After coaching the Northwestern women’s lacrosse club team for a year, Kelly Amonte Hiller was ready for the perks of varsity status: the scholarships, the equipment, the facilities and the support.

“We are so lucky to be fully funded by Northwestern,” Amonte Hiller said. “I wanted to find some way to help the community with our good fortune.”

So with those resources in mind, Amonte Hiller held a four-day overnight camp for young lacrosse players to improve their skills, enjoy the NU campus and “meet role models.”

In holding a summer athletic camp, Amonte Hiller is in line with most of NU’s varsity sports. Fourteen of the 19 varsity teams hold summer camps. Only men’s and women’s golf and swimming and women’s cross country – each individual sports – do not hold camps. Not only do the camps offer a service to the community, but also they offer the coaches an opportunity for exposure and a chance to meet potential recruits.

“I wouldn’t say that (summer camps) are becoming the standard,” said NU Athletic Director Rick Taylor. “They are the standard.”

Running summer camps is nothing new for Amonte Hiller, who will make her debut as a varsity head coach next year. For the past three summers, she has held camps and clinics for young girls. Last year, she left her position as the director of Nike’s women’s lacrosse camps and started her own company, Amonte Sports.

“I wanted to take camps to the next level and put in some personal touches,” Amonte Hiller said. “My camps cater to the players.”

This weekend’s four-day overnight camp was designed for both beginning and advanced players. It also featured a goalie camp led by Alex Kahoe, an assistant coach at Maryland, the defending NCAA champion and Amonte Hiller’s alma mater.

reason to smile

For 75 girls, the experience at the four-day overnight camp was a positive one.

“I am extremely satisfied,” said Brett Swenson, who plays at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill. “I am more confident in my skills. I will definitely be back.”

Beginning on Thursday, the camp emphasized basic to advanced stick work and its application in a game situation as well as conditioning techniques designed to enhance balance, strength, and agility.

For 16-year-old Katie Fronczek of Pittsburgh, just getting to know Amonte Hiller was worth the trip.

“Kelly was the epitome of a player and coach,” Fronczek said. “She picked up everyone’s name and was very personable, regardless of skill.”

Amonte Hiller split each day into three sessions. In the morning, campers focused on individual skills. The afternoon session emphasized team concepts. Players then had the chance to display their skills in full-field play in the evening, including nightly camper-counselor challenges.

Indy Cesari of Atlanta, who brought daughters Stefany and Whitney, was pleased with Amonte Hiller’s camp.

“My daughters saw what it is like to live in a Northwestern dorm,” Indy Cesari said. “They got to see the beautiful surroundings and learned some more advanced ball handling.

“Stefany has attended many other camps including the ones at Duke and Hofstra, but she said this is the best,” Cesari said.

setting the tone

Amonte Hiller wanted her coaching staff to be composed of people the girls would look up to.

“Because (women’s) lacrosse does not have a professional league, young girls don’t get to see players at the higher levels,” Amonte Hiller said. “I wanted to give these girls role models.”

Amonte Hiller herself is already a role model in the sport. Before graduating from Maryland in 1996, she accomplished just about everything that a player could. Named the national player of the year in both her junior and senior seasons, Amonte Hiller was also the Atlantic Coast Conference female athlete of the year for her senior campaign.

She was an All-American in each of her four seasons and remains the all-time NCAA women’s lacrosse assist leader. Along with being an All-American soccer player her senior year, she was ranked 21st on Sports Illustrated’s list of the 50 greatest sports figures in Massachusetts history. One week ago, Amonte Hiller helped the United States win the Women’s Lacrosse World Cup for the second straight time.

The coaching staff at the camp comprised both college coaches and players. NU was represented by four of its players from the lacrosse program, as well as recently hired assistant coach Keely McDonald.

“This is such an amazing opportunity for these kids,” said NU midfielder Kaitlin Young. “There are some great college coaches here who know the game. It gets the kids to step up to the next level.”

Players from Boston University, Cornell, Penn State, and Maryland were also represented on the staff – most notably NCAA player of the year Jen Adams, who just finished her senior year at Maryland and was named ACC Female Athlete of the Year for the second straight year.

“I really enjoyed coaching this week,” Adams said. “It gave the kids an opportunity to experience the very best of (women’s) lacrosse.”

John Dwyer of Northbrook, a leading advocate of women’s lacrosse in the area as well as a parent of camper Kathleen Dwyer, was impressed with Adams’ appearance.

“It’s like having the Heisman Trophy winner at the camp,” Dwyer said. “Players who know that game are able to take advantage of the expert instruction.”

At the end of the camp, several of the campers – particularly the younger players – were having the coaches autograph their shirts.

FINDING Future cats

Though perhaps not their intended function, summer athletic camps have become another tool in the recruiting process for both coaches and players.

“The camps are helpful in recruiting,” Amonte Hiller said. “But my focus is to help kids grow. If they decide to come to Northwestern, that is an added bonus.

“The camp is not for recruiting, but it does allow them to know what you are about and you know what they are about,” she said.

While attending the lacrosse camp at William and Mary as a high school student, Amonte Hiller formed a relationship with an assistant coach at Maryland, which helped solidify her decision to enroll in the school.

Of the nine girls Amonte Hiller signed for this fall, three have attended her camps.

“She seemed like a really good coach, like a really nice person to play for,” says Sarah Albrecht, who decided to come to NU after participating in an Amonte Hiller camp. “I was looking for someone who I could approach and ask questions.”

Hosting the camp on the coach’s home turf also allows the players to experience NU.

“Attending this camp is a great way to learn about the school,” Young said. “Northwestern is one of the schools that sells itself.”

Jenn Caston, a senior at Penn High School in Granger, Ind., said attending the camp is helping her make her decision.

“I am looking at Northwestern,” Caston said. “Attending this camp lets me show Kelly what I can do.”

Aside from other Amonte Hiller-led camps, Caston has also attended camps at Notre Dame and Ohio State. She said it’s an advantage to meet the coach who is conducting the camp as well as coaches from other schools who come to watch.

David and Nancy Colella, originally from Chicago but now residents of Boston, stayed for the weekend while their daughter Grier attended the camp. Before dropping her off at registration, the Colellas took a campus tour.

“The camp experience allows you to learn what college coaches are looking for,” David said. Grier, who has attended Amonte Hiller’s clinics in Boston, was enthusiastic about playing at NU.

Cornell senior Lori Wohlschlegel was often asked by the campers about her experiences as a collegiate lacrosse player.

“If they ask me about my school, I am honest,” Wohlschlegel said. “I can also give advice about the recruitment process.”

Wohlschlegel highlighted several areas for a high school player to focus on if they are interested in being recruited.

“You need exposure,” Wohlschlegel said. “You need to make a highlight so that coaches can see all aspects of how you play. You also need to keep in contact with the coaches.”

Wohlschlege
l suggested learning about the school’s environment, academics and weather as well as meeting the team before deciding where to attend.

But the most important feature of a school, according to Wohlschlegel, is the coach.

“Make sure that you are compatible with the coach,” Wohlschlegel said. “I have a really great relationship with my coach.”

Amonte Hiller believes the camp gives her an opportunity to see how her personality and coaching style works with recruits.

“There is no substitute for working with a kid at camp,” Amonte Hiller said. “You see her personality and work ethic, something that you don’t see at tournaments.”

Penn State coach Suzanne Weinberg, who just finished her first year as head coach at Penn State, the only other varsity women’s lacrosse team the Big Ten, didn’t even question whether to have a summer camp.

“When I was in high school, I went to Penn State as a camper,” Weinberg said. “I loved the campus and the people. It was definitely a big part of my choosing Penn State.

“It is a great time to get kids on your campus,” she said. “Camps are good exposure for your program.”

mining local talent

Amonte Hiller estimates that 85 percent of the 75 camp attendees are from the Chicago area, giving the camp a strong local influence.

“It is a huge goal of mine to develop women’s lacrosse in the surrounding area,” Amonte Hiller said. “I want to make it bloom.”

Illinois is relatively new the sport. The Illinois Women’s Lacrosse Association was formed just three years ago. Currently, there are 14 member high schools.

Even before becoming the head coach at NU, Amonte Hiller has reached out to the area’s lacrosse community by running clinics and making appearances to try to boost the sport’s growth.

“Kelly is wonderful,” said Glenbrook North High School coach Tom Rosenbaum, whose team just finished its second season. “She just wants the best for high school lacrosse. My kids love going to her camps.

“She is really interested in the local community,” he said. “Whenever I speak with her, she instantly recognizes me.”

Dwyer is also a fan of Amonte Hiller’s influence on the area.

“Kids who live in this area have a unique opportunity,” Dwyer said. “All three of my daughters have improved a lot from her instruction.”

New Trier High School’s Lauren Hovey – named the camp’s most valuable player – agrees.

“I learned how to play lacrosse at Kelly’s camps three years ago,” Hovey said. “They are a lot of hard work, but rewarding as well.”

what’s to come

For Amonte Hiller, this past weekend’s camp is just the beginning of a series. On July 28, she will run a similar camp in Milton, Mass., with 250 players expected to attend. She is also in charge of a five-day camp in Glen Head, N.Y., from Aug. 6-10.

From Aug. 2-4, Amonte is conducting an “Elite Video Recruiting Camp.” At this camp, not only are the kids taught, they also go home with a video of themselves at the end of the camp so that they can send it to college coaches to be recruited. It is aimed at players of all levels, but especially those who don’t get a lot of exposure.

“The video camp makes it so that a player doesn’t have to go to a lot of camps to be seen,” Amonte Hiller said.

In upcoming years, Amonte Hiller hopes to expand the NU camp.

“Ultimately, I would like to have a couple of camps at NU,” she said. “One will be geared towards the community. The second would be more towards the elite player.

“Elite camps are often recruiting camps,” she said. “I want to emphasize that my goal is to not make it a factory just to look at kids. We provide a really amazing experience.”

In taking her camp to the next level, Amonte Hiller intends to continue many of the highlights of her current program.

A top notch coaching staff, a chance for locals to interact with NU players and the lakefront facilities of NU – all can continue to make for a great camp experience.

“My camps will continue to offer these kids some new role models and (a chance to) gain focus in life,” Amonte Hiller said. “If we can help them do that, it is a great thing for us and a great thing for them as well.”