BOYDS, Md. — Ted Glynn has been one of the quietest spectators the past five weeks at Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse. His wife, Debi, might be one of the loudest.

But each of Kady Glynn’s parents plays an equally important role in her frame of mind while between the pipes. Glynn, one of the surprise stars of the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse season, is never too far from her support system — even when she’s staring down shots from the top players in the world.

When Glynn switches sides after each quarter, so does her father. Her mother stays put. You can hear her from afar, after all. Her reassuring cheers cut through the crowd noise like a hot knife through butter.

But Ted Glynn’s means of communication are subtle. You’d miss them if you weren’t paying attention. Always standing in a direct line with his daughter, Ted Glynn doesn’t offer anything unless he sees Kady glance his way. Even then, few — if any — words are spoken.

A series of gestures encapsulate everything the two need to get the message across. Whether it’s a sign to stay calm and focus on the next possession — each hand pressing down to the ground from the hips — or a sign to keep dominating — mimicking eating from a bowl of cereal — the pair are in constant communication.

“The support they give me is what makes me feel so happy to be out there and playing,” Kady Glynn said. “I couldn’t do it without them. My dad, he’s always my go-to. If I’m in my head or something, I look at him and he gives me a reset, and then I’m ready to go.

“He’s like my goalie whisperer, I guess.”

The Florham Park, N.J., product certainly has a father who speaks from experience. Ted Glynn was a three-year starter in goal and team MVP in the 80s for Kean University, where he later worked as an assistant coach on the women’s team (2014-17). He, of course, worked with the goalies.

He’s made his life in lacrosse, formerly serving as a USA Lacrosse Youth Director and board member for Northern New Jersey Youth Lacrosse. He’s currently a director at the Gladiator Goalie School, teaching a curriculum he established in part because of his experiences working with his daughter.

“I train goalies and help them get into college,” he said at halftime of Team Glynn’s 7-6 win over Team Ohlmiller on Sunday afternoon. “I’ve been doing that for a long time. The whole curriculum came from helping Kady solve problems. As she went to different levels, we needed different solutions.

“These are blue-chip athletes. The technology has changed, and the speed has changed. Everything is faster and tougher for the keeper.”

Ted and Debi Glynn have made the four-hour drive from New Jersey to Boyds, Md., every weekend of the Athletes Unlimited season. “We wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Ted Glynn said. They purposefully drive toward Pennsylvania and continue south in order to avoid the New Jersey Turnpike.

For their daughter, Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Since she graduated from Loyola in 2019, Kady Glynn hasn’t had an opportunity to play professional lacrosse. But she stayed ready.

“I never gave up,” she said. “I was always training and making sure that if that opportunity ever came, I’d be ready for it.”

The hours spent working out and honing her craft paid off. She made 55 saves this summer. Her final stop was the biggest.

With the score tied at 6 and less than 20 seconds remaining, Glynn stared down Team Ohlmiller’s Ally Kennedy, who stood menacingly at the top of the 8-meter key. Awarded a free position attempt, Kennedy did what she always does. When the whistle blew, Kennedy charged toward the crease with a full head of steam, creating enough separation from Glynn’s defenders to fire a shot from close.

Glynn stuffed it.

“She’s a brick wall back there and a great teammate, too,” attacker Cortney Fortunato said.

.@GLYNN_Coco_44 SAVES the ball to send us to OVERTIME#BeUnlimited // : @FS1 pic.twitter.com/5IQ1bSC3Fb

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) August 22, 2021

The doorstep save effectively forced overtime. And after Glynn’s defense caused a turnover on the extra period’s first possession, Alyssa Parrella scored the game-winning goal on the other end. Glynn, something of a forgotten name in the lacrosse world until this summer, sat at No. 3 on the individual points leaderboard after the contest.

“That was her dream,” Debi Glynn said. “She worked hard, and she didn’t give up, and it happened.

“We know that anything she puts her mind to, she will do well at. We were grateful that she got the opportunity, and she was blessed with captains that believed in her and played her so she could prove herself.”

Despite all the confidence in the world, even Kady Glynn’s parents have been pleasantly surprised with their daughter’s reintroduction to the highest level of the sport. Given the high level of talent and crop of Division I coaches and U.S. women’s national team members on the roster, Glynn has stood out among her peers.

“This is all bonus for us, to watch Kady play again,” Ted Glynn said. “You have Cortney Fortunato against Meg Douty. You have Cummings against Treanor. These are fantasy picks. They are doing things here that’s history. Every time they’re on the field here, it’s history.”

The Glynn family hopes to continue as witnesses — and participants — in the history. While news of a second season has yet to be announced, the family is ready to drive, cheer and subtly support their favorite lacrosse player.

“No hesitation. We’ll be here again if they’ll have us,” Debi Glynn said. “Loud and proud and here every weekend.”