Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics. Anne O'byrne '13 returned to Mount Holyoke COllege, her alma mater, as Lacrosse head coach.
By Lauren Leese ’23
Staff Writer
This season, the Mount Holyoke Lacrosse team welcomed new head coach and College alum Anne O’Byrne ’13 back to the Lyons community. O’Byrne succeeds former Lacrosse Head Coach Miriam Esber, who was in the role for 14 seasons.
A lifelong athlete, O’Byrne grew up playing softball in Florida, and then switched to field hockey and lacrosse when she moved to New England at the age of nine. A series of surgeries — four in high school and a fifth in college — confirmed O’Byrne’s love for competing. “It kind of solidified the passion that I had for sport, … wanting to get back to it and the feeling of loss when I couldn’t,” she said.
O’Byrne played field hockey on the varsity team at Mount Holyoke College for four years, an experience which fueled her passion for coaching. “The field hockey team was a … community that I was really excited to be a part of,” O’Byrne said. “ I think that my experience, specifically the things that I learned as a student-athlete, really motivated me to want to share that same experience with student-athletes that I was coaching.”
Following her graduation from Mount Holyoke, O’Byrne coached at four other colleges, twice as head coach. She highlighted her time at Curry College as one of her most treasured professional achievements.
“We had our winning season my first year, which is kind of difficult to do, and we had at least two All-Conference players that year,” O’Byrne said. “That was a big one for me.”
In addition to her coaching positions, O’Byrne earned two master’s degrees, one in Sport Management with a concentration in Athlete Development and one Master of Science in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology with a concentration in Human Performance, both from the University of Florida.
“I got two degrees at one time, and I had two jobs, and it was probably the least sleep I’ve ever [gotten] in my life,” O’Byrne said. “It was very difficult but very rewarding.”
O’Byrne’s decision to coach at her alma mater came easily, thanks to her existing knowledge of Mount Holyoke’s atmosphere.
“As a coach, you always look for a place that you want to put roots down because you want to make an impact on the community,” O’Byrne said. “I just had a lot of faith in the community at Mount Holyoke … because of my student-athlete experience. I think I was always looking for a community that was very supportive, but also academically rigorous, and also where they expected a lot from their student-athletes. I knew that was going to be true here. … It’s hard to find places like that, [that] you feel a strong connection to, so this [school] was an obvious choice for me.”
In returning to Mount Holyoke, O’Byrne became colleagues with her former coach, Field Hockey Head Coach Andy Whitcomb, who alerted her to the open Lacrosse head coach position. “Coach [Whitcomb] does a great job of maintaining a network when we do leave,” O’Byrne said. “She makes herself … available to us as alums whenever we need her.” Speaking of their continuing relationship, O’Byrne said, “She’s very supportive of me, and she’s very reassuring that … if something’s hard, it’s okay.”
O’Byrne described her coaching philosophy as “holistic,” expressing a desire to be there for her players both on and off the field. “I really believe that coaching the whole person is super important,” O’Byrne said. “To push people to reach their potential and to make sure that they know that they have a safety net and support in any way they need it.”
The current lacrosse team lineup impressed O’Byrne with their existing team cohesion. “I love that they’re all quite different from one another,” O’Byrne said. “But they all seem to get along super well, which I think makes the hard work easier. So I think their sense of humor and … their intensity and willingness to do the hard work … has been the most enjoyable part [of coaching them] so far.”
“Our short term goals are to be competitive, as competitive as we can be,” O’Byrne said. “We have a great group of players right now. … I’m really excited about the dedication and intensity that they’re willing to bring to practice.”
O’Byrne emphasized her desire to continue the legacy of those who came before her. “I think that this program is very storied,” she said. “I have a lot of respect for [Esber] and the things that she did here. My biggest hope is to do her proud [and] do the program proud, … [to] show up and show out, [and] make Mount Holyoke a formidable name in the lacrosse world.”