Geiersbach initially got into coaching as a graduate assistant at North Carolina in 2023, but then left the profession to enter the corporate world.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was ready to step away from the game,\u201d Geiersbach said. \u201cI was still playing, so I thought maybe I can use one of my degrees to do something not related with lacrosse so I would still get a good balance. I worked for a sports start-up and my heart just wasn\u2019t fully in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geiersbach, who had played in Athletes Unlimited for three years after graduating from UNC, was playing in the inaugural Women\u2019s Lacrosse League Championship Series when she got the opportunity to interview for the head girls\u2019 lacrosse coaching job at Valor Christian in Colorado.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were looking for a new coach two weeks before the season,\u201d Geiersbach said. \u201cI stepped in the second the day of tryouts, so that was kind of crazy. But it was more like this is exactly where you need to be and where you\u2019re supposed to be. And it all worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n
It definitely worked out, with Valor Christian winning a state championship.<\/p>\n
Geiersbach is passionate about helping to spread the game in Colorado and beyond. The state has produced a Hall of Famer like Devon Wills and other national team players like Caroline Cryer, but hasn\u2019t gotten the notice it deserves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve tried not to get involved with one club program versus the other because I want to get to everywhere I can and help every person, player, team \u2013 whatever I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geiersbach knows she\u2019s been fortunate to have the coaching she\u2019s had throughout her playing career. And she takes her current role seriously because of that background.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear horror stories of some of the experiences girls have with the coaching in high school, college and whatever,\u201d Geiersbach said. \u201cI have been so blessed with my over coaches over the years. My high school coach was great, my Richmond coaches I loved, my UNC coaches, obviously loved. And now in the WLL, Adam Sears and Coach Cap [Ginny Cappicchioni], they were phenomenal coaches. I\u2019ve only experienced really great coaching, which I know is rare.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m more so trying to replicate what they\u2019ve done and what they\u2019ve shown me \u2013 taking a little bit of their coaching styles and kind of putting it into my own.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the takeaways that she\u2019ll include in her presentation at the Denver Regional Academy is the importance of competition \u2013 even in the practice setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing I\u2019ve learned is that you have to compete at practice in order to grow as a team, but individually as well,\u201d Geiersbach said. \u201cSometimes people are worried that competing can cause bad blood between players, but I think those were the practices where I learned the most and where the team got the most out of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we\u2019re going to go over some offensive footwork drills and putting them in drills where they compete 1v1 and also splitting the team up into two and keeping them in those groups the whole day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her experience in Senegal was a reminder of how the game can bring people together. There were language barriers to overcome, but people were drawn to the stick. They started with a clinic for the students at Les Foyers, a school built by Le Korsa in Tambacounda.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one stadium in the city and there were just people watching and they would just jump in,\u201d Geiersbach said. \u201cSo, I think it went from a group of 20 to probably a group of 40, which was really, really cool. We had enough sticks, we had enough balls, we had everything we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later on they moved to Sinthien, where Ryan Cronin had introduced lacrosse a year earlier at a residence school. It’s taken hold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe coolest thing was to see their natural instincts,\u201d Geiersbach said. \u201cSome people don\u2019t have that. To see them roll dodging without even being taught. They\u2019re throwing behind-the-back passes. They did shovel passes.\u00a0So, that in itself, is like pretty incredible. It just brings you back to ok, this is why we do what we do. It\u2019s meaningful, it\u2019s inspiring and it\u2019s just the best form of giving back to the game that you can get.\u201d<\/p>\n