Jenny Levy described last year’s IWLCA Presidents Cup as “magical” for the U.S. women’s national team.
She’s hoping for more of the same when the nation’s best women’s lacrosse players showcase their skills, and love of the game, before the next generation of star players this weekend.
With nearly 400 club teams, comprising more than 7,500 of the nation’s top high school players, competing at the IWLCA Presidents Cup in West Palm Beach, Fla., it provides the perfect opportunity to put the national team program on full display.
“A lot of people involved in competitive lacrosse have really busy schedules,” Levy said. “If we want to create visibility and recognition for the national teams, this is a great place to start.”
Here a look at the U.S. team schedule for the weekend (all events are free of charge):
Friday, Nov. 22
2 pm: Open practice
6 pm: Pictures and autographs, Fan Zone
Saturday, Nov. 23
9 am: Open practice
11 am: U.S. team guest coaches for club games
3:30 pm: Exhibition game vs. WPLL (Streamed lived on Lax Sports Network)
4:30 pm: Autographs
6 pm: Blue-White exhibition game at Village Park
The exposure is a key reason the U.S. team is participating in the IWLCA Presidents Cup, but it’s also an important training opportunity for the program. Levy was named as the head coach in late 2017 and coached the team for the first time in the Fall of 2018.
“We’re further along than we were a year ago,” Levy said. “We’re starting to see the same faces come back into our training camps. That’s important not only for chemistry, but for figuring out who we’re going to be and how we’re going to play. Last year was kind of the honeymoon phase of them getting to know the coaching staff and us getting to know them.”
Over the last 15 months, she and her staff have brought nearly 60 players into various training camps and competitions, but one thing will be new this time. Every single player training at the Presidents Cup this weekend has already participated in at least one event with this U.S. coaching staff.
“We’ve worked through a lot of different resources to bring players in,” Levy said. “We’ve been really thorough, I feel, and we also know what we’re looking for. It’s nice to dial it in, but there are still a lot of great players who will be looking to make a name for themselves. It’s not a closed book by any situation.”
Notebook
• The exhibition game against the WPLL will utilize the 6v6 trial rules developed by World Lacrosse to help best position the sport for potential Olympic inclusion.
• The U.S. roster for the WPLL exhibition game will include Sam Apuzzo, Dempsey Arsenault, Taylor Cummings, Megan Douty, Emily Hawryschuk, Liz Hogan, Ally Kennedy, Marie McCool, Alice Mercer, Kylie Ohlmiller and Kayla Treanor. All of them, except Hawryschuk and Kennedy, who are current collegiate players, also play in the WPLL.
• The WPLL roster for the U.S. exhibition includes four players who will be training with the U.S. team this weekend — Becca Block, Amanda Johansen, Gussie Johns and Emily Parros. The other WPLL players are Dana Dobbie, Shelby Fredericks, Katie Hertsch, Kenzie Kent, Mara Mupo, Hannah Nielsen, Sydney Pirreca and Molly Wolf.
• The U.S. Blue-White exhibition will be played under traditional World Lacrosse rules.
• Five of the 27 players on the U.S. roster for the weekend are current college players: Molly Garrett (Michigan), Emily Hawryschuk (Syracuse), Ally Kennedy (Stony Brook), Kerrigan Miller (USC) and Emma Trenchard (North Carolina).