Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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HEATHER DOW Volunteer Assistant Coach, Women's Lacrosse Q: Tell us about your coaching experience at UVA. How did you get here? How has coaching shaped who you are today? A: I started coaching as a volunteer and then became a part-time coach (while teaching full-time in Albemarle County) when Julie Myers took over as head coach. After a few years off from coaching, I returned as a volunteer assistant. Coaching has been a part of my entire adult life and I cherish the many opportunities I've had to work with outstanding student-athletes at UVA and my other coaching stops. Being a middle school teacher and a college coach simultaneously while at UVA forced me to adapt my teaching to the needs and challenges presented by each group of students, those in my classroom and those on the lacrosse field. Q: What did your UVA student-athlete scholarship mean to you? (If not a scholarship, what did your student-athlete experience mean?) A: My scholarship allowed me to stay an extra year at UVA to use up my eligibility in both field hockey and lacrosse. Also, it allowed me to continue to improve and chase my dream of playing for the US Lacrosse Team. Q: Why do you give back to support your program? A: I give back so that other young women and men can also enjoy the privilege of receiving the outstanding education and athletic experience that UVA offers. Q: Provide a quote that has impacted your coaching career. A: "You haven't taught until they have learned." - John Wooden JULIE MYERS Head Coach, Women's Lacrosse Q: Tell us about your coaching experience at UVA. How did you get here? How has coaching shaped who you are today? A: Mid spring of my senior year in high school, Jane Miller (the Head Coach) called me and offered me the opportunity along with a small grant to play Field Hockey and Lacrosse at Virginia. From there, we had great success and tournament runs that led to a NCAA Championship Title and I was hooked. I always knew I wanted to do something in sports and as I matured throughout my career, I realized that that something was coaching. I finished playing as a graduate student in 1991 and after one year away from Grounds, I returned to complete my graduate degree in teaching and was lucky to join the women's lacrosse staff as a grad assistant. What I didn't realize was that opportunity would forever impact my adult life and life as I know it today. After being a grad assistant in 1992-1993, I became the full time assistant 1993-1995 and then the head coach by the fall of 1995. This is year 29 as a head coach but year 37 as either a player or a coach in our storied program. Coaching at Virginia has been the single biggest influence in my life and what I will always be most grateful for. I raised three kids at UVA where Klöckner and the practice fields were their playground. To raise kids alongside of a team of powerful, smart, hardworking and dedicated student-athletes was the ace in my pocket and what all of us benefited from beyond words. Q: What did your UVA student-athlete scholarship mean to you? (If not a scholarship, what did your student-athlete experience mean?) A: My mom always loved sports and still does and knew that if I got the chance, I would love to be a collegiate student-athlete. My dad was a cardiac surgeon that didn't really understand what I loved to do or why, and he didn't see the value in competing in sports. But getting a scholarship validated the opportunity for my dad which at some level was important to me. Q: Why do you give back to support your program? A: To that end, my family always re-donated my scholarship back to the VAF so that others could benefit in the same ways I did and that is something I continue to do today. Virginia Athletics, the VAF and Virginia Lacrosse will always be central to my life, to my success, to my memories and relationships. I am forever grateful to say the very least. As a student-athlete, I got to compete in 7 NCAA Tournaments between my two sports which is pretty amazing. Q: Provide a quote that has impacted your coaching career. A: "I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." - Thomas Jefferson GEORGE GELNOVATCH Head Coach, Men's Soccer Q: Tell us about your coaching experience at UVA. How did you get here? How has coaching shaped who you are today? A: I played soccer at UVA from 1983-1986, graduated in the spring of 1987. After graduation, I went on to play in a couple of professional leagues. In 1989 I was considering going to law school. As I was contemplating that option, I reached out to Bruce Arena (UVA Men's Soccer Head Coach) and joined the team as a volunteer coach. A month after we won the National Championship in the fall of 1989, I decided to coach, thanks to Bruce. In 1991, we won another National Championship and that secured my career path towards being a soccer coach. Q: What did your UVA student-athlete scholarship mean to you? (If not a scholarship, what did your student-athlete experience mean?) A: Having a full scholarship was an extraordinary experience. This place shaped me into who I am today as a coach, father and person. It wasn't just about having success on the field and was such a special experience. Q: Why do you give back to support your program? A: If I ask guys to stay engaged and support at the level they feel comfortable with, it's important that I do the same. Q: Provide a quote that has impacted your coaching career. A: From my favorite book, "Great by Choice", "There are so many things in sport and in life that are uncontrollable. The strong and successful refuse to let things out of their control and dictate their life." GEORGE GELNOVATCH HEATHER DOW JULIE MYERS