Jan. 31, 2008

by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

Liz Sewruk and Jeanna Gates have been following the same path for a long time.

It started as classmates at C.W. Baker High School in Syracuse and continued when they both committed to play lacrosse at SUNY Cortland. After finishing their playing careers in 2002, both followed the same bread crumbs back to the Syracuse school system where they became teachers and lacrosse coaches. The route shared by the two even transcends their taste in spouses: Gates (née Angotti) married a former Cortland football player and Sewruk is engaged to one.

Last summer, however, it appeared the road traveled by Sewruk and Gates would finally diverge. After long-time Red Dragon women's lacrosse coach Cyndy Wetmore decided to focus her efforts solely on the Cortland field hockey team, she called Sewruk (pronounced SEV-ruk) to offer her the interim coaching position for the 2008 season. Moving to the college ranks was something Sewruk had always wanted to do, and she was actually hoping to be Wetmore's assistant this year before the invitation was extended to be head coach.

"I was ecstatic, but I told [Wetmore] the only way I would take on the position is if I could hire someone I already knew," said Sewruk. "It was such a weird position and was so last minute, if I could work with someone I already knew I would be absolutely delighted to do it."

Hmmm, who could fit that bill?

After what was probably the shortest deliberation about a staff hire in lacrosse history, Sewruk gave Gates a jingle. Since Gates was also looking to make the jump to the college level - "things that you want to do and things that are possible are very different at the high school level," she said, laughing - there was little hesitation in accepting the position.

The tandem was back on track.

Shortly after welcoming Gates on board, Sewruk made the peculiar decision to abandon the traditional head coach/assistant coach dynamic, instead opting for the co-coach model. Some might argue having two head coaches would be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak, but knowing the history of these two it made perfect sense.

"Jeanna and I are pretty much equals," said Sewruk. "It's a unique situation this year so we decided that we are equals and will play equal roles in making decisions. We're good friends, so instead of doing a head coach and an assistant, why don't we just do co-coaches?"

Both Sewruk and Gates grew accustomed to coaching all parts of the field while coaching at the high school level, but they do have areas of expertise. Sewruk was an All-SUNYAC player for Cortland on defense while Gates was a two-time All-American on attack. As if to answer any further questions about their synergy, Sewruk finished her career with 211 ground balls while Gates scored ended with 211 goals (still a Red Dragon record).

The duo will have to utilize their knowledge working with a relatively young team. Gone are Ali Bourgal, Jennifer Willis and Andrea Venditti - a triumvirate accounting for 236 of the Red Dragons' 390 points (61%) last spring. Just four seniors remain on the roster this year and they will be asked to lead a Cortland squad hoping to extend its streak of nine-straight SUNYAC titles and accompanying NCAA berths.

Count them out, however, at your own peril.

"They're strong and they're inspired," said Sewruk of her team. "People have been saying that, `Oh, Cortland lost a lot of players,' but I think they're going to be surprised."

While the decision by Sewruk and Gates to establish co-coaches was based primarily on equality, it also has a root in necessity. With nearly an hour daily commute from Syracuse to Cortland there may be times during the season when one of the two may be delayed because of obligations to their teaching jobs.

"If I couldn't make it, absolutely, she'd be the one making the decisions," said Sewruk. "We make it work because the college has been great. They've been really flexible."

So far there haven't been any commuting problems. The co-coaches travel together each day, using the car as a second office with frequent phone calls and their teaching and coaching planners readily at hand. They arrive at Cortland, the school they love, each afternoon, continuing to build on a relationship that has been intertwined for a decade.

"We both have a passion for Cortland having played here," said Gates. "It definitely has a bigger cachet and has that nostalgia because we'd be able to help out where we were so successful. I would have taken her up on the offer to coach anywhere else close by, but it's the icing on the cake that we're back at Cortland."

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Have an idea for the Small College Scoop? Email Jac Coyne.