Women’s lacrosse builds from the ground up

By David Thackham
thackhamd@mytjnow.com

With 18 months to go until the first draw of the Winthrop women’s lacrosse program, head coach John Sung has almost everything he needs for the spring of 2013. An office near the entrance of Winthrop Coliseum, a veteran assistant coach, even an X-Box a few feet from his desk. The only thing he needs is a team to coach. 

“It’s all just a matter of getting the right players to come here,” Sung said. “The school does a very good job of recruitment.”

The former coach of D-III Adrian College has already snagged 25 recruits to come to Rock Hill, four of whom are already on campus, while the others will enroll in 2012. Samantha Estrin, Mary Accomando, Taylor Moreau and Jessica Ressler will all be redshirted until 2012, as to keep their eligibility years. 

“It’s very important to get a year under us and adjust,” said Sung. “Having a full year before competition gives us a chance to do it right. But we have to make sure it’s the right start, because you can’t have a second chance to start something.”

Although Sung has lived in Rock Hill about three months in total, he’ll have confidence in familiarity. Assistant coach Emilia Ward worked with the Troy, MI native for three years at Adrian, while redshirt-sophomore Accomando played last under Sung with the Bulldogs. 

“[Ward] knows how I like things organized and done and executed,” he said. “It’ll really help the easy transition.”

The program is still in need of help, however. Sung said he needed managers, trainers and anyone to assist in getting the fledgling club off the ground. An informational meeting on Tuesday at the DiGiorgio Campus Center was held to attract any interested student staff. Tryouts for walk-ons are scheduled for Sept. 6. 

“We need all the support we can get,” Sung said. “We’re really building the program from nothing.”

It’s still a toss-up on where the Lady Eagles lacrosse team will be playing in 2013. Sung says the squad may be working on the soccer field, which is unused after the men’s and women’s soccer teams play in the fall. But given the effects of putting a third turf sport on Eagle Field, it may become more likely that the intramural fields will become the team’s home. 

To Coach Sung, building the Winthrop program is like running a business. From the right marketing, to publicity, to promotions, he is the CEO and head cheerleader of women’s lacrosse not only in Rock Hill, but in much of Upstate South Carolina. 

“When women’s soccer came to Winthrop [in 2003],” he said, “the students already saw men’s soccer and it wasn’t as much of a transition. This is an entirely new sport coming in now. We need to create our own identity.”

Sung stressed that a big push will be taken to connect with and educate the student body about lacrosse. Winthrop students may get a double dose of knowledge from the nearby Charlotte Hounds, a new Major League Lacrosse franchise that is scheduled to begin play in 2012. 

“By creating a relationship, it’ll be good for both of our fan bases to stay cohesive,” he said. “The game is growing and that’s a really exciting prospect.” 

Once Sung gets the bulk of his team next year, the real work begins. Excluding the travel and games, the coach said he would keep 2012 “like the real [season].” By this time next year, Winthrop will invite D-I, D-II and D-III teams to play scrimmages as a warm-up to the inaugural season. 

“We’ll invite anyone we can, anybody who’ll come to Rock Hill,” Sung said. “Until then, we’re going to be doing a lot of training and learning how to be good leaders, on and off the field. We’ll be ready.”