One of the most memorable gifts Brianna Roche ever received was a leadership book written by legendary college basketball coach John Wooden.
Janine Tucker, Roche’s women’s lacrosse coach and mentor from 2007-11 at Johns Hopkins, celebrated Roche’s first head coaching job with that gift. It was a message that the most important thing in coaching isn’t always X’s and O’s.
It’s about leading people.
That sentiment has stuck with Roche in the early stages of her coaching career, and now a new chapter begins as she takes the reins of a Bryant program that was knocking on the door of an NCAA tournament berth last spring.
“She could’ve given me a lot of different material,” Roche said. “She could’ve given me an old playbook, or a list inside of the schematics at Hopkins. What she found so important were the words of Wooden.
“It was under her guidance that I learned the importance of the life lessons that you learn through sport and being able to see the bigger picture.”
The teachings of Tucker and Wooden carried Roche through her three years at UMass, the last two as an associate head coach. She helped the Minutewomen finish in the top five nationally in scoring offense her final two years, and she joins a Bulldogs team that finished 20th in the nation last year with 14.5 goals per game.
In 2013-14, she was the first head coach for the Franklin Pierce program.
“I think anything’s possible if you work hard with strong leadership and a winning culture,” Roche said. “I think if you have the right staff and the players buy in, I think anything’s possible.”
It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make the big things happen.
Roche brought in Jessica Antelmi to work with the offense. Her focus is on athletic diversity and creativity, something Roche wants to stress moving forward. Multi-sport athletes see the game a different way, she said.
Defensively, Jeff Chase joins to bring his experience from the men’s game, in which he won the 2012 NCAA championship with Loyola. Overall, the coaching staff wants their players to be physically fit to endure the grind of a long game.
That involves running. A lot of running.
“We’re going to continue to run until Feb. 9,” Roche said.
“If we can outrun a team, we can outplay a team,” said senior Lauren Britton, a captain for the upcoming season.
Britton said playing under Roche has been an adjustment for the older players on the team, but she loves Roche’s competitiveness and desire to win.
“I think it’s something that’s really going to drive our program to a new level,” she said.
Bryant’s 6-1 mark in the Northeast Conference last season tied Wagner, the eventual conference champions. But the Seahawks have a change at the helm, too, as Michelle Tumolo will take over as head coach.
A former All-American at Syracuse and a member of the 2017 gold medal-winning U.S. National Team, Tumolo brings a new look to the already talented Seahawks.
“We do still have that rivalry, but it kind of is a clean slate in a sense that we both have two new coaching staffs,” Britton said. “It’s going to be a different head-to-head competition this year.”
Both squads return significant talent. Bryant brings back Britton, who controlled 77 draws last season, as well as Caitlin Breglia and Jess DeMeo, members of the NEC first team last spring.
Wagner’s Anna Belle Reilly and Maddie Courtney also return after earning first team recognition. The Seahawks did lose conference rookie of the year Ally Alliegro, who transferred to Albany, following former Wagner coach Katie Rowan.
With both teams in uncharted territory, the little things could make a big difference. The running helps, as do the fundamentals that Roche is laser-focused on mastering. But Roche is also trying to get her players out of their comfort zones.
“If we want to achieve something we’ve never done before, we have to do things on the field and off the field we’ve never done before,” Britton said.
In the words of Wooden, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make the big things happen.”
Roche has big things on her mind.
Fall Focus
Northeast Conference
With new coaches at Wagner and Bryant, teams that tied for the NEC regular-season championship last spring, it’s a new era for the conference. Several teams could vie for the top spot, with Mount St. Mary’s and Robert Morris in the mix. Teams are listed in order of last year’s final standings.
Wagner
6-1 NEC, 14-6 Overall
A new coaching staff headlined by head coach Michelle Tumolo leaves Wagner in a transition period. But the Seahawks are coming off an NEC championship and NCAA tournament appearance that featured a 13-9 win over Mercer in the opening round. NEC rookie of the year Ally Alliegro transferred to Albany, but there’s still plenty of talent remaining.
Bryant
6-1 NEC, 12-6 Overall
Brianna Roche wants Bryant to be fast and conditioned, something that could be the edge come May. Roche inherits a team that finished 20th in the nation in scoring offense (14.5 goals per game) and fifth in scoring defense (8.94 goals per game). Jess DeMeo returns for her senior season after being named the NEC offensive player of the year.
Mount St. Mary’s
5-2 NEC, 10-7 Overall
The Mountaineers just barely lost in the NEC semifinal to Bryant, 9-8, and have added two new coaches in Sam Nolan and Sammy Santeramo. Jillian Petito returns to mind the cage after registering a .563 save percentage (the top mark in the nation) and a 8.53 goals against average. She was the NEC defensive player of the year.
Robert Morris
5-2 NEC, 9-9 Overall
The Colonials only graduated three seniors – Dana Davis, Niki Grillon and Taylor Lewand. They return NEC first team members in Shannon Lynch and Kelly Colegrove, leaving a strong core in place. They also added former Cornell star Cacki Helmer to the coaching staff.
Saint Francis
3-4 NEC, 7-10 Overall
The Red Flash set single-season program records in conference wins and overall wins last season, and after graduating four seniors, they’re hoping for another step forward. Junior Peyton LeConte was named to the NEC first team last year, and sophomore Emilieigh Scott landed on the all-rookie team.
Sacred Heart
2-5 NEC, 2-14 Overall
Senior Hannah Wise returns after leading the team with 36 goals, and junior Lizzie Small is coming off a senior in which she contributed with 35 draw controls, 28 caused turnovers and 26 ground balls. Emily Poelma, who played last year as a graduate transfer at Jacksonville, was named an assistant coach.
Central Connecticut
1-6 NEC, 2-14 Overall
Betsy Vendel, a 2014 graduate of CCSU, was named head coach on Oct. 8. The Blue Devils return their top four point scorers in Morgan Sinton, Carson Adelberger, Megan Szawlowski and Molly Coogan.
LIU Brooklyn
0-7 NEC, 3-13 Overall
In its final season before merging with LIU Post to form Long Island University, the Blackbirds are looking to go out strong. Twins Amanda and Rachel Masullo combined for 57 goals last season en route to spots on the NEC all-rookie team. Amanda was named to the NEC second team.