Athletes Unlimited.
Let’s see how these experiences translate through the players on these rosters.