The Virginia Tech women’s lacrosse program has experienced its fair share of turmoil in the past decade.
In the past five years, two head coaches have resigned while the team has amassed a record of 22-37, not including the current season. In July, former head coach Katrina Silva resigned, allowing the athletic department to promote former assistant coach and now interim-head coach Megan Burker.
Since Burker took over the program, significant changes have been made. The biggest, most noticeable difference is one of the team’s best starts in program history, notching an 8-4 record, including 1-1 in the ACC.
The wins for the team have helped the mentality of the players, according to Burker.
“We’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Burker said. “I think we’ve definitely shown that we still have a lot of growth to do and that kind of comes with consistency from game to game. I think the way that we started off the season set a huge tone for the direction that we want to go in.”
When Burker took over the job in July, immediate changes to the program were necessary in order to ensure winning seasons were in the future for the Hokies.
“At the beginning of the season, I had talked a little bit (to the players) about some of the things we had done to set a different foundation from the past,” Burker said. “I talked about creating a new foundation and getting back to the basics.
“We outlined that in the fall and then we turned to goal setting and really talked about specific goals so that they understood that if we’re going to turn this program around, we want to have a winning season.”
Burker emphasized the importance of the leadership the upperclassmen needed to show to the rest of the team.
“I think it was most important to spend the time in the fall talking about those things that we did,” Burker said. “Especially the leadership factor, how to talk to one another, how their closeness on the group could translate on the field. That’s the main challenge, because you know they’re all good friends, they all get along, but there’s a whole other level of trust and respect they need to play together.”
The players are buying into Burker’s new approach, and appreciate what she’s brought to the table as a head coach.
A version of this article appeared in the Mar 31 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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