Team First During USA Women's Lacrosse Training Camp

SPARKS, Md. — As you climb the steps from the main level to the top floor at USA Lacrosse headquarters, there’s a mural of photos showcasing past U.S. teams, events and grant recipients. Smack dab in the middle is a picture of Chloe Humphrey coming out of the tunnel on Tierney Field during her days as part of the National Team Development Program. 

Humphrey, this year’s Tewaaraton winner after leading North Carolina to the national championship in her rookie collegiate season, has been a presence in the sport and the U.S. national team program for the last few years despite her young age, but this week’s U.S. field team training camp is a new experience – her first time playing with the senior team. 

“I’ve grown up watching all of these people, I think since middle school – the BC legends and obviously Marie McCool,” Humphrey said. “It's incredible just being surrounded by these players who I've idolized for so long. I kind of have to pinch myself that I'm actually on the field playing with them. It's a dream come true, truly.” 

It’s extra special for Humphrey after being selected to the training roster for the 2024 U.S. women’s U20 team, but having to miss last summer’s world championship in Hong Kong due to an injury that also delayed the start of her college career for a year. 

Emma Muchnick, a rising senior at Syracuse, helped the U.S. U20 team win a gold medal in Hong Kong, but is also making her U.S. senior team debut. 

“It's an honor to even be asked,” Muchnick said. “When I was asked, I was super excited because a lot of these girls are people I looked up to my whole life, girls I cheered on in the stands, girls that some commentate our games. It's such a surreal moment and I was trying to stay calm and not fangirl too much.” 

The newcomers have been welcomed with open arms, a longstanding tradition of the U.S. program, even as they compete for roster spots. This week’s three-day training camp will determine the 22 players selected to represent the U.S. during the Pan-American Lacrosse Association (PALA) Championship later this month in Florida. 

“Everyone, as soon as they put on the U.S. jersey, we become one team whether you've been here for 10 years or if this is your first time wearing the jersey,” said Sam Apuzzo, a member of the 2022 U.S. team that won the World Lacrosse championship and now an assistant coach at her alma mater, Boston College. “The first time I came in, that's how I felt.”

Evaluation vs. Preparation 

The ultimate prize for head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein is next summer’s World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in Japan, but first they have the PALA Championship as a continental qualifier and a calendar of events leading up to the trip to Asia. 

Walker-Weinstein, the head coach at Boston College, was named as the U.S. head coach last spring and built out a plan to get ready for Japan, a challenge heightened by limited training opportunities for the national team. This week’s camp is just the third training opportunity since last November for the staff with its pool of players. 

“We broke down our two-year calendar and created evaluation periods versus championship periods and we communicated that very clearly to the girls,” Walker-Weinstein said. “So early on, it was mostly evaluation as we sort of sat back and evaluated didn't do a ton of hands on. Then, as we enter the championship period. which is right now for PALA, we're way more hands-on in camps and also in-between, before and after camp.” 

Her primary objective is finding the right mix of players, both stars and role players that will produce the best team. Before Monday’s opening session, she stressed the importance of making others around you better. 

“You can't be a special team and you certainly won't capture the heart of the fans if you don't have all of it,” Walker-Weinstein said. “You can't just have 22 on-field bosses and you can't just have 22 glue girls, you’ve got to have a combination of both. I'm just trying to create like an opportunity for both of those to have high value.” 

She also wants to have fun and appreciate the opportunity in front of her. She won gold medals as the youngest player on the U.S. U19 team in 1999 and later with the field team in 2009. Coaching this team means something special to her. 

“It’s one of the greatest honors of my life – my family, BC and coaching USA,” Walker-Weinstein said. “USA has been in my blood. It changed my life when I was 14 and it's still very much in my life, so I feel really grateful. It's pretty crazy now that I get to coach with some of my best friends, some of my favorite teammates that I ever had. It's an honor of a lifetime. I just want to do the opportunity justice by creating a really special team.” 

Notes 

Twenty-three players in the training camp for the field team will be part of the sixes training camp that begins on Wednesday afternoon … Lindsey Munday and Michelle Tumolo, the coaches for the U.S. women’s sixes team, have been at USA Lacrosse headquarters since Monday to evaluate the field team tryouts … recent Loyola graduate Chase Boyle celebrated her birthday during Tuesday’s training sessions. Boyle has been among the players participating in “Draw Wars” before each practice to both get in extra work and focus on the importance of the draw … Cindy Timchal, the head coach at Navy and Walker-Weinstein’s head coach at Maryland, was in attendance on Tuesday observing the team’s training.