A Conversation with Kim Williams from Wesleyan University

Introduction

We caught up with Wesleyan University Women’s Lacrosse Coach Kim Williams for a discussion about the Wesleyan lacrosse program and what she looks for when recruiting student-athletes.

You can find our conversation below.

Thanks to Kim for taking the time to educate those interested in Wesleyan!

Wesleyan will be in attendance at the D3 Fall Lacrosse Showcase on October 22nd. Click Here To Learn More and Register to the D3 Fall Lacrosse Showcase.

The Conversation

What are you most excited about with regards to your program?

I am most excited about the growth the program has made and the opportunity to coach in such a competitive and challenging league.

What jumps out at you when recruiting? What do you look for in a player?

When I’m recruiting, a players work ethic jumps out at me. If they have a strong work ethic, positive attitude, and keep their head up after mistakes, that’s always a good sign. It’s also about watching the player off ball and seeing how they are involved and how they are interacting with their teammates.

What are your “pet peeves” when recruiting?

Pet Peeves with recruiting are when players are not hustling, or if they are getting frustrated with mistakes.

What is the best way interested student-athletes should get in touch with you?

What should student-athletes avoid in their messaging to college coaches?

Student-athletes should make sure to keep their emails short and direct. It is much easier to read through. Also, we want to make sure that it is coming from the student-athlete rather from the parent. It is also important to make sure the email is personalized to that coach/school, and not a mass email sent out.

How would you describe your coaching style?

My coaching style is intense, passionate and supportive. I work to push my players to reach their full potential and ensure they are giving 100% in everything they do. Myself and my staff are honest and direct about the role we need players to be on the team, while always pushing them to strive and push for more to make the team successful.

Walk us through your timeline when recruiting a student athlete?

Our timeline begins with either a introductory email from the student-athlete or our staff identifying the student-athlete from an event. Once the student-athlete is in our recruiting database, we ensure that we continue to watch that athlete play in various events or at our clinic on campus in order to give feedback and continue to evaluate that player. It is also very important for our student athletes to keep us updated on their academics throughout the process.

What kind of players succeed at your program?

The players that are most successful in our program are those that work the hardest, are great teammates and team players that are willing to do what is takes for the team to be successful and that are able to balance the demands of athletics and academics.

What’s your recruiting strategy going into an event? After an event?

Our recruiting strategy is to ensure that we see all the student athletes that reached out to us ahead of time (not two days before) and work out a schedule to balance seeing each player in addition to the club teams we want to watch.

Once again, thanks to Kim for her time, and best of luck to Wesleyan this season!

Wesleyan will be in attendance at the D3 Fall Lacrosse Showcase on October 22nd. Join Coach Williams & 40+ other college coaches at D3 Fall Showcase.

Coach Williams is one of the many coaches to recruit at our premier showcases. Click below to see the full list of coaches attending our events. Register today!