A change of scenery can be a beautiful thing.
I remember my own change of scenery in November 2019. I had been offered my position at USA Lacrosse a month earlier, and after overcoming the anxiety of leaving the only place I’d ever called home, I packed up my life and moved to Baltimore.
It felt like such a risk at the time. I didn’t know a single person in Maryland. I had always lived with roommates or close enough to a buddy to grab a drink. I jumped in headfirst, though, because something told me it was time for a change.
There comes a point where you sometimes feel stuck. Even if life is going OK, a mundane day can open your eyes to the reality of your situation. That’s what happened to me, working part-time at a newspaper at night and part-time with the local school district as a bus aide in the morning to make ends meet. It was time to move on.
Now, for the lacrosse connection.
We’re seeing the fruits of high-profile coaching changes this spring. Sonia LaMonica was a staple on the Towson sideline, and while I’m sure the personal decision for her to leave for Virginia wasn’t easy, it is certainly paying dividends for a team that is steadily climbing the Top 20.
Then there’s Katrina Dowd, who had spent much less time at Army compared to LaMonica at Towson but was working with her best friend in Michelle Tumolo and coaching one of the country’s up-and-coming teams — a dream scenario.
But Dowd took a chance on a Brown team that had finished just shy of .500 each of the last two seasons and has led the Bears to a 5-1 start as their head coach.
There are other coaches making impacts in their new homes, too, and the same can be said about players who chose to test the transfer portal to find a place that better fits their academic or athletic goals.
Sometimes, change is good. Give it a try.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS
Speaking of people in new places, one of the most impressive performances I saw this week was Alex Finn against Syracuse. Finn was crucial in Stony Brook’s marquee win (more on how that was offset in a minute) with five assists.
It’s been a few years since the Seawolves have had a true X attacker who can facilitate, and Finn was on her A game in the Dome. Someone who can hit cutters from X is one of the best ways to beat a zone, especially one like Syracuse’s. Finn rose to the challenge.
We can’t talk about the Crown Lacrosse Classic without at least mentioning the unfortunate quality of the online streams. There was no score bug, no game time, no announcers and no quality camera angles. Considering the caliber of the matchup, I was hoping for more.
