University of Delaware Athletics
Lazo, McPartland Bring Pro Experience And Family Feel To Delaware Lacrosse
9/26/2019 12:56:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
The coaching world is a small one, especially in women's lacrosse.
One day Steph Lazo and Kelly McPartland were driving together to work a lacrosse camp in Atlanta while representing two different schools. The next day, they were both newly minted assistant coaches on the staff of Amy Altig at the University of Delaware.
Lazo had played and coached at Penn State, where Altig was on the coaching staff for nine seasons. They had known of McPartland through her time playing for Big Ten opponent Maryland. Now, the three are like peas in a pod.
"We're very much a family already," Lazo said. "We've been together since June, so three months, and I feel like I've known Kelly my whole life."
"All three of us match sometimes, without knowing," Lazo laughed. "Kelly and I live together and we don't see each other until we come downstairs for the morning to leave, and we're literally wearing the same thing. And we get to the office and Amy's wearing the same thing."
Outside of their new coaching family, both McPartland (a Long Island native) and Lazo (a native of Stevensville, Md.) have family ties to the Blue Hens. McPartland's older sister, Stacey, was a defender for Delaware women's lacrosse from 2006-08. Lazo's mother, Sue Whitfield Lazo, played women's basketball at Delaware from 1984-88 and still has her name in the Blue Hens record books.
"I'm from a big family and everyone's at home. So when I was thinking about coming here, my sister was like 'Oh my god, that'd be amazing!'" McPartland said. "Then once I took it, she was over-the-moon excited."
"My mom played basketball here. The Field House was actually her home court," Lazo said sitting in her office, which is in the same Delaware Field House where her mom played. "So obviously my family is super pumped."
Beyond just being full-blown members of the Blue Hen family, the coaching staff also brings a wealth of high-level playing experience to the First State. Both Lazo and McPartland play in the Women's Professional Lacrosse League, Lazo for the Command and McPartland for the Fight.
Competing at the highest level the sport has been a rewarding experience for the pair.
"We get to play with college teammates that we obviously no longer get to play with. It's awesome. You show up every weekend and you get to hang out with your best friends," McPartland said. "Even people that weren't on your team. I saw Steph all the time this summer when we were playing. It's a great time, I think it's a blast."
"Gaining those new friendships has been awesome. Being able to play with the best, play against the best, but still having fun while we do it," Lazo said. "Being able to grow the game together has been awesome. It's really great for our sport, too."
The WPLL just wrapped up its second season, featuring five teams that tour the country. While the league is still gaining its footing in the sports landscape, Lazo and McPartland value building the foundation for professional women's lacrosse, an opportunity that didn't exist even ten years ago.
"A few years ago, this was never possible," Lazo said. "Now we can empower the youth to dream big, to fulfill their dreams because there's actually something there that you can work towards."
The league is made up of some of the best players who recently graduated college, many of whom coach at the collegiate level now. The sheer volume of lacrosse knowledge is a resource for the Blue Hens assistants, who want to bring that high-level play to Newark.
"I pick up a lot of things from people I play with, which I think is really cool," McPartland said. "I'm learning from a lot of people that I may have never played with before, or coached against. And we're all so different. Somebody on the field can be like 'I see this, let's give this a shot.' And that never would have crossed my mind."
"WPLL is 6-v-6…and it's a quicker shot clock," Lazo said. "Obviously the pace is super high. We can bring those aspects into the college game to up our pace."
Delaware women's lacrosse is also in the unique position of having three coaches who played three different positions: Altig was a goalie at James Madison, Lazo was a high-scoring attack at Penn State, and McPartland was a national champion midfielder at Maryland. Combined with a high-energy, positive-minded ethos, the staff is ready to return the Blue Hens to national relevance.
"Obviously you want to win games, but I think our overall goal is to have fun while we're working toward one common goal," Lazo said. "We want to win a CAA Championship, but I think the goal every day is to get better and better as a team."
One day Steph Lazo and Kelly McPartland were driving together to work a lacrosse camp in Atlanta while representing two different schools. The next day, they were both newly minted assistant coaches on the staff of Amy Altig at the University of Delaware.
Lazo had played and coached at Penn State, where Altig was on the coaching staff for nine seasons. They had known of McPartland through her time playing for Big Ten opponent Maryland. Now, the three are like peas in a pod.
"We're very much a family already," Lazo said. "We've been together since June, so three months, and I feel like I've known Kelly my whole life."
"All three of us match sometimes, without knowing," Lazo laughed. "Kelly and I live together and we don't see each other until we come downstairs for the morning to leave, and we're literally wearing the same thing. And we get to the office and Amy's wearing the same thing."
Outside of their new coaching family, both McPartland (a Long Island native) and Lazo (a native of Stevensville, Md.) have family ties to the Blue Hens. McPartland's older sister, Stacey, was a defender for Delaware women's lacrosse from 2006-08. Lazo's mother, Sue Whitfield Lazo, played women's basketball at Delaware from 1984-88 and still has her name in the Blue Hens record books.
"I'm from a big family and everyone's at home. So when I was thinking about coming here, my sister was like 'Oh my god, that'd be amazing!'" McPartland said. "Then once I took it, she was over-the-moon excited."
"My mom played basketball here. The Field House was actually her home court," Lazo said sitting in her office, which is in the same Delaware Field House where her mom played. "So obviously my family is super pumped."
Beyond just being full-blown members of the Blue Hen family, the coaching staff also brings a wealth of high-level playing experience to the First State. Both Lazo and McPartland play in the Women's Professional Lacrosse League, Lazo for the Command and McPartland for the Fight.
Competing at the highest level the sport has been a rewarding experience for the pair.
"We get to play with college teammates that we obviously no longer get to play with. It's awesome. You show up every weekend and you get to hang out with your best friends," McPartland said. "Even people that weren't on your team. I saw Steph all the time this summer when we were playing. It's a great time, I think it's a blast."
"Gaining those new friendships has been awesome. Being able to play with the best, play against the best, but still having fun while we do it," Lazo said. "Being able to grow the game together has been awesome. It's really great for our sport, too."
The WPLL just wrapped up its second season, featuring five teams that tour the country. While the league is still gaining its footing in the sports landscape, Lazo and McPartland value building the foundation for professional women's lacrosse, an opportunity that didn't exist even ten years ago.
"A few years ago, this was never possible," Lazo said. "Now we can empower the youth to dream big, to fulfill their dreams because there's actually something there that you can work towards."
The league is made up of some of the best players who recently graduated college, many of whom coach at the collegiate level now. The sheer volume of lacrosse knowledge is a resource for the Blue Hens assistants, who want to bring that high-level play to Newark.
"I pick up a lot of things from people I play with, which I think is really cool," McPartland said. "I'm learning from a lot of people that I may have never played with before, or coached against. And we're all so different. Somebody on the field can be like 'I see this, let's give this a shot.' And that never would have crossed my mind."
"WPLL is 6-v-6…and it's a quicker shot clock," Lazo said. "Obviously the pace is super high. We can bring those aspects into the college game to up our pace."
Delaware women's lacrosse is also in the unique position of having three coaches who played three different positions: Altig was a goalie at James Madison, Lazo was a high-scoring attack at Penn State, and McPartland was a national champion midfielder at Maryland. Combined with a high-energy, positive-minded ethos, the staff is ready to return the Blue Hens to national relevance.
"Obviously you want to win games, but I think our overall goal is to have fun while we're working toward one common goal," Lazo said. "We want to win a CAA Championship, but I think the goal every day is to get better and better as a team."
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