Listening to Your Athletes—Camaraderie and Motivation in Times of Uncertainty

Karen MacCrate Henning, who won national titles as a player and coach, is in her 13th season as head coach of the Colby women's lacrosse team. Henning led Colby to its third NESCAC title in the 2017 season (others being in 2008 and 2009, also with appearances in 2010 and 2011). In her first 12 seasons, Henning has led the Mules to eight NCAA tournament appearances, including four national quarterfinal berths. She earned the New England Pilgrim Region and NESCAC Coach of the Year honor in her first year. She has a staggering 77 percent winning percentage in her coaching career.

Kelsey Howard, a former two-sport athlete at Bentley University, is in her second year as an assistant coach for the Colby College women's lacrosse team. Howard played lacrosse and field hockey at Bentley, an NCAA Division II athletics program. Howard earned Intercollegiate Lacrosse Coaches Association All-Region honors, was a Northeast-10 Conference all-league selection, and earned conference all-academic honors during her time at Bentley. She was Bentley's NCAA Woman of the Year nominee and a captain for both teams.

Kim Williams has brought the Wesleyan women’s lacrosse program into national prominence in just four seasons. In her second season, Williams turned the program around by qualifying for the NESCAC Tournament for the first time in eight years, and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships for the first time ever. Williams was named the 2017 NESCAC Coach of the Year and the 2017 IWLCA Berkshire Region Coach of the Year. Last year, in 2019, Williams’ program improved once again as she led the team to the Final Four of the NCAA Championships for the first time ever. Prior to her tenure at Wesleyan, Williams served two seasons as head coach at Stockton University in New Jersey, three seasons as an assistant coach at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and four seasons as a stellar competitor at C.W. Post University in Brookville, N.Y.

Paula Habel joined Bowdoin as an assistant women's lacrosse coach in the summer of 2016. Habel comes to Bowdoin with over a decade of collegiate coaching experience. Most recently the head coach at Merrimack College, Habel returns to the NESCAC, where she served as an assistant coach for Colby from 2013-2015, helping the Mules qualify for the NCAA Tournament and earn a top-ten ranking each campaign.