As the Head Coach of Varsity Lacrosse, Molly Crawford communicates her passion for the sport through the girls that she coaches. As a Sion alumna, Crawford has found her home where her young adult life began.

“It brings me the greatest feeling being back at Sion and working with the girls,” Crawford said. “I see so much of myself in many of the girls, so I feel like I can easily relate to them.”

Because the school did not have a lacrosse team until 2011, Crawford sought out a competitive team of her own when she was a sophomore in high school. Kansas City Girl’s Lacrosse Club was the only team in Kansas City at the time so Crawford joined initially just to try the sport out.

After quickly discovering her desire to play the sport full-time, she was soon discovered by a regional team based out of Baltimore, Maryland, the SkyWalkers.

While playing on this team, college coaches began to recognize her talent and seek her out, and Crawford soon found herself seeking them out as well.

“Every day my junior year I made at least an hour [a day] of my time to sit down and reach out to college coaches I wanted to play for,” Crawford said. “I made it my job to make sure each of those coaches knew I wanted to be a part of their recruiting class.”

Now for Crawford, aiding the girls whenever they might need it is important and it shows through her actions, according to varsity player and junior Aidan McEnerney.

“I feel like I can talk to her a lot but she is also a serious coach in my eyes,” McEnerney said. “I just hold a lot of respect for her because she’s such a hardcore person, but I feel like I could talk to her about really anything.”

After playing for and graduating from Cal-Berkeley, Crawford wanted to give back to a school she felt she had taken so much from, while at the same time continuing to be involved in the sport she loves.

From the time that lacrosse had just begun as a sport for high schools in the Kansas City Metro area to now, it has grown exponentially in terms of participants. Even with this growth, however, it is still a ways behind other sports, according to 2014 alumna and former University of Marquette lacrosse player Megan Neisius.

“They’re continuing their success in Kansas City, and now they’re being seen as a threat to teams in St.Louis,” Neisius said. “I think lacrosse still has a long way to go in terms of growth in Kansas City, but I believe it’s headed in the right direction.”

Building up the next generation of lacrosse players, Crawford always tries to push herself and others to be the best she thinks they can be. Crawford realizes the impact her coaches have had on her over the years, and strives to leave the same impression on her players.

“I was fortunate enough to have some of the best coaches who made an everlasting impact on my life,” Crawford said. “They taught me some of the most invaluable lessons that I still use in my daily life.”