Phi-Lacrosse-ophy Podcast Ep. 25 - Northwestern Women's Head Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller

Kelly Amonte Hiller - Head Coach Northwestern Women's Team 00:30 New Facilities at Northwestern -Some of the nicest facilities in D1 sports -Field on Lake Michigan -All in one facilities -Indoor games -$300 mil. 04:11 Coach Amonte Hiller's Journey -Playing little league bass ball and hockey with her brothers -Tried everything -No exposure to lacrosse until 9th grade -Athletic family 07:30 Playing at the University of Maryland -Cindy Timchal -Garry Gait -Being taken seriously -Sports psychology -Impactful recruiting process -Seeing the game being broken down so finely -Developing fundamentals and teaching those fundamentals -Passion for the game -Maryland coaches tree 12:58 Coach Amonte Hiller's Journey and Coaching Tree -Only coached on the field as an assistant prior to Northwestern -Wanted to stay home after college -Mentors -Learning the administration side of coaching -Take insight from everyone -Scott Hiller 19:20 Beginning at Northwestern -Different rules back then -Great culture and leadership -Boundary rules impact 22:44 The Metamorphosis of Women's Lacrosse -Rule changes -Stick technologies -Reluctancy at first -Marketable sport -Great athletes, coaches, and administration in the last 20 years -Back to the skill focus and innovation focus -A lot of parody in the sport right now due to coaches being innovative -Wide range of coaching experience 28:51 Box Lacrosse and Selena Lasota -Seeing her in BC for the first time -Dynamic person -Made a decision quickly -Player to watch -Different style of play in the game -22 goals in 2 games in the NCAA tournament -Had to learn the field game -Broadening horizons in different ways -2 man game 37:36 Blending the Best of Everything to Evolve an Offense and Skill -Able to execute in tighter space -Better shooting -Wanted to be able to try new things -Confidence boost in the players -Teaches IQ -Learning to count on one another 43:03 Taking Advantage of Physical Attributes and Working Towards That -Path of Holly Korn -Became a manager -Took notes and worked on fitness on her own -Stepped up as a goalie for the team -Gave her a shot as a lefty attackman -Finishing sets people apart 47:04 What Coach Amonte Hiller Looks for in a Recruit -A player that can develop that comes from hard work -Accept feedback -Resiliency -Team player -Doesn't categorize what they look for -Its about development -Look for potential -Good fit for culture -Is it a fit for what they are looking for 52:57 How to Recruit Character and IQ -Hard to see -Interacting with players on campus -Like to see how kids learn -Evaluating IQ at camps -Seeing how player react -Being coachable 58:37 Advice on Development -Benefits to playing club -A lot of travel and money and sacrifice -Pick your spots if you can -Focus on development -Athletic development -New ways to learn things -Trust your gut and make the choice that is best for you