Girls’ lacrosse team left coachless

Head coach Courtney Schneck will not return for the 2016-17 season

The defending CIF North Division Champions girls’ lacrosse team is currently without a coach after head Coach Courtney Schneck announced in September that she would not be returning for the 2016-2017 season.

Schneck, the 2015 United States Lacrosse Los Angeles Chapter Coach of the Year, decided to move back to West Islip, New York in order to be closer to her family. She was a coach and a friend to many of the players, having coached many of the girls since they were in middle school.

Lacrosse coach Courtney Schneck speaks to her team at a game. Schneck has announced that she will not be returning for the 2016-2017 school year, as the girls team waits to hear about a new coach (Printed with permission from Kevin Strauss).
Lacrosse coach Courtney Schneck speaks to her team at a game. Schneck has announced that she will not be returning for the 2016-2017 school year, as the girls team waits to hear about a new coach (Printed with permission from Kevin Strauss).

“She was my first coach, and she knew how our team worked inside and out,” junior Harper Wayne wrote in an email.

Wayne said that she was deeply saddened when she heard the news. Just like many other girls, Wayne said she loved being apart of her team and having Schneck as her coach.

“I am very sad that she left the program. She always pushed me and threw obstacles at me. She made me better,” Wayne wrote.

Senior Cameron Bear, soon to be a four-time varsity player, also played under Schneck for several years.

“Of course we are sad that Courtney is leaving, but [we] realize that she has other goals she’s going to pursue and we are happy that she is taking the opportunity,” Bear wrote in an email.

Courtney is way more than just our coach. She has been a friend and role model for most of us for many years now.

— Cameron Bear

Bear explained that she understands her former coach’s difficult decision.

“Courtney is way more than just our coach,” Bear wrote. “She has been a friend and role model for most of us for many years now.”

According to Bear, Schneck made the team a “second family,” and Bear said she knows her second family will be able to overcome the uncertainty of losing a coach.

“We have a lot of good players who have been working together for a while,” Bear wrote. “We are looking forward to another great season.”

Wayne, who played under Schneck as a middle school student, appreciates the effort her former coach took in order to improve the team and its players. As for the future of the team, Wayne remains optimistic.

“I think it’s just something we have to overcome,” Wayne wrote. “Getting a new coach is going to be interesting, but I have full faith in my team and we are a family.”

Schneck herself said she is heartbroken to be separated from the team, but knows it is what is best for her life right now.

“I am so sad to be leaving the team and the amazing girls, but I am happy to be back closer to my family on the east coast. I am always a phone call away,” Schneck wrote in an email.

Schneck says that she will always remember the experiences she had with the girls.

“I can’t even explain how much this team and the experience coaching these past five years has impacted my life,” Schneck wrote. “This team has become my family and I know they will be a huge part of my life for the rest of my life.”

Coach Saige Bell has led the team through its fall league against local high schools, but she is unable to coach the team for its spring season.