Q & A With Coach: Heather Semelmacher - Women's Lacrosse
After a schedule heavy on non-conference opponents early in the
season, head coach Heather Semelmacher and the
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s lacrosse team have begun an
important five-game stretch in SCIAC play that includes home games
vs. Chapman and Pomona-Pitzer. Semelmacher is in her second season
at the helm of the Athenas women’s lacrosse program, after
three seasons as head coach of the State University of New York at
New Paltz program. Despite the team’s busy schedule over the
next few weeks, Semelmacher took a few minutes out of her schedule
to talk about her time here in Southern California, what made her
want to coach at CMS and how she likes to spend her time away from
coaching.
You’re originally from New York, how has the
transition been to Southern California living?
Heather Semelmacher: Amazing, absolutely amazing! I love
Southern California. I use to come out here a lot to coach elite
field hockey in Palm Desert and I played out here in college. Also,
it’s nice being able to coach the sport I love all year,
without having to shovel snow off the field since the weather is so
beautiful. I laugh at myself now when I complain about being cold
here if I’m wearing one jacket and I look at the temperature
and it’s 58 degrees outside. Often times on the East Coast we
would play games in freezing conditions. I really do love Southern
California.
What’s been your favorite part so far about living
in Claremont and in Southern California?
HS: I think my favorite parts of being here are the
people and also the dynamics of my surroundings. There is so much
to do here. I really enjoy being outdoors and I like mountain
biking, trail running and going to the beach. It’s also nice
to know that I am only an hour away from skiing which is something
I did a lot back home. Also, everything tends to be so much more
relaxed here which is something that I have had to adjust to with
my New York personality. Often times, I’ve had to remind
myself to slow down a little bit. More so than anything, my
favorite part of being in Southern California is the people that I
have met.
What made you want to coach here at CMS?
HS: There were several things. When I first looked at
CMS, there was so little turnover in the department with the
exception of the women’s lacrosse program. When I found out
why, it was mainly because the previous coaches were moving on to
the Division I level. I had already been at the Division I level so
I wanted to come back to a Division III program and the private
school setting which is what my background mainly has been. To me,
coming to such a prestigious school along with the type of
student-athletes who attend school here made CMS an attractive
place to coach. It also meant a lot to me to see how much of a
family-oriented department it is here at CMS.
What type of student-athlete do you like to have on teams
that you coach?
HS: I’ll start with the athlete portion first. As
far as what I am looking in a player, I want someone who is scrappy
and is a player that goes after everything on the field. I always
tell recruits, if you drop a pass, you’re not going to fall
off our recruiting list, what matters is how you go after that
dropped pass and how you tackle the failure that you just had. Do
you redeem yourself or do you drag your head and make your
teammates pick you up because that’s not what we want? I want
someone who is going to go after every mistake that they make and
want it so badly that they are going to finish everything they
started. As far as the academic portion, we want someone who is
strong academically so we don’t have to watch over them all
the time with their classwork. All together, we are looking for a
well-rounded student-athlete.
When you aren’t coaching lacrosse, what are your
interests away from the sport?
HS: Being outdoors is something that I love. I have two
labs (Labrador Retrivers) so I enjoy hiking and also going to the
beach. I definitely enjoy traveling and have done a lot of
traveling so far. I’m looking to visit the Greek Islands, not
this summer but the following summer. Also spending time with
family and friends is important to me.
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