Cal Neighbors

New Women's Lacrosse Coach Builds on Team Strength

The women's lacrosse team at UC Berkeley has a new coach, bright prospects and a growing fan club. Newly appointed coach Theresa Sherry, the team's former assistant coach, plans to use the off-season this fall to build the team's depth by focusing on stamina and stick skills.

In addition to holding full-field practice scrimmages at Memorial Stadium to help build the team's bench strength prior to its spring season, Sherry also plans to continue the team's outreach to East Oakland's Alliance Academy. That program will again bring the players to the school's campus each Friday to provide academic and life guidance.

An Alumna Connection
Last fall the school's principal, Yvette Renteria, a UC Berkeley alumna and former lacrosse player, was searching for a way to bring a college presence to the brand-new school, which serves 360 students in grades 6 through 8.

Former Cal Lacrosse coach Jill Malko (who's also Renteria's former coach) recognized the opportunity to broaden the team's community service efforts. When she presented the idea to the team, they responded enthusiastically and started developing a curriculum right away.

Madeleine Dale was one of the team members who set up the initial program. Every Friday throughout the fall semester, several players met with students to talk about college preparation and various life skills. One day the players guided them through role-playing exercises, focusing on conflict resolution and tough social situations. Another day, the students worked on mock college applications and discussed college life.

The highlight of the semester was a trip to UC Berkeley, during which students toured Memorial Stadium and the campus, met with a professor, ate in the dining commons and even tried their hand at lacrosse.

Planning for the future
This year, Dale hopes to expand the team's activities by introducing activities such as life maps, which the middle-schoolers will create as a way to highlight their personal goals. The life maps will be a jumping-off point for discussing how to best achieve those goals, helping each student develop a realistic plan.

Jazmin Espinoza, an 8th-grader who participated in the program last year, is looking forward to the team's return. "They helped me think about what I want to do in the future," she said. "I'm much more into the idea of going to college now — hearing that they liked it and finding out more about it made me realize that I could like it too."

Sherry, the team's new coach, hopes that the program can be picked up in the spring by a Cal team that has its off-season then, such as women's field hockey or men's or women's soccer.

In the meantime, she's encouraging her players to carve out time from their fall schedules to renew their bond with the Alliance Academy. When the team faces Northwestern in its first home game next February, perhaps they'll see some familiar faces from the Alliance Academy in the crowd.