Being a head coach for Women's Lacrosse at Bloomsburg University


"Let's work hard today ladies", that's usually how coach starts off practice. Whether we are inside the gym because of the bad weather, or outside on the turf at Stephen Petit Stadium and a cold, sunny day, coach Shannon Hertz always has us going one hundred miles an hour and giving our all.

Being a head coach for a division II team can be tough at times for her. Coach Shannon is also a mom. With her transition of being an assistant coach at division III Catholic University of America in Washington D.C to Bloomsburg University, Shannon was forced to move to Bloomsburg without her husband who still has a job in D.C. "Being away from my husband and not seeing him a lot is emotionally and physically hard and sometimes draining dealing with my two sons by myself." Her day consists of waking up early to get her two young sons, Jackson and Jayden ready for daycare while managing to get ready for work herself. After she drops the kids off at daycare or the babysitters, she gets into the office and plans her day by laying out a practice plan, and all the paperwork she has to get done that day. With all the chaos, her day never goes according to plan and things like practice usually change. Shannon usually makes practice from 6-8am or 3-5pm, depending on the weather and her schedule. She has to leave her office by 5:30 everyday to go get her kids from day care. Being a head coach means everyday is different. Some good days, some bad.

"There are no days off when you are a head coach because if you aren't on the field coaching, then you are in the office doing emails, and other paperwork." All the paperwork, recruiting, and fundraising; otherwise known as the office part is the least favorite part of Shannon's job. To Shannon this is her least favorite because she would rather be out on the field interacting with the team. "Scholarships are the most stressful part about recruiting because the college itself doesn't have enough money as I would like to give to my players. I believe every player deserves money when it comes to playing at a division II level." In order to keep our scholarships, Shannon stays on top of the teams grades and school work. Each player has to meet with coach every other week for an academic meeting. In these meetings we go over things such as classes, grades, and even life in general. Whenever a team member has a problem or is stressed out about anything, we always turn to Shannon first because she was in our shoes once and understands what we are going through.

Being a head coach was something Shannon always wanted to do. She worked her way to the top and started her coaching career off at her alma mater, Lock Haven University as an assistant coach. After She went to Catholic University of America where she spent three years as an assistant coach. When the offer as a head coach for Bloomsburg opened up, Shannon knew she had to take it. Being a head women's lacrosse was something Shannon wanted to do not only to support her family more, but also for her love of the game. "I enjoy practice more then games" says coach Shannon. She believes the team does most of our improvement in practice and her favorite thing is watching us get better everyday. " When I watch the team play, I notice the lightbulbs going off in their heads and it makes me so happy to know that they are understanding and getting better."

I like division II better then division III because I feel there is more team interaction. For example, in division II teams have fall ball practices and tournaments, where as division III doesn't. This means that there is more room for team bonding. Coach Shannon is all about team bonding. This past fall she divided our team into four separate groups, each group had to come up with team name, theme song, color, and logo. This gave the girls a chance to hangout and bond with girls they don't normally hangout with outside of lacrosse. She has little activities set up for us every once in a while that gives each team a chance to earn points. At the end of the season, the team with the most points, wins a prize. "Team bonding is probably my most favorite thing about coaching because I love seeing the girls interact with one another and make memories with there teammates. When there is a good team bond, it shows on the field and overall the team improves."

Coach Shannon Hertz loves being a head coach even with the hardships that come with it. "My team is my second family and I wouldn't trade them for the world." Shannon's goals as a head coach for the future are to win a PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference), and just overall have her team improve each and everyday.