There’s only one person in the history of Northwestern lacrosse who has been a part of all five National Championship teams as both a player and a coach-Lindsey Munday. A star midfielder who ranks second in NU history in assists and fifth in total points, Munday (Communication ’06) took part in the first two titles as a player and upon graduation became an assistant coach for the Wildcats. However, that doesn’t mean she has stopped playing, as she helped the U.S. win the gold medal last summer at the 2009 Federation of International Lacrosse Women’s Lacrosse World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic. The Daily caught up with the All-World player at practice to discuss her transition from player to coach and who on the team she sees coaching in the future.
Excerpts:
The Daily: What was your favorite memory as a player?
Lindsey Munday: The 2005 National Championship, just celebrating something that was such a culmination for us, for the class before me and my class, it was something that we believed in so much and (coach Kelly Amonte Hiller) told us we could accomplish and it actually happened. The whole process was the best memory, but the one moment was celebrating on the field in 2005.
The Daily: What was the biggest adjustment from playing to coaching?
Munday: Definitely the first year out, when I was still friends with the girls on the team and especially that senior class. The girls I was close with as a player, but obviously that relationship had to change a lot. So that was difficult, just in terms of relationships, but as it’s gone on, I haven’t been to school with these girls who are on the team now, so it’s easier to have that coach-player relationship.
The Daily: When did you know you wanted to coach?
Munday: I knew early on and had been talking to Kelly about it, and she was so helpful throughout the whole process. The summer after I graduated was pretty crazy in terms of musical chairs and coaches moving and going. I had been talking about a few places, but it just so happened that Alexis Venechanos got a head coaching job at (University of Massachusetts), and Kelly said, “All right, you want to come back?” So I packed up my stuff and moved back to Chicago.
The Daily: What does it mean to coach at your alma mater?
Munday: It means the world to me. Anything I can do to give back to the program that gave so much to me and made me the person I am today. If I can give back and have a positive influence on the next generation, it’s great.
The Daily: What was it like going back to being a player again over the summer?
Munday: It was awesome. A bunch of the people on the U.S. team are current assistant coaches or coaches, and we joke about how we’re the players and we get everything done for us, the meals are set up and the scouting reports are done. It’s nice to not have to be the one doing all the work.
The Daily: Who on the current team is most likely to coach?
Munday: (Katrina Dowd) has said she’s definitely wanted to coach and pursue that field. But all these girls would be great.
The Daily: What advice would you give to those players who want to coach?
Munday: The thing you don’t realize as a player is how much goes into it and how much work the coaches do. I’ve talked to other young coaches, and I want to go back and say thank you to every single coach I’ve ever had, because you don’t realize how hard it is and how much work it is. But it’s so fun, being able to pass on your knowledge to the next generation.
