Brooke Ireland enters her second season at the helm of the William and Mary
lacrosse program.
After W&M lost six starters to graduation, including a pair of All-Americans,
in the spring of 2011, Ireland's first season in Williamsburg proved to be
somewhat of a rebuilding year. However, despite playing one of the nation's
toughest schedules, which included six opponents ranked among the nation's top
10, the Tribe consistently put forth outstanding efforts and narrowly missed
out on a number of victories. In addition to being edged by just a single goal
in four of its losses, W&M nearly defeated No. 9 Penn State on the road in
a narrow 9-7 setback.
A number of Tribe players also achieved tremendous success individually
under Ireland's direction, as five W&M standouts combined to earn six
all-conference honors. Sarah Mulvey, Kyrstin Mackrides, Katie Stillwell and
Lucy Ferguson all garnered second-team distinction, while Ferguson and Kaleigh
Noon earned all-rookie team accolades.
In addition to the Tribe's success on the field, a number of
student-athletes also excelled in the classroom as 20 players earned the CAA
Commissioner's Academic Award.
Ireland came to the College with an extensive coaching background that
included serving as the head coach at Virginia Tech. During her tenure leading
the Hokies from 1998-01, she guided the team to its best single-season record
in school history and garnered a top-20 national ranking. Additionally, she led
VT to a conference championship and was honored as the Atlantic 10 Coach of the
Year in 1999.
Prior to taking over the head coaching duties at Virginia Tech, Ireland
served as the head coach for Victoria's junior and senior state teams in Australia.
She led both squads to runner-up finishes in the Australian National
Championships while combining to post an impressive 10-2 record.
In addition to her international and collegiate coaching experience, Ireland
served as an assistant coach at Collegiate School (Richmond, Va.) for 10 years
while also coaching the Geronimo Lacrosse League Elite Team from 2003-11.
An outstanding collegiate player, Ireland set numerous defensive records at
Virginia Tech and captained the squad in 1995 and 1996. After graduating with a
bachelor's of science degree in exercise science in 1996, she trained with the
Australian National Lacrosse Team and competed for the Williamstown Lacrosse
Club.
Ireland is married to former Virginia All-American goalie, James Ireland, and
the couple has three children, Jack (9), Briggs (7) and Bowan (4). They reside
in Richmond, Va.
