Alanna Waters: Lacrosse Coach and Volunteer

To Alanna Waters, lacrosse is more than just a sport. It’s a way to stay in shape, and learn about important values like teamwork, discipline, and perseverance. Alanna currently serves as the Assistant Women’s Lacrosse coach at Wheaton College. In this role, Alanna helps the team’s head coach plan practices, and build up both team and individual skills with her players. She is an NCAA certified coach.

According to Alanna Waters, lacrosseis a game of strategy and knowledge. She takes her understanding of offensive tactics and uses this information to help her team bolster its offensive capabilities. For six weeks during the fall and three months in the spring, she works on developing players’ techniques. Alanna completed the NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching Girls’ Lacrosse course, which allows her to help her team improve their abilities. Alanna also plays a pivotal role for her younger athletes. She serves as an advisor to the team’s freshmen players, helping to ensure that they’re able to make the transition to college successfully both as athletes and students.

This is a role that’s important to Alanna. She values acting as a steady force for her younger students who are experiencing a transitional phase in their lives. She enjoys providing guidance and support based on her own experiences, thus helping these students to find comfort during an often tumultuous time. Alanna explains that it’s common for freshmen to struggle with their first few months of college. Some athletes also find balancing their role of student and player challenging. For these individuals, Alanna steps in and provides guidance and emotional support. She also offers one-on-one tutoring for students who need additional academic support.

To Alanna Waters, lacrosseis an important part of college, but she wants her team to feel well adjusted and satisfied with their collegiate experience as a whole. Since Alanna was a member of the lacrosse team at St. Lawrence University, she can relate to the challenges of balancing academics and athletics. During her time at St. Lawrence University, she served as the team’s captain for the spring 2008 system and broke school records in assists and points per season in 2008.

Prior to working with college-aged athletes, Alanna coached lacrosse on the high school level. For two seasons, she was the Junior Varsity lacrosse coach at Burlington High School in Burlington, Vermont. In this position, Alanna taught lacrosse skills to girls ages 14 to 18 years of age. She built strong relationships with her players, and used the opportunity to further develop her own communication and organizational skills, which she relies heavily on in her current job.

For Alanna Waters, lacrosseis dependent on the safety of the players. While any sport may present the risk for injury, it’s important that coaches take measures to keep their players safe. For this reason, Alanna has received extensive training in safety topics. She took a course entitled “First Aid for Coaches” and also attended a seminar about concussions in sports. This education allows her to protect the health and wellness of her team.

For this individual, lacrossecoaching is enjoyable because it allows her to build meaningful relationships with the members of her team. Alanna has always had an interest in serving as a mentor and caretaker for kids.  In the past, she’s held two different positions as a caretaker for younger children in Colorado. In these instances, she was solely responsible for the children’s safety, and for planning age appropriate activities for them. She also participated in a child mentoring program, where she served as a positive role model for at-risk youth. She worked one-on-one with both a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl, helping to teach these young women about life skills and constructive behaviors.

Alanna also worked as a development assistant and certified crisis advocate at Bright Future Foundation, located in Avon, Colorado. She spent 40 hours a week learning how to assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. She helped to work the 24-hour crisis hotline service, and learned about writing grants. Strong grant writing is an essential part of keeping the organization funded.

During her time in Vermont, Alanna held a student counseling internship at Hunt Middle School. This internship allowed her to spend one-on-one time supporting children with autism and emotional behavioral disorders. She also worked alongside the Refugee Resettlement Program to help refugee students transition into the Vermont public education system. She helped them get established on both an emotional and academic level, and played a major part in making them feel comfortable.

Alanna Waters: Lacrosse Player and Artist

For Alanna Waters, lacrosse served as an outlet for exercise and stress relief during her college years. She still enjoys participating in the sport and values her role as a coach. Alanna is also passionate about art and produces approximately two original works of art per week. For more than a decade, she has worked primarily with acrylic paint to create paintings that continuously sell to a dedicated client base. Clients frequently commission her to produce works for their homes and offices. Alanna has exhibited both abstract and realistic works in Boulder, Colorado.

She credits New York City-based artist Sandy Garnett with jumpstarting her career. Alanna held an internship with Sandy, a fellow St. Lawrence University graduate, where she helped him with his various paintings and projects; she also helped him generate new ideas. During this time, Alanna learned various design and photography computer programs, which allowed her to diversify her skills.

When she’s not painting or coaching, Alanna also values giving back to her community. She is an active member of Rosie’s Place, a group that serves poor and homeless women in the Boston area. She teaches literacy classes at the center as part of the Women’s Education program. This program offers 240 women the chance to improve their skills and increase their self-sufficiency. They provide free ESL classes, GED preparation courses, and literacy tutoring to women in need.

For Alanna Waters, lacrosseis both a hobby and a career. She is the Assistant Women’s Lacrosse coach at Wheaton College. She helps her younger players adjust to life as a student-athlete, and helps to boost the team’s offensive abilities. To Alanna Waters, lacrosseis just one of the many passions she pursues; others include volunteer work and art.