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Just a hard day’s work for ‘Larsen
Jen Larsen, former North
Carolina assistant, joins
the Ducks as the new head
coach of women’s lacrosse
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
For Jen Larsen, life has been a
rush lately.
Moving from the East Coast, living
with her real estate agent and accept
ing the Oregon women's lacrosse
head coaching position have all been
nothing short of hectic.
"It's been a whirlwind," Larsen
said. "1 feel like I'm just spinning with
everything. I'm learning the ropes
and figuring out how things get done,
and spreading the word about Ore
gon lacrosse."
But Larsen thrives on challenges
and knows it will be an uphill battle,
both in establishing a team and learn
ing about herself.
"I'm just excited about the oppor
tunity and thrilled to be here," Larsen
said. "I'm pleased with the interest
that I'm getting from some of the top
athletes. I'm really excited about the
fact that the word is spread about Ore
gon and students are excited about it."
The announcement came in late July
for Larsen, who will lead the Ducks into
lacrosse intercollegiate competition in
the 2004-05 school year. Although
Larsen has never held a head coaching
position, she has experience in assistant
coaching for the sport.
Larsen, a University of Virginia
graduate, has been an assistant coach
at University of North Carolina for
the past three years. When she heard
about the opening of a program at
Oregon, she sent in her resume.
Prior to being a Tar Heel, Larsen
was an assistant coach and camp di
rector for the field hockey program at
Duke University from 1998 to 2000.
The former Cavalier graduate also
worked at Georgetown from 1996 to
1998 as an assistant lacrosse and field
hockey coach.
For Larsen, the West Coast is entire
ly new. Despite having a few relatives
up and down the seaboard, Larsen
hasn't visited Oregon since her youth.
"I'd only been here on a family trip
as we drove cross-country," she said.
"I'd only been to Crater Lake, and that's
the only thing of the state of Oregon
that I remembered my whole life."
Larsen made her return over the
July 4 weekend during the interview
process, and it was a little different
than she remembered — or at least
Eugene was.
"During my whole interview I could
n't find anything I didn't love about this
place," Larsen said. "And it got to a
point where I was walking around like,
'All right there has got to be something.'
And I really left wanting and just
dreaming about getting this job."
That dream has come true for the 29
year-old Larsen, who describes herself
Jessica Waters Photo Editor
Oregon lacrosse head coach Jen Larsen takes some time away from her busy schedule to
illustrate the equipment used in the sport, as many on the West Coast are unfamiliar.
as energetic, passionate and fun.
"Our search and our pool of candi
dates was unbelievable," Athletic Di
rector Bill Moos said July 29 in a press
conference. '"Ihe one that we selected
rose above (the others) quite dramati
cally, in my opinion. We are very
thrilled that Jen Larsen has agreed to
be an Oregon Duck."
And thus the journey began in
starting a team from scratch. Larsen
will look to her mentor in North Car
olina, women's head coach Jenny
Slingluff Levy, who also started her
program from the ground up.
Larsen's first task included hosting
a summer clinic camp on Aug. 16.
The camp brought in high school ath
letes from across the state for a chance
to improve their skills, meet Larsen
and play alongside some U.S. nation
al team players.
"It was fantastic," Larsen said of the
clinic. "There's some kids that drove
over four hours to the clinic and that
is really exciting. There's going to be
more opportunities and more clinics
but the most exciting part was they
were the first ever players to be in
volved in a lacrosse scrimmage on
Oregon's campus."
Larsen's hope in the future is to
have as many Oregon athletes on her
roster as possible.
"I know that there are some really
fine athletes in this state and they're
starting to fall in love with lacrosse as a
lot of people have on the East Coast,"
she said. "I want kids to dream about
playing lacrosse at Oregon."
The most recent addition to the new
staff is assistant coach Robert Bray. Bray
is a former four-year lacrosse coach at
St Mar/s College of Maryland and was
one of the other candidates who ap
plied for Larsen's position.
Larsen also realizes the challenge of
familairizing the community to the
sport of lacrosse. 'Ihe realization came
in a conference before the Sept. 6
Nevada football game where Larsen
got to speak and ask, "How many of
you have seen lacrosse?"
"I was really surprised with how
many people raised their hands,"
she said.
Larsen's next question, "Well, how
many of those people have seen
women's lacrosse, not men's lacrosse?"
The response?
"Two people still had their hands
up," she said. "So I definitely have my
work cut out for me to introduce peo
ple to the game."
For Larsen, adjusting to this new
lifestyle has not been easy. The major
ity of her furniture and belongings re
main on the East Coast as she contin
ues the moving process. And in her
spare time she is looking to do some
white-water rafting and kayaking.
"I love nature, I love being outside,"
said Larsen, who has been in Eugene
since July 27." I'm just taking it a day
at a time at this point. It's a whole new
life out here."
But thus far, Eugene has seemed the
perfect fit for the 1993 lacrosse na
tional champion. And the over
whelming feeling that is Oregon ath
letics has not scared Larsen a bit.
"I've just been surrounded by big
time athletics my whole life," she said.
"I'm an athlete down to the very last
part of me. I feel excited and honored
to be part of it because it is such a big
time athletic department. You just
pull up into this facility and almost
get chills, it's so cool."
Larsen's team will ..ake to Pape
Field and begin competition at the
start of the 2004-05 school year. She
hopes to have some athletes signed to
the roster by November in her ever
continuing crazy schedule.
Contact the sports reporter
at jessethomas@dailyemerald.com.
016958
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