G

iving back. That’s what brought Katie O’Donnell back to the college game.

The former Penn State All-American, Big Ten champion and final four participant returns to Happy Valley on Saturday, but this time as a first-year Lehigh assistant coach.

“It’s always great to be back in Happy Valley,” O’Donnell said. “It’s my home away from home. I’ll be in brown and white instead of blue and white, but that place holds a very special place in my heart, and those people hold a very special place in my heart.

“Just getting to compete against them will be awesome. It’s going to be a really fun game. No matter the outcome, it will be a good day.”

Since graduating from Penn State in 2018, O’Donnell has remained active in the sport, playing both for the U.S. national team and Women’s Professional Lacrosse League for the Command.

After a year out of the college game, she was drawn right back.

“I think sometimes, you have to leave something to realize how much you love it and miss it,” O’Donnell said. “I took a year off, worked corporate and stayed in the game on the youth side. Then, when [Lehigh head coach] Jill Redfern called, it was a no-brainer. The game has given me so much, and now it’s my opportunity to give back.”

O’Donnell has a connection to Lehigh, having known Redfern — a 2017 Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee — and having worked camps at Lehigh.

“I had always said I would absolutely coach for Jill Redfern and when she called, I said, 'Sign me up,'” said O’Donnell. “It seemed like a good move and the right move. I couldn’t be happier to be here.”

“Here” for O’Donnell is Lehigh, which has reached six consecutive Patriot League tournaments — a program record — and consistently finds itself near the top of the league standings.

O’Donnell is hoping to keep that success going and help the Mountain Hawks take the next step. O’Donnell’s transition has been challenging, but enjoyable.

“It’s actually in some ways more difficult than I thought it would be,” she said. “There are a lot of adjustments as a coach. The student-athletes teach me something every day, just as much as I’m teaching them. It really is a give-and-take relationship.”

O’Donnell finished her Penn State career fourth in program history in career goals (203) and sixth in career points (227). At Lehigh, O’Donnell is working with the defense and goalkeepers.

“We are incredibly thankful to have Katie,” said Mountain Hawks’ senior defender Alexandra Ladda. “She is one of the most passionate people I know, and that carries over into everything she does. She has a lot of experience and has been able to work closely with us to improve our overall games, individually and as a team.”

For all O’Donnell has already brought to the table, she’s just scratching the surface of her coaching potential.

“Right now, I’m learning as much as I can from Jill and [associate head coach] Sammy Cermack, whether it’s how to do things in the office administratively, how to talk to the student-athletes on the field, how to run a practice or how to run a drill,” O’Donnell said. “Little by little, Jill is letting me take over certain things, and I’m getting more confident just being out there.”

O’Donnell certainly didn’t lack confidence as a player, due in large part to all the big games she played. She helped the Nittany Lions back to the final four in 2016 for the first time since 1999. Penn State went back to the final four again in 2017.

“As a group, we were just proud to be a part of that legacy, another team at Penn State to reach the Final Four,” she said. “There are certain places where you say you go to win a national championship. When I went to Penn State, I really don’t think that was in my mind, but then it became real. We were literally competing for national championships.”

The Lehigh program may not be at the point of competing for national titles, but it’s playing for a lot, most notably competing for a Patriot League title and playing a number of big games every year.

O’Donnell’s experience playing high-pressure games can translate to the current Lehigh student-athletes.

“You don’t know what it feels like playing in big games until you’ve been there,” she said. “I want this team to win the game that no one thinks they’re supposed to win. That game is their national championship. Go out there, be the total underdog and come out with the upset.”

A lasting moment in O’Donnell’s time was an upset over Northwestern.

“I grew up watching Northwestern (which won seven national championships in eight years), and we went out there and won,” O’Donnell said. “I thought, ‘Wow. We weren’t supposed to win that game.’ “That’s what I want to help our team work towards and make them realize they’re so capable of winning that game that no one thinks they’re supposed to.”

It starts with a mindset.

“Katie unquestionably brings the type of mindset we work to develop in our student- athletes,” Redfern said. “She has a fearless nature, a high bar for excellence and is highly invested in player development.”

Winning the big game and getting that upset is the result of the process, which includes areas like player development. O’Donnell’s mindset and approach she took as a player are helping the Mountain Hawks in their process of daily improvement.

“I want our team to compete with each other every day, compete hard and strive to be better than the day before,” she said. “Even if it’s just by a very small amount, that really builds confidence. I want them to step onto the field and feel powerful in whatever they’re doing. Not arrogance, but knowing, ‘I put the work in and I’m capable.’”

So far, so good. The Mountain Hawks enter Saturday’s contest 2-0 having outscored their Iona and UMBC 33-16.

Stats and numbers are important, but O’Donnell’s biggest focus is giving back to a game that meant, and continues to mean, so much to her. Statistics and results will take care of themselves.

“Sports teach life lessons,” said O’Donnell. “You don’t give up, and you always finish the race. Most importantly, lacrosse brought me my best friends in the whole entire world. It really taught me what it means to be passionate about something and chase a dream.

“My time playing in college was the best four years of my life,” O’Donnell continued. “When these players leave Lehigh, I want them to feel like they got the most out of their four years and they don’t want to change a thing about it. That’s me giving back to the game. I want to help give them that experience in some way or form.”