Driven to be the best
4/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
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Watching Lauren Dykstra on the lacrosse field, the game seems to come natural to her. Weaving through defenses that are geared to stop her, Dykstra rifles a shot into the back of the net and leaves opponents scratching their collective heads as to how they can slow her down, which is easier said than done. Dykstra is blessed with terrific speed and vision, traits that any lacrosse player needs in order to be successful. But the thing that separates this former high school All-American is her tireless work ethic and the determination to be the best she can be. “I get frustrated if I don’t play well,” Dysktra says. “Sometimes my coach will have to take me out of the game just so I can calm down.”
She continues, “There is a quote in the movie A League of Their Own that says ‘If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it.’ I love that line and use it as motivation when I am training.”
Dykstra is known for coming early and staying late after practice to get in extra shooting with her coaches. “Lauren is instrumental in setting the tone of working hard,” Mountain Hawks head coach Jill Redfern says. “She sets the tone of intensity right from the start of practice and the other players feed off that. Her competitiveness is one of her greatest strengths.”
When asked if the success she had during her freshman season was expected, Dykstra emphatically replies, “Definitely not.” A native of New Jersey, Dykstra netted a Lehigh freshman record 64 goals during her first season in the Brown and White en route to earning the 2008 Patriot League Rookie of the Year award as well as First Team All-League laurels. “College lacrosse is so much harder than high school,” Dykstra explains. “I honestly did not know what to expect, but I met with (former Lehigh head coach) Liz (Brode) and Jill (Redfern) each week to discuss what I needed to work on and that helped a lot. Following the fall season I felt much more comfortable and gained confidence because I was able to make adjustments and realized I could play at this level.”
“Coming in I don’t think Lauren expected to have such a big freshman season,” Redfern explains. “But the coaching staff was confident she could play at this level. She had such a huge upside that we knew her skills would translate well to the college game.”
Dykstra says she was shocked and upset when she first heard the news that Brode was leaving her position as head coach following Lauren’s freshman year. But shock quickly turned to excitement and comfort when she realized that Redfern would be taking the reins of the program. “I was worried if a new coaching staff had come in that we’d all have to start over, but I was very happy to find out that Jill was staying.”
With Redfern now at the helm to lead the way, Dykstra took over from there as she helped push the 2009 Mountain Hawks to new heights as the team won its most games since 1996 and tied the school record for the most Patriot League victories. Dykstra picked up right where she left off scoring 67 goals and leading the nation in ground balls with 82. For her efforts Dykstra was honored as a First Team Regional All-American and was also selected as the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, an award no Lehigh player had won since the mid-90’s. In addition she was named to the 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List, which is comprised of the top lacrosse players from across the country and across all three divisions of collegiate lacrosse.
“To be honest I thought my numbers would go down,” Dykstra admits. “I expected that teams would focus on stopping me, but really the credit goes to the girls I played on attack with. We have so many great players on our team that opponents can’t just focus on me.”
It’s this type of team-first attitude that played a key role in Dykstra’s teammates selecting her as a captain early in her junior year. “It’s a bit unusual to have a junior be elected captain,” Redfern explains. “But it’s a testament to Lauren’s work ethic and her dedication to the sport of lacrosse. Her teammates see how important winning is to LD and that rubs off on them.” She continues, “I think her selflessness coupled with the relationship she has with her teammates is critical to her success as a leader."
Julie Sterrett, who serves as Leadership Coordinator for the Lehigh Athletics Department, has worked closely with Dykstra on developing her leadership traits and has seen marked growth from the lacrosse star. “Lauren is one of the fiercest competitors within our department and quickly earned credibility as a valuable contributor on her team,” Sterrett explains. “Even more impressive however, is Lauren’s commitment to her leadership development. By listening, challenging the status quo, and by developing relationships with teammates, Lauren has emerged as a more confident, respected and effective leader for her team.”
“My role on the team this year has definitely changed,” Dykstra says. “I used to lead by example, but now I’ve tried to become more vocal. We’re a very close team and I try and treat everyone the same; that’s how it was for me when I was a freshman and I think that’s the mentality of our team. We have so much talent, but we’re only focused on winning.”
Dykstra admits there was a big adjustment in the classroom when she first arrived at Lehigh. “Academics are tough here,” she says, “but Liz and Jill were extremely helpful in terms of making sure I stayed on top of my coursework and arranging extra help for my more difficult classes.” Fast forward two years and Dykstra is beginning to realize the career path she wants to follow. A Management major, she is currently searching for internships in the business world for the 2010 summer.
With a focus towards launching her business career once she has graduated, Dykstra says that Negotiating, a class she is taking this semester has proven to be one of her favorites. “It’s a skill that I’ll definitely need in the business world and I’ve enjoyed it a lot.”
Professor Liuba Belkin, who teaches Dykstra’s Negotiating class, says the skills Lauren learns in the class can be applied to many other real life situations. “The course is very hands-on and teaches strategies that will help Lauren when she speaks with her coaches and teammates during practices and games. Lauren is a good student and she’s performing well in my class; she’s very proactive and upfront in terms of letting me know when she will miss class due to lacrosse. Most students wait until the last minute to notify me but she is a very responsible student.”
Dykstra aspires to one day work in Human Resource Management and as she continues to work towards her goal, she has a pair of wonderful role models to turn to for guidance and advice. That pair of role models is her parents, Karen and Doug, who themselves have experienced a great deal of success in the business world. “My parents and my older brother have a great work ethic and are very supportive of me,” Dykstra says. “Since my freshman year of high school one of my parents has been at every single one of my games, and I played three sports during high school. They’re my biggest supporters and great influences because of how successful they’ve been. I’ve seen them rewarded for all of their hard work.”
“Lauren is always happy to talk about what her parents mean to her,” Redfern comments. “She has impeccable character and knows how to do the right thing.”
With her junior year winding down and her senior season looking as though it may be the end of her lacrosse playing days, Dykstra has simple goals from here on out. “We want to win the Patriot League Tournament.” She continued, “Each year we’ve gotten better and it feels good to know that we helped raise the level of the program. But we want to keep getting better; there is so much time invested as a Division I student-athlete that if you aren’t going to give it everything you have, what’s the point?”
Redfern echoes Dykstra’s comments. “We want to see her continue to improve. I think Lauren is somewhere on the spectrum of how good she can be, but she’s not there yet. She doesn’t always think she is producing as much as she can and that is what makes her so successful – she is never satisfied.”
