Cabrini College, home of the Cavaliers, has two legit lacrosse programs on campus.
Coach Jackie Neary is the spirit of Cabrini College. Her roots at Cabrini runs deep. Being the first full-time coach at the College, Coach Neary has been the Head Women’s Lacrosse and Field Hockey Coach for nearly 20 years. The best way to describe Jackie is, she has it. “It” is hard to describe. One thing we do know for sure, she’s the type of person you want to be around. Her passion and enthusiasm for the game is contagious. Her positive spirit engages you and makes you want to be around her.
We had the pleasure of spending lunch with Coach Neary and her two daughters. Coach Neary has a daughter who’s a current sophomore on the Cabrini Women’s Field Hockey & Lacrosse Teams. Her youngest daughter is a sophomore High School student who is currently going through the recruiting process.
The best part of lunch was hearing all the stories about the Cabrini Women’s alumni and families who have stayed connected with the Program. It’s a pleasure to hear about the impact Coach Neary has made on her ladies throughout their collegiate years and beyond. The fact that Coach Naery gives her girls such a great college experience shows they are more than a collegiate lacrosse team, they’re a collegiate lacrosse Program. Adding to that great experience, Coach Neary makes sure to fundraise and send her team on 1 big trip every 4 years. She’s taken her to team to play in San Diego, London, and Tokyo! She understands the value of those types of experiences for her girls. She told us that those trips are remembered for a lifetime.
After meeting with Coach Neary, we went down the hall to the office of Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Steve Colfer. Similar to Coach Neary, Steve Colfer is very educated on Cabrini College. Aside from being the Head Men’s Lacrosse coach, Steve serves as the Assistant Director of Athletics, working closely with the college’s enrollment management division. Coach Colfer’s experience with the admissions process at Cabrini comes in handy as he looks to sell potential studletes on the school. He has a deep understanding of what it takes to play and attend Cabrini College. This helps when talking to recruits because Coach Colfer can discuss the details of getting academic scholarship money with families of potential recruits.
Coach Colfer not only aims to get good students into Cabrini, he aims high when it comes to the player’s he looks to recruit. One comment he made that really stood out, “we recruit Division I talent to come play Division III.” Coach Colfer doesn’t look for Division III Showcases to recruit players. He goes to the top recruiting tournaments, he watches the top High School players, and he does what he can to get them onto Cabrini’s campus. Coach Colfer is all about quality. While some Division III Programs have 18 to 25 players per recruiting class, Coach Colfer brings in 10 to 12. “Of the thousands of talented High School lacrosse recruits in the country, if I cat find 10 to 12 that want to come to Cabrini, then I’m not in the right business.” I really like his mentality. Instead of bringing in tons of kids and hoping a couple pan out, Coach Colfer brings in studletes he really wants and players that really want to come. Coach Colfer doesn’t take his job lightly, he strives to build one of the best Division III Programs in the country.
It’s no surprise that both Cabrini coaches hold a commanding 457-167 all-time record as coaches of the Cavaliers. Being around two winning coaches, at 1 school, was such a rewarding experience. It was so nice to see the synergy between the Men’s & Women’s Lacrosse Programs. With two different styles, both coaches share one thing, enthusiasm for developing studletes at the collegiate level.
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