As spring sports ramp up, the Wayland High School athletic department welcomes new coaches Erin Kish and Lisa McNamara. Kish will be coaching girls junior varsity lacrosse, and McNamara will not start her coaching until the fall but will be coaching girls varsity soccer.

Although Kish is a new coach this year, many students have seen her around school as she already works as a teaching assistant at WHS.

“It’s awesome that I get to work at WHS both in school and on the field,” Kish said.

Based on her vast experience, Kish’s true passion and understanding for lacrosse is obvious. She started playing the sport in sixth grade and continued to play all throughout middle and high school, then going on to play all four years of college at UMass Dartmouth.

This is Kish’s first time coaching lacrosse; however, she has coached field hockey in the past. She was an assistant coach at UMass Dartmouth and an assistant coach at Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. With it being her first season coaching in Wayland, Kish has made sure to plan what will happen for the team this spring.

“I want to help these players reach their goals, whatever those goals may be,” Kish said. “I plan on having each player get as much time on the field as possible so that they can work on their skills, learn from each other and work together as a team.”

Kish has expressed what she will make of her team’s core values. In addition to having a successful season competitively, she also wants to create a close-knit environment for her team to learn from each other.

“I believe that without trust and communication, a team cannot function properly,” Kish said. “I encourage every player to focus on being the best that they can be so that they can motivate their teammates to do the same.”

Looking ahead to the fall soccer season, Lisa McNamara is excited to start planning.

“I think there is a lot of excitement and good energy to start this season,” McNamara said. “There is so much talent across the grades, and I believe we can be super successful and competitive this season.”

McNamara has played soccer for almost her whole life, starting when she was eight years old, playing throughout middle and high school and later moving on to play for her four years of college at Colby Sawyer. After she was done playing, McNamara decided to coach.

“I was the JV coach last season, have coached my kids in town soccer and coached three years of women’s soccer at Lasell College,” McNamara said.

Although she is the new varsity coach, last season McNamara worked as the girls JV soccer coach and had a fun successful season. As a coach, she values an equal balance of winning, developing skills and having fun. All of these qualities allow for McNamara’s players to succeed while having fun on the field.

“I expect 100% effort on the field, working hard, respecting the game, coaches and administration,” McNamara said.

Despite the fact that the soccer season is quite far away, McNamara has already started making changes. Her goal for the season and for the upcoming years is to bring together all the teams in the program. She wants all three teams, freshman, JV and varsity, to feel united and like a program instead of individually run teams.

Athletic Director Heath Rollins was responsible for hiring the new coaches. He is excited about his new hires and has high hopes for what they will be able to accomplish for their teams and sports programs.

“I always like building on the energy of the program and improving the program,” Rollins said. “We want to get more people motivated and devoted to the programs. [These] coaches are contagious with their energy.”