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 Ayana Green, our WDPCC Prez discusses the first Summit, bringing the leaders of the post-collegiate club scene together
On October 8, 2005 the Women's Division Post-Collegiate Council (WDPCC) hosted the *first* ever Summit bringing together post-collegiate leaders from across the country. This summit attracted diverse PCC leadership. Representation from Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, and New York to name a few were present. Likewise these representatives were also diverse in age and in perspective. Some have been involved with the game for decades and some, recent graduates, are new to the PCC landscape yet still leaders locally. The focus of the day was not only to address the wide-ranging issues affecting the women's post-collegiate game, but also a celebration of our contribution.
Post-collegiate players, men and women, are a special breed. These players in my humble and perhaps biased opinion are the true champions of the game. Long after all the high school and college accolades have passed, we are still out on the field and for one reason. We simply love the game. This love is proven over and over again as post-collegiate players search high and low for field space (especially if you are in New York), travel to different states and internationally throughout the year to compete, think of countless ways to finance our endeavors, and of course we are crazy enough to hit the field hard for 20 minute halves despite what people say about our youth being behind us. We do all this, more than we ever did in college, and still work from 9-5 pursuing our professional goals. Many of us manage three lives, coming home to our families. This must be love!
This love explains why so many female post-collegiate players are involved in the sport on so many levels. We are mothers, coaches, umpires, administrators, and entrepreneurs. You name it, we hold that position too! The life of a female post-collegiate player is a well-tuned juggling routine. So the strength of our post-collegiate community also happens to be our weakness. We wear too many hats and often playing falls at the bottom of the list. This among other issues that are affecting our participation and consistency were discussed during the Summit.
The daylong affair starting at 8:30 am and ending at 4:30pm was held at the US Lacrosse headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. Although it was a gloomy and rainy day, the setting was anything but. Perhaps it was no coincidence that we sat among the pioneers of the game. Pictures of US Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductees adorned the walls while we tackled tough issues that would undoubtedly shape our future. The agenda addressed the history and growth of the WDPCC, the successes and challenges of local post-collegiate teams, the current state of the game, the role of US Lacrosse and other councils and yes, we even discussed a National Post-Collegiate Championship!
The possibilities are boundless, but the journey will be arduous, perhaps even a bit daunting. We have many obstacles before us. Everyone was in consensus about the top challenges facing our constituency:
- Commitment
- Field Space
- Costs (field space, transportation, tournament fees, equipment, etc.)
- Rules changes (i.e. goggles)
- Inclusion (different levels of experience)
- Communication / Connectedness
- Resources (i.e. coaching and officiating)
- Lack of recognition
- Transient communities
- Lack of continuity (continuous playing opportunities)
- Not enough teams
- Varying skill levels of teams
….to name a few.
Likewise, we identified some of the positive factors affecting the post-collegiate game.
They include:
- Growth of the game
- Passion for the game
- Networking among professional women
- Growth of college club teams
- Diversity (i.e. age, skill level, background)
- Flexibility of PCC structure
These challenges and positives vary in degree from region to region and team to team. However, it is unanimous that every region and team represented at the table has confronted each. It is the charge of the WDPCC to shift the balance. We would like to see the positive factors dwarf the challenges. The WDPCC has made tremendous strides to do just that.
The WDPCC has recently emerged on the lacrosse landscape. The WDPCC launched its website in January 2004, www.uslacrosse.org/wdpcc, to address the issues of communication and connectedness. We have over 50 teams organized nationally (that we are aware of), all of which come in different shapes and sizes. Moreover many of these teams are not fully aware of each other, the WDPCC, or US Lacrosse. These factors have contributed to a fragmented and disconnected community. It is our hope to bring this community together through a comprehensive online experience. The website, managed by Co-Chairs Melissa Montefusco and Jessica Bates, features teams, tournaments, and resources all in one place. At the very least teams no longer exist in isolation.
Players can also locate teams. Graduating seniors or players looking to come out of retirement can find a home. This is complimented by our "Players At-Large" database. This initiative allows players not yet associated with a team to post their information online so that 1) they can be identified by teams looking for players; 2) they can identity a group of players in the same region that may be interested in starting a new club; and/or 3) they may join a "WDPCC At-Large" team. For select tournaments, the Co-Chairs of this committee Lyn Reitenbach and Katie Lavin (both Cornellians) will coordinate players to form a one-off team to compete. Players can come together without the fear or pressure of a commitment. We are sure once they hit the field again, they will be hooked and look for a permanent opportunity.
Although the website has been positively received, it is a passive vehicle. Post-collegiate players must visit our url to learn of these efforts. In order to directly touch our players, we developed an online newsletter lead by Co-Chairs Judy Fong and Dana Czapnik. The newsletter profiles some of our most established clubs, highlights emerging clubs, features international lacrosse news, coaches on the move, WDPCC developments and more. We have been able to increase our reach through this endeavor appealing to not only female post-collegiate players, but also all post-collegiate supporters here and abroad.
We suspect this might be the fist time you are learning of our efforts. As a result Marketing Chair Angela Kaake is working with Events Chair Jessi Livingston on increasing our exposure. We have developed a brochure we hope you will discover at the US Lacrosse National Convention, tournaments and other lacrosse events. We are also hope to collaborate with other councils with like agendas, such as the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), US Lacrosse Chapters, Women's Division of Intercollegiate Athletes (WDIA), and the Men's Division Post-Collegiate Council (MDPCC).
As of this month (November), with the help of Molly Genung of US Lacrosse Sport Development, we finished our very first "Post-Collegiate Start Up Manual." We receive countless requests from players all across the country looking for tips and insights on starting a post-collegiate club. As you might imagine, there is no "one size fits all." As a result, we created a comprehensive manual addressing the ABC's and 123's of what it takes to start and sustain a post-collegiate club. This manual will be available on our website and the US Lacrosse website. In fact, as a direct result of the Summit we added valuable information from the experienced leadership around the table.
The Summit reinforced that we are on the right track as a council. Our initiatives are indeed making a difference. The Summit itself is evidence. For the first time post-collegiate leaders considered and started conceptualizing a Post-Collegiate Championship! In order to accomplish such several smaller steps need to be made. With the help of US Lacrosse, the WDPCC council, club leaders, and the larger lacrosse community we believe we can make significant progress. For 2006 we proposed the introduction of regional play days to culminate at the National Tournament. These Regional Play Days would be the start of what we hope would grow into local leagues. These leagues would compete each season to decide their regional winner(s) whom would ultimately vie for the Championship. Each season records of wins-losses, team and player statistics would be recorded and posted online. We would even
work to develop an All-Star Post-Collegiate Team and Post-Collegiate Awards honoring players serving on and off the field!
Although this is ambitious, the development of regional plays is possible - and possible now - if only in one region at a time. We are still confident it is a step in the right direction. Although we strongly believe all the initiatives the WDPCC have underway or in the pipeline already have and will continue to positively affect the community, a National Championship will have the *single greatest and immediate impact.* A National Championship will immediately infuse structure, direction, acclaim, and sisterhood. The ripple effect will undoubtedly affect commitment, structure and leadership to name a few. In the end, we will have a community of teams, although still varied, uniform on a fundamental level that allows them to fairly compete on a national level. And so all the issues raised by our guests at the Summit will be positively affected in some way.
This is a historic time for our council and community. The summit was an engaging and enlightening exchange of ideas and issues. The WDPCC is committed to the course. We may not get there tomorrow, or even a year from now, but rest assured we are working diligently. We know we are not alone. We salute the female lacrosse leaders working tirelessly across the country to keep their clubs afloat. We applaud the women that sacrificed their Saturday to help make the Summit a reality. We thank Ann Carpenetti, US Lacrosse Women's Division Director, for her past and continued support. We encourage women of all ages, skills, sizes, and colors to continue playing the game. Lastly, we invite anyone interested and able to wear *one* more hat to join the WDPCC leadership. We successfully recruited two leaders from the Summit, but we are always looking for more. As you can see we have a lot on our plate. Let's shape the future of the women's post-collegiate game together!
WDPCC Leadership
Ayana Green, President
Bridget Olp, Vice-President
Teri Fox, Treasurer
Jessica Giddings, Immediate Past President
Jessi Livingston, Events Chair
Angie Kaake, Marketing Chair
Dana Czapnik, Newsletter Co-Chair
Judy Fong, Newsletter Co-Chair
Lyn Reitenbach, Players At-Large Co-Chair
Katie Lavin, Players At-Large Co-Chair
Melissa Montefusco, Website Co-Chair
Jessica Bates, Website Co-Chair
Martha Fessenden, Board of Directors Representative
| US Lacrosse WDPCC Summit Attendee List - October 8, 2005 |
|
First |
Last |
Team |
State |
| Council |
Ayana |
Green |
Gotham |
NY |
|
Bridget |
Olp |
Chicago |
IL |
|
Angie |
Kaake |
Breakaway |
WA |
|
Jessica |
Bates |
|
NV-UT-CA-CO |
| Teams |
|
|
|
|
|
Teri |
Fox |
San Diego |
CA |
|
Megan |
Molina |
Colorado |
CO |
|
Jessica |
Livingston |
Arizona |
AZ |
|
Elaine |
Knobloch |
Capital |
MD |
|
Sarah* |
Odell |
Atlanta |
GA |
|
Susan* |
Grossman |
Orca lacrosse |
NY |
To submit something for publication, please contact our editor Dana Czapnik
at danaczapnik@yahoo.com.
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