Meet Carly Ritchlin: Women’s lacrosse head coach

This seasoned coach focuses on motivation, team culture, and positively influencing young lives

Coach Carly Ritchlin

Carly Ritchlin became head coach for women’s lacrosse in August 2021, leading a roster of 30 athletes. “I’m excited to build a program around such strong women,” she says. “My focus is on developing a foundation for success—building a team culture, motivating the players, and being a positive influence in their lives.”

Over the course of her 20-year coaching career, including 18 at nearby SUNY Geneseo, Ritchlin has stacked up more than 200 victories. She ranks among the top 20 active coaches in Division III in career wins.

“I’m looking forward to continuing the growth of our program and our players, on and off the field,” she says. “Rochester is so full of opportunity, and I am impressed with its commitment to students, academics, and athletics.”

Eyeing opportunity

Ritchlin is motivated by the potential she sees, the passion of the team, and the way the University of Rochester community has welcomed her. Joining the Rochester Athletics coaching staff was a bit of a surprise to her. The former head lacrosse coach, Sue Behme, told Ritchlin of her plans to take another job and invited her to campus, thinking that this could be a great fit for her.

“She showed me all of the tremendous resources, including how the team gets the support of an assistant, a strength and conditioning coach, a sports psychologist, and a nutritionist,” says Ritchlin. “I was energized, and something clicked in me. I believed in what I saw happening here and knew I could add value and be successful here.”

Getting in the game

Ritchlin has always loved sports. In high school, she played both soccer and lacrosse. A knee injury took her out of one soccer season and prompted her to focus on lacrosse. As a 2001 Cortland graduate, Ritchlin was a four-year letter-winner, a two-year starter, and captain during her senior campaign for the Red Dragons. She majored in exercise science and aspired to become a strength conditioning coach at a Division I school.

An internship at RIT changed that. She worked with several teams, designing strength programs and developing agility workouts. Administration noticed her and offered her a part-time lacrosse coaching position. Ritchlin loved it. They then asked her to take on the head coach position for the spring season. “That job set me on the course of my career,” she says. “It gave me the experience to get the Geneseo coaching position.”

Enjoying the wins

Winning, to Ritchlin, comes in all forms, big and small. For instance, it comes when making connections with the team. “In one of our first workouts, I think I surprised the team with how enthusiastically I jumped into the motivational speaker role,” says Ritchlin. “They fed off of it, and still do. I like to tell them that they have another gear in them—they just need to find it and cultivate it. We all do.”

Her favorite part of the job? The relationships. “When I was 24 and coaching, my favorite part was winning,” she says. “But now, at 44, it’s about having a positive impact on these women. I take that seriously. If you take lacrosse out of the equation, I want them to leave here after four years as better people. If I can help them hone their strengths and great qualities while challenging them in the process, we’re all better off, as a team and as people.”