Chemistry, Coaching Acacia Walker-Weinstein's Keys at Presidents Cup

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. — Friday’s midday sun made it impossible to miss the whistle around Acacia Walker-Weinstein’s neck. The red whistle hung there by a shimmering gold lanyard.

Because when you coach the U.S. Women’s National Team, gold is always on the mind.

The IWLCA Presidents Cup provided a pristine opportunity for Walker-Weinstein to usher the team into its next step toward gold at the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship next July in Tokyo. Over the course of three practice sessions spread between Thursday and Friday, Walker-Weinstein and her staff made it a point to truly coach the players.

It was about teaching concepts and styles and seeing how the players applied them. The sessions were intense, amplified further by the Florida heat and humidity.

Drills had to be crisp. Passes needed to be on target. Held onto the ball too long? Walker-Weinstein let you know.

But at the same time, Walker-Weinstein praised the victories. She stopped Friday’s afternoon session to celebrate a transition drill executed to perfection.

“I love our coaching staff,” Walker-Weinstein said. “I personally think they're the best in the game, and I want to be able to give the girls what they deserve. They want to be coached. They're the best in the world. They work very hard. The coaches work very hard. I wanted to marry that relationship and see if we could elevate the whole operation.”

As offensive coordinator Kayla Treanor continued to implement the USA offense, working through scenarios and assessing lethal combinations, the defense went all out in its attempt to prevent scores. This felt every bit the tryout, with the 30-player roster expected to be whittled down to the requisite 22 within the coming months.

“I'm proud of the coaches for really bringing their ‘A’ game,” Walker-Weinstein said. “And I'm proud of the players for really absorbing and learning as much as they can. I think it's been exactly what I would hope for. The girls seem happy. And I love that, because I believe a happy athlete can compete at a really high level.”

GRATEFUL GILMORE

Kayla Gilmore was somewhere between starstruck and disbelief. The sophomore at Maryland had just finished up her second practice with the U.S. Women’s National Training Team, grabbed lunch and hopped off the bus at the team hotel.

She took a much-needed moment to reflect.

“It’s something you dream about when you’re a little girl,” Gilmore said. “For me, I looked up to so many of these girls. It’s still a shock.”

One particular player was something of a role model.

“I played for Long Island Top Guns, and while I was there, Sam Apuzzo was my coach for some time,” Gilmore said. “It’s a full circle moment. She probably coached me when I was 8 years old, and now I’m playing with her. It’s a surreal kind of moment.”

Gilmore’s rise to her first training camp comes perhaps as a result of her rise through the USA Lacrosse pipeline. A National Team Development Program success story, Gilmore first played on the U16 Youth National team in 2022 before graduating to the U18 Youth National Team the following year.

Intended to be a rung in the ladder to National Team dreams, NTDP has already proved fruitful. At this training camp alone, 10 players have NTDP experience — Gilmore, Shea Baker, Rachel Clark, Shea Dolce, Brigid Duffy, Kori Edmondson, Sam Forrest, Chloe Humphrey, Emma LoPinto and Emma Muchnick.

“Something that was super cool [about NTDP] was being able to play against Canada and the Haudenosaunee,” Gilmore said. “That was such a cool experience. At Maryland, we just played against Team England and Team Japan. Playing against different countries, it made it seem more real. It stuck with me.”

Gilmore, like other NTDP alumni before her, credited her experience with the coaches, instructors and evaluators for her growth as a high school athlete preparing for college and now a shot at the National Team.

“There’s literally nothing more special than wearing ‘USA’ across your chest,” she said. “Anyone who has the opportunity to do it, just go try out. You learn so many new things. It really does help prepare you for the future.”

TURNOVER ON DEFENSE

The defensive rotation for the 2026 world championship will be entirely new. Not a single player from the 2022 championship-winning team (including its training team) are on this cycle’s training roster, not including the goalies.

Building chemistry with the new unit has been at the top of Walker-Weinstein’s mind.

“Chemistry is hard to do. It's hard to find on defense,” she said. “It's why you just have to have a simple game plan that everybody can get behind, and then it's really on the girls to be themselves and use their personality to help them connect with others and learn the styles and the vulnerabilities and the deficiencies and the strengths. But I do think that we're getting there.”

Chemistry-building doesn’t stop on defense. Part of the charm of the U.S. program is how it bring once-unlikely teammates together for something greater.

That’s why Walker-Weinstein is focused on not just building an All-Star team, though she surely could. She wants the best players who play the best together.

“I think that's what USA Lacrosse is all about,” Walker-Weinstein said. “Sometimes it's two enemies coming together and wearing one jersey. Sometimes it's player and coach. Sometimes it's teammates from high school or from elementary school or from college. But I think those are the really beautiful moments. The common denominator is that we're all wearing a USA jersey. I remember that with my experience, like playing with my heroes. That's what it's all about.”

THE BLUE-WHITE GAME

Parents and athletes at the Presidents Cup on Saturday can come by field 6 at the Premier Sports Campus at noon for a Blue-White scrimmage — one that Walker-Weinstein promises will be “competitive.”

The roster will be split in two, but with plenty of intent behind the team composition. Teams will get together Friday night to discuss their own strategies and gameplans, and coaches will assess how well each team implements their plans.

“I think the No. 1 goal is, we did a lot of coaching this weekend, so it's going to be application and who does it best without showing all your hands. There's some things we're looking to see. There's some things we're looking to confirm. There's some things we're trying to test.”