When head women's lacrosse coach Kirsten Kimel had her second child Nov. 1, the demand for baby-sitters doubled. Her players, the preseason No. 1 Blue Devils, were more than happy to oblige.
"I'm really lucky. I have a great group of kids and they baby-sit for me all the time," Kimel said. "I usually have two of them come over and take care of them for me."
The members of the 2003 lacrosse team relish the time with their coach's children, particularly when they stop by the team's notoriously rigorous practices.
"When the kids come, it's not so rigid," redshirt junior Meghan Walters said. "There's a relaxed atmosphere, but not so much that it's an easy atmosphere. Relaxed as in you see Kirsten as a mother and as a wife and as coach and as a friend."
Kimel has been that and more to the Duke program over the years, building the lacrosse team from scratch in 1996 to one of the nation's premier teams. The Blue Devils have been the preseason No. 1 team for two consecutive years, have consistently landed many of the nation's best recruits and are a staple in the NCAA tournament, advancing to the Elite Eight four times and the Final Four in 1999.
Last season, Duke was beleaguered by an injury-laden season, as seven contributing players, including All-Americans Kate Kaiser and Walters, were hampered by injuries.
"That's where pretty much all of our injuries occurred last year were defensively, so we were forced to play younger kids," Kimel said.
Those younger players have learned many lessons from the 2002 campaign, and coupled with the anticipation of the return of last year's injured players, the Blue Devils are healthy and brimming with eager talent.
"I think we're really excited about this season. I think it's going to be our best year ever," senior Lauren Gallagher said.
Gallagher, a second-team All-America selection, will lead the way for a Duke offense that relies on constant motion and quick reactions. Her numbers were impressive last season, particularly since she often played both offensive and defensive positions in the same game.
"At times last year, she put the team on her back and carried us," Kimel said. "Last year she proved she could be an effective player on both sides of the field," Kimel said. "I do think that what's exciting is that this year she's going to be able to focus more on offense and being a leader on offense because we have the depth defensively."
The return of Kaiser, last year's preseason player of the year, provides a boost to the entire Blue Devil squad. So plentiful are the abilities of Kaiser--she has already accumulated 113 goals in her Duke career--that she was named to the 50th Anniversary ACC women's lacrosse team. And though the return from several months of rehabilitation was difficult, Kaiser is quickly showing signs of her old form.
"I feel like she's back to herself, back to where she's moving better physically," Kimel said. "She's a lot more confident. She's not playing timidly at all."
The Blue Devils are feeding off Kaiser's return and are confident going into the season, despite the difficulty of their schedule and conference, as the ACC is generally considered the most competitive conference in the nation.
"Virginia is going to be one of the top teams in the conference along with us," Kaiser said. "Carolina and Maryland will be just as good. All three of them give us good games."
The Blue Devils will also square off this season against both last season's national runner-up and champion, Georgetown and Princeton, respectively. The Tigers graduated a bevy of players, but were recently voted the preseason No. 1 pick in the lacrosse coaches poll. Duke was rated at the top of a few of the many other polls the sport produces.
And though the Blue Devils' schedule is hardly child's play, the goal of the lacrosse team this year is simple.
"The national championship," echoed Walters, Kaiser and Gallagher. Kimel hopes that when late May rolls around and the NCAA championship is being played, she will not be able to rely on her team for their baby-sitting services.
"We have the potential to do incredible things this year," she said. "Our goal is to win the national championship, and we certainly have the talent to do it."
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