As head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller addressed 110 hopefuls for the 2019 U.S. under-19 women’s national team, she recounted her days playing for the senior women’s team in 2005, losing to Australia in the gold medal game.

The All-World honoree played for the winning 1997 and 2001 World Cup teams, but fell short four years later in her final playing experience with Team USA. She felt that same disappointment a decade later as the last U.S. U19 women’s team finished behind Canada for silver in 2015.

To the next generation that will wear the stars and stripes, Amonte Hiller shared her gratitude for being a part of Team USA then and what it meant to return to the program now.

“For me, it’s just a real honor to be a part of the U.S. program again,” said Amonte Hiller, who also coaches at Northwestern. “I feel a little bit of fire inside my belly to bring this back. Obviously, we weren’t successful this last time around in the U19s, so I feel like I’m a good fit for this job.”

There’s no question. Gold is the goal.

Amonte Hiller and her assistants Ann Elliott (Colorado), Brooke Matthews (Bryn Mawr) and Angela McMahon (UMass), plus a selection committee, will be looking for players that can fuel that ambition.

“We need people to be willing to go hard for a long period of time at whatever position they’re put in and really just want to bring the gold back to the United States,” Amonte Hiller said. “[It’s] really finding kids that have that same passion, that are going to bring that same vibe to bringing the gold back to the U.S.”

The three-day tryout on Tierney Field at US Lacrosse headquarters features various drills and full-field play with individual sessions for draw specialists and goalkeepers. It will also implement the FIL’s recent rule change of 10 per side with nine field players and one goalie.

“We’re going to be playing six-on-six in the zones, so we really want to jump into that and play that right away,” Amonte Hiller said.

Amonte Hiller and her coaching staff decided a hybrid of college and international rules will bring out the athleticism in these young stars that have already impressed with their high school, club and college teams. Free movement and self-starts will also be in play, but per international rules, defensive players cannot run through the crease.

They aim to find the group of players that will play together best, can take cues from the coaches and excel in the various evaluation categories, such as overall lacrosse IQ, passing and shooting, footwork and body positioning, off-ball skills, plus communication and field vision.

“It’s just really exciting to work with players of this caliber, see their passion for the sport, coach them a little bit and see how they react to that coaching,” Amonte Hiller said. “You want to get players to do different things, and players that are versatile as well, and do whatever it takes to be successful.”

Whatever it takes to bring home gold once again.

“My biggest piece of advice to the players is to just have fun,” Amonte Hiller added. “Go out there with a lot of confidence. These players are here for a reason. They are all very successful. … Try to really mesh together with the other players that are out here, enjoy the experience and hopefully good things will happen.” 

PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER