Smith Named Hofstra's Women's Lacrosse Head Coach
Hempstead, NY - Shannon
Smith, a three-time first-team lacrosse All-American who is among the
most decorated
players in the sport, will return to her native Long Island to become
head coach of Hofstra University's women's lacrosse team, Vice President
and Director of Athletics Jeffrey A. Hathaway announced today.
Smith becomes the ninth head coach in the history of the
Hofstra women's lacrosse program, replacing Abby Morgan who resigned
after six seasons at the helm.
"I am extremely excited that Shannon Smith is joining the
Hofstra University family as our head women's lacrosse coach,"
commented Hathaway.
"Shannon's strong ties in
the Long Island lacrosse community, combined with her superior
leadership ability,
extremely competitive nature, and extensive playing experience at the
highest level, will be a tremendous asset as we work to develop Hofstra
women's lacrosse into a nationally-recognized elite program. She is
very committed to academic success, understands
the overall development of student-athletes during their college
experience and clearly supports giving back to the community.
"After speaking with numerous highly-respected coaches, athletic
administrators and others associated with the women's lacrosse world
about our search for a new head coach, it became evident to me that
Shannon possesses outstanding credibility and credentials
in the sport and is the perfect fit for Hofstra University," continued
Hathaway.
Smith said she is excited to start her tenure at Hofstra.
"I am extremely thankful to
Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz and Vice President and Director of
Athletics
Jeff Hathaway for giving me the opportunity to lead the Hofstra women's
lacrosse program," said Smith. "Hofstra is a phenomenal institution
that strives for excellence in academics and athletics and I look
forward to helping provide our student-athletics
with a great experience in the classroom, on the playing field and in
the community.
"It is an honor and a
privilege to be put in a position to return home to Long Island and
build a program
that will be very competitive and successful in the near future. The
lacrosse facilities and resources in place at Hofstra are amongst the
best in the nation and combined with the great academic climate and
beautiful campus I am confident the future is bright
for the Hofstra women's lacrosse program.
"I can't thank Dr. Phillips (Dr. James Phillips,
Northwestern University's Director of Athletics & Recreation) and
Kelly (Kelly Amonte Hiller, Northwestern University's Head Women's
Lacrosse Coach) enough for their support and guidance over the last
four-plus years," continued Smith. "The entire Northwestern family has
been very supportive of the women's lacrosse program there and it
certainly assisted in my development as a player,
person and coach."
Smith recently completed a four-year playing career at
Northwestern. Among her many highlights included winning three NCAA
titles, earning three first team All-American honors (2010,
2011, 2012) and capturing the 2011 Tewaaraton (presented annually to
the NCAA women's and men's lacrosse player of the year) and lacrosse
Honda (recognized as the top collegiate female athlete in her sport, and
the award is considered by many as one of the
highest honors a female college athlete can receive in the nation)
Awards.
Smith is very adept at the
business side of lacrosse as well. Since 2009, she has served as a
director
with Long Island Top Guns girls lacrosse club. Smith has assisted with
every aspect of the club and helped organize and coach a training
program for over 300 players. From managing the business side of the
club to coaching teams, Smith has played a vital
role in the development of one of the top club programs in the area.
Through her work with Long Island Top Guns, Smith manages a total of
four camps, while overseeing a staff of over 20 people.
This past June Smith coached the North squad at the 2012 Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic.
Smith's immense experience
at the highest level of lacrosse continues with her extensive US
Lacrosse career.
Just this past weekend, she was named to the roster for the 2012-14
U.S. women's national senior team. This group will serve as the
training team pool for the team that will defend Team USA's 2009 gold
medal at the 2013 Federation of International Lacrosse
(FIL) World Cup in Oshawa, Ontario. Smith also was part of the 2011-12
U.S. women's national training team and the 2007 U.S. women's national
under-19 team. As a member of the U-19 squad, she helped lead the team
to the Gold Medal at the 2007 World Cup.
A key player on three teams
that captured NCAA titles at Northwestern (2009, 2011, 2012), Smith was
the
Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 and 2012 Championships. During her
career, she scored 58 points in the NCAA Tournament to rank second
all-time in that category.
Smith is not defined solely
by her postseason honors and awards, though, as she totaled 254 goals,
108 assists
and 362 points during her career. Her goals total ranks first all-time
in program history, while she is second all-time in points and third in
assists. Her 86 goals in 2011 are a single-season record for the
Northwestern program. In addition, she ranks
eighth all-time in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse in points and ninth
in goals.
She played in 91 games
during her career at Northwestern, adding 118 draw controls, 85 ground
balls and
28 caused turnovers. Smith had 19 game-winning goals during her career
and her 2011 season was her most prolific with 86 goals, 42 assists,
128 points, 39 draw controls, 25 ground balls and eight caused
turnovers.
Smith has done charitable
work in the Long Island community as well. She is actively involved
with the
Friends of Jacyln Foundation and Our Lady of Grace Garden. She also
helped lead a group of counselors at the South Bay Elementary School
(West Babylon, New York) Lacrosse Camp to raise $6,500 towards the
reconstruction of the school after a fire.
A native of West Babylon,
New York, Smith attended West Babylon High School where she was a
six-time letter-winner
and was a member of the varsity squad starting in seventh grade. Smith
was one of the top scholastic lacrosse players to ever come out of Long
Island as she had 729 points on 505 goals and 224 assists during her
career. Both the points and goals totals are
New York state records as is her 129 goals in 2006.
Smith received her bachelor of science in liberal arts, with a major in economics and minor in business
institutions program, from Northwestern.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT SHANNON SMITH...
"Shannon is not just one of the most accomplished women's
lacrosse players in recent memory, she also has a track-record of
world-class performance both academically and in the
community," said Dr. James Phillips, Northwestern University's Director of Athletics & Recreation.
"Hofstra has selected an exceptional leader for their program, a great
example of the culture of success that Kelly Amonte Hiller has built at
Northwestern."
"I give Hofstra a lot of credit for seeing in Shannon what we have witnessed for four years at Northwestern," commented
Kelly Amonte Hiller, head women's lacrosse coach at Northwestern and seven-time national champion.
"In addition to leaving Northwestern as one of the most accomplished
athletes in our program's history, Shannon excelled in the classroom;
and will be a
tremendous leader for Hofstra Lacrosse, as she was for Northwestern."
"Shannon has been a tremendous player, competitor and leader at the collegiate level for the past four years,"
stated Ricky Fried, head women's lacrosse coach at Georgetown University and U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach.
"Her pedigree as a player speaks for itself, but Shannon's
understanding of the game and her competitive nature will no doubt
translate
to coaching at this level. Her ability to relate to her players and
recruit, especially on Long Island, will revitalize all of the players
as well as the program as a whole. I look forward to watching her
develop Hofstra's program in the coming years."
"We are very excited that Shannon Smith will be the next head women's lacrosse coach at Hofstra University,"
commented Pride Head Men's Lacrosse Coach Seth Tierney. "Her
success on the field will without a doubt lead into a very long and
successful coaching career. At Northwestern, she was the coach on the
field, and we are all excited to support her as she
begins to patrol the sidelines at James M. Shuart Stadium. Shannon has
been successful at everything she has done thus far, and we are now
looking forward to seeing the "Shannon Smith Era" begin at Hofstra."
Shannon's skills as a player were extraordinary. Her knowledge of the
game, passion for the sport, leadership and hard work were equally as
impressive,"
said Alex Frank, assistant women's lacrosse coach at Boston College and 2012 graduate of Northwestern.
"Shannon was able to communicate and share her understanding of the
game with her teammates every day, both on and off the field. I am
confident that as the head coach at Hofstra, Shannon will pass along to
the team her knowledge and passion for the game
and will instill the same qualities that she exemplified to allow her
players to achieve great success as student-athletes."