SPORTS
| 13
Schager returns: girls’ lacrosse pushed to be their best
ha
n’ 23
“I worked really hard on helping women, young women, see where their strength was.”
sw aK
M
any reading this article may know of Staples’ neighborhood-friendly Cathy Schager. Like Spiderman, she seems to do it all. You may have seen her smiling brightly in the hallways, installing new exhibits in the library, organizing events for awareness towards humanitarian causes, teaching in her social studies classroom or, most recently, coaching on the lacrosse field. Schager’s newest appearance as one of the coaches for Staples girls’ lacrosse team shines light upon 23 her past successes on the field ter ’ k c o in addition to the positive imD ucy pact she leaves on the players. L by Many know Schager as the to o activist of the social studies de- Ph partment; however, few know the extent of her lacrosse coaching experience. As a former student athlete at Johns Hopkins University, Schager graduated college and, like many others, traveled to New York to try what she calls a “normal person job.” If you know Schager, you could probably predict that she did not enjoy this experience. “I hated it,” Schager said. It was within months that she decided to coach Division 1 girls’ lacrosse at Vanderbilt. Having a degree of success there, she ultimately
athlete within her classroom. She describes her desire for constant improvement as a result of being a coach and an athlete, leading to her engaging and evolving teaching strategies. “I need criticism, so I know what to do,” Schager said. “And so that’s when I started realizing that’s what being an athlete was.” In coaching younger girls, Schager noticed gender inequity in a “blaring” form. Instead of approaching this with a dismal attitude, Schager used this to empower her players. “I worked really hard on helping women, young women, see where their strength was,” Schager said. “I try to really develop their self-confidence and very, very strictly to develop boundaries.” Schager’s return has caused a reaction of nothing but positivity, specifically among players whom she previously coached. “Having her as a teacher and a coach has been impactful to our team with the positive relationship we are able to build with her as a result,” Maddie Hill ’22 said. Schager’s return is celebrated by the Staples girls’ lacrosse community. “She’s brought a whole new energy to our team that I 3 have never seen be’2 ig fore,” Mackenzie Dir Ge i dio ’22 said. “She’s conab G stantly there to push us to y sb c i be the best players we can be.” ph
Ki
Creative Team
moved back to New England Schager said. “So when I got after one year to find a young- here, I said, ‘I would like to please er age group. Amidst trials and take over the lacrosse team.’” tribulations of taking the LSAT, Schager became head of girls’ working at a law firm, coaching lacrosse and spent nine years in New York and interviewing building the program. She deas a girls’ lascribes the crosse coach steady imthroughout provement Connectiof her team, cut, Schager as they lost ended up 14 games at Staples the first and began season, but as both a reached- Cathy Schager teacher and s t a t e s Social Studies Teacher a coach imby year sevmediately. en. Coin“I didn’t want to go to a place ing involvment in sports as “inthat already had a good program. dispensable” Schager uses her I wanted to build a program,” experience as an
&
Elle Vail ’23
a Gr
