New Canaan Lacrosse Coach Receives 'Coach Of The Year' Honors

NEW CANAAN, CT — From New Canaan Public Schools: New Canaan High School Girls Varsity Lacrosse Coach Kristin Woods has been named “Outstanding Coach of the Year 2018” in Girls Lacrosse by the
Connecticut High School Coaches Association.

She joins 23 other high school athletic coaches from throughout Connecticut being honored with the “Outstanding Coach of the Year” award at a special presentation ceremony at the 54th annual
Recognition Dinner at 7 p.m., on May 10, 2018, at Kay’s Pier at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. The public is invited, and tickets for the event are $46, available only in advance. Contact John Fontana: (860)
628-4122.

Kristin Woods is in her 11th year as head coach of the Rams Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team. Her teams have won 5 state championships, and her current record at NCHS is 198-55. (as of May 8). During her tenure, 19 NCHS players have earned All-American honors and 12 players have earned Academic All-American honors. Over the past 11 seasons, she has coached 63 All-State players and 85 All-FCIAC players. 28 players have gone on to play at the collegiate level lacrosse. Lacrosse Magazine ranked New Canaan High School Girls Lacrosse #18 in the country at the end of the 2012 season.

“I’m so fortunate to have worked with so many talented and gifted student athletes in New Cannan,” said Coach Woods. “Their dedication combined with the invaluable support of the community validates the strength and success of our program at NCHS.”

Several of Coach Woods’ NCHS Girls Lacrosse Alumni have received national recognition. In the past four years alone, three of her players were named Top-25 Twaaraton Award Finalists: Sarah Mannelly (Boston College - 2016), Olivia Hompe (Princeton - 2017); and Elizabeth Miller (Boston College 2019). Additionally, Ms. Mannelly and Ms. Hompe were Top-5 finalists for the Twaaraton Award, college lacrosse’s most prestigious honor. Another alumna, Bailey Pilder - (Gettysburg - 2019), was named 2x Defensive Player of the week, and Sami Stewart (West Point - 2020) was voted to the All-Patriot League Team.

Besides being honored as the 2008 and 2012 Girls Lacrosse Connecticut Coach of the Year and the 2009 and 2012 FCIAC Coach of the Year, Kristin Woods has been affiliated with women’s lacrosse at every level, both as a player and coach, for the two past decade. As a player at Penn State, she was a four-year letter winner and captain of the team during her senior year, ultimately being named to the Academic All-Big Ten team as a midfielder.

Following her collegiate playing days, she was asked to stay on at Penn State for an additional year as the Undergraduate Assistant Coach, helping to lead the Nittany Lions to 10th place national ranking. She has coached at the Penn State Elite Camp for nine years. Besides being Girls Varsity Lacrosse Coach, Kristin Woods is a Physical Education Teacher at NCHS.

Photos: Kristin Woods. Photo credit: New Canaan Public Schools

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