A Coaches’ Life at Lynn

May 11, 2021May 11, 2021 Frankie Mendez 0 Comments

Taking a look into Lynn’s Womens Lacrosse with Head Coach Mindy Richmond

By Delaney Gould, Staff Writer

In 2019, Lynn welcomed Coach Mindy Richmond, former head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, to launch the Women’s Lacrosse team.

After spending 10 years with the Crimson Hawks at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Mindy Richmond has been welcomed to Lynn University to begin a Women’s Lacrosse team.

“The transition was exciting and difficult at the same time,” said Richmond, “Knowing that I had the opportunity to start and build a new program from scratch in the Sunshine State Conference was a great challenge and also a great step for personal and professional growth.”

In her collegiate career at Gannon University, Richmond was a record-breaking player named within the IWLCA All-American team following her junior and senior seasons.

Although having a strong Men’s Lacrosse program, Lynn University had never a Women’s Lacrosse team until its inaugural year in 2019, which prompted challenges for Coach Richmond. She had to create goals, culture, and motivation within a brand new group of players.

“My number one goal when first coming to Lynn was to learn as much as I could about the University,” said Richmond. “I was curious about all of the different nuances and about how the university ran as a whole. For me, it was not just about finding talented athletes, but it was also about finding young prospects that were genuinely excited about Lynn and about being a part of a new program!”

Beginning her inaugural year as head coach in 2019, Coach Richmond brought in 20 girls to start her team. They started their first season in the spring of 2020 and were able to play seven games, earning a 4-3 record before COVID-19 cut their season short.

“The process for recruiting the initial class was extremely time-consuming yet rewarding at the same time,” said Richmond, “I pretty much took every single lead that I was provided and followed up on it to learn more about the prospects. It was a very interesting process being the first time I had built a team from the ground up. However, I knew a lot of people in the lacrosse world [who] had years of recruiting experience.”

With an adjusted season that now allows Coach Richmond’s team to compete for the first time in the Sunshine State Conference, she is finally able to put all of her hard work on display.

“Every single day, you are placed with the responsibilities of being a leader to a group of motivated young women who all have lacrosse as a bond that holds them together,” said Richmond. “Coaching hundreds of college-aged women over the past 16 years has taught me so many lessons. Every one of those lessons I have brought with me into my current role here at Lynn.”