Coach's Corner: Patricia Cottone

By Albert Chen

"It just wasn't for me," she said. "It didn't fit my personality." Cottone decided to leave her job at Andersen Consulting in Washington, D.C. to come back to what she really loved: lacrosse.

Cottone first took a job as an assistant coach at University of Connecticut, and last summer, she was hired by women's lacrosse head coach Amanda O'Leary to help build the Yale program into national prominence. They know each other well; O'Leary was an assistant coach for two years at Maryland, where Cottone was a standout.

"I was looking for someone who could come in and have an instant impact," O'Leary said. "She is a natural leader. [At Maryland], everyone looked up to her, everyone loved her."

Courtesy Sports Publicity Office

Cottone began playing lacrosse as a freshman at Radmor High School in Philadelphia, a city known for its strong lacrosse programs. She went on to a sensational career as a Terrapin--she was named three times as an All-American, and also received Academic All-American honors. Maryland reached the Final Four of the NCAA championships each of her four years, and in 1992, with O'Leary on the coaching staff, the Terps won the national championship.

Cottone looks to instill in Yale's players the positive attitude that brought her so much success. "I often tell the athletes here that I didn't believe we were the best necessarily, we just played our hearts out, and we weren't going to give up," she said.

Confidence is something that Cottone would like to focus on with the Bulldogs. She says that this year's squad needs to play "like it can play with anyone. We have to be more confident, more cocky. We can't play scared. We have to tell ourselves that we really can do this."

Cottone has seen the Yale program grow under O'Leary. One of the thrills of being on board, she said, is the opportunity to work with O'Leary again. "She's great to work with. It's a rare opportunity to learn to coach from one of the best players in the world."

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