Boston College Athletics
Two Former Eagles Discuss Coaching Abroad
January 20, 2011 | Lacrosse
Jan. 20, 2011
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Since graduating in May 2010, two former members of the BC women's lacrosse team have moved to England and are coaching women's lacrosse there. While living and working abroad, Lauren Costello and Mary Stinson took some time to reflect on their experiences at BC and how the lacrosse program allowed and inspired them to seize this opportunity.
Lauren Costello, BC '10
Q: Where are you currently living and coaching, and how did you come across the opportunity?
A: I'm currently living right outside London in Croydon. I coach at a local secondary school and a private boarding school while coaching and playing for a women's club team. My main job is to run the various teams at the schools, teach lacrosse during PE lessons and develop lacrosse in England. I knew about the program because my coach who introduced me to lacrosse in third grade had done the program and had a great experience.
Q: What about your experience at BC inspired you to coach? And why abroad?
A: Playing lacrosse at BC has brought me so many great opportunities. I've always enjoyed playing, being part of something bigger than myself and building friendships with teammates. I had a great experience through playing lacrosse and I think I just want to pass that opportunity on to other kids.
I've always been interested in traveling, seeing new places, meeting new people, experiencing new things. The way the school calendar works over here we get a lot of time off, so I've been able to do quite a bit of traveling around Europe and even Africa which has been amazing. I'm really lucky that lacrosse has allowed me to do this.
Q: Describe what you typically do, what age group you coach, etc.
A: I coach at a private boarding school one session a week as a visiting coach. I coach a university team (King's College of London) one night a week. I coach the club team that I also play for one night a week and play with them on the weekends. During the week I am basically a PE teacher at an all-girls Catholic school Wed-Fri and during my lessons I teach lacrosse to Year 7 and 8 classes (sixth and seventh graders). I also coach the varsity team, Year 7 and Year 8 team at Coloma Girls' School.
Q: Tell us about your time playing for BC lacrosse and what it meant to you, and how it helped you reach the place you are now.
A: I absolutely loved playing lacrosse for BC and definitely miss it! Getting to hang out with your best friends every day, being pushed by your coaches to do things you never thought you could do and having the opportunity to reach out to the community are all things that make our team so great. Since I had such a positive experience at BC, having the opportunity to introduce and develop lacrosse overseas has been very rewarding.
Mary Stinson, BC '10
Q: Where are you currently living/coaching, and how did you come across this opportunity?
A: I currently live in Sale, United Kingdom which is a town about 10 minutes outside of Manchester which is in the North West of England. I came across this opportunity by getting an email that was forwarded to me from BC Head Coach Bowen Holden. My roommate, Lauren Costello, also knew someone from home who had done it in the past and raved about the experience. We both then decided to go through the application process together.
Q: What about your experiences at BC inspired you to coach? And why abroad?
A: I have always loved everything about sports - the team bonding, the commitment, the exercise and the strategy of game play. So when an opportunity like this came along it was hard to pass up. Also, playing a Division I sport in college doesn't really leave you the option of going abroad during the year so I thought of this as my opportunity of a "semester abroad" or even better, a year abroad.
Q : Describe what you typically do, what age group you coach etc.
A: So essentially there are two aspects to my job. I go to different schools in the area and teach kids how to play lacrosse. I will fill in for their teacher or PE teacher and teach them solely lacrosse. Throughout the week I normally go to about eight different schools teaching a couple different classes. The kids I teach in school will range from about six to 16 years old. This is to promote the sport of lacrosse and get as many kids involved and interested in the sport as possible. As I am sure you are aware, soccer is huge over here, but there are so many kids that want to try another sport and get involved in something that might suit their capabilities a little better. That is what we try to offer by going into the schools. Then I try to encourage the kids that are interested to come down to the club that I work at to play for one of our teams.
I also work at a club along with two other American coaches and other British coaches that have been involved in the club for awhile. I work for a big club that has probably nine different boys/men;s teams and 4 girls/women's teams. At the club I coach all of the girls teams (under 12s, under 14s, under 16s and a women's team). After I go to the schools during the day I will go to the club at night and train the club teams. Then on the weekends they have games which I go to and coach. It is a great atmosphere and I really enjoy working at the club. It has a really great family feel and is very social. After all of the games we go inside and have a drink and eat with the other team.
Q: Tell us about your time playing for BC lacrosse and what it meant to you, and how it helped you reach the place you are now.
A: I loved playing for BC because I loved my team. When playing a college sport you form such a bond with your team because you have all been through so many experiences together that it would be hard for other people to understand. This bond with my team really helped to foster my love of lacrosse throughout my college experience.
It has also allowed me to now share this love with all of the people I coach. I also aim to make my teams at the club close so it will help them get even more out of the experience. I believe if they love the experience and are having fun, it makes it a lot easier for the lacrosse fundamental aspects to fall into place. There is no doubt that playing lacrosse for BC shaped my college experience and led me directly to where I am right now. Whether I stick with coaching or not it has opened doors for me and given me this great opportunity for which I am extremely grateful.
