Since arriving at Hiram College in 2015 as a student-athlete, Alec Eldridge has made Hiram his second home. On July 22nd, the Hiram Athletic Department announced that the 2019 graduate had been selected as the new women’s lacrosse coach.
“It comes at a good time,” Eldridge said. “I will say that just having previously worked with football, my first football room had more people in it than my current lacrosse team. I think I am in a good step already with coaching and I am not a rookie coach. I come in and I know how to get the ball going, know how to get them to commit and want to be here, make them want to push themselves.”
Eldridge has served as the defensive line coach for the Hiram football program since 2022 and held a volunteer coaching role with the men’s lacrosse program from 2021-2024. Since 2023, Eldridge has worked full time as Hiram’s Director of Peak Performance & Fitness.
The Hiram alum said that the Hiram Athletic Department contacted him several weeks ago to gauge his interest in taking over the women’s lacrosse program, being informed that Coach Maddie Wilson would not be returning for a second season.
Eldridge acknowledged he was a latecomer to the sport of lacrosse, having only begun playing in his senior year, but that one year left an impact on him.
“It was one of those sports I had a ton of fun with the guys made it fun, Coach Brian Jenkins made it fun, so I wanted to give back to the program that had poured into me,” he noted.
Eldridge inherits a program that is just in its second year since being revived after being discontinued in 2020. Last year, the Terrier women’s lacrosse team returned to post a 1-13 (1-8) record, but Eldridge is confident that he can get off to a fast start.
According to him, there will be many starters returning to the team for the 2027 spring season. He is already familiar with most of them, having already spent time with them during lift sessions as the Director of Peak Performance & Fitness.
“I will say that I believe that I have the full support of Athletic Director Scott Pohlman and the athletic staff,” noted Eldridge. “When he presented me with the job, he explained how the athletes all around campus have a good rapport with me. I already have a connection with those athletes and Hiram. I just wanted to continue to push the school to be better.”
Eldridge arrived in Hiram to play football, competed on the gridiron for all four years and played lacrosse in his senior year.
He played many positions, first as a face-off specialist, then moving into short-stick defensive midfielder and then as a long-stick midfielder.
Eldridge credited the then-men’s lacrosse Coach Brian Jenkins for not only teaching him the game but showing him respect despite being a newcomer to the sport.
“He also showed me a good way to run a program. Being in multiple programs, I liked the lacrosse approach a little better,” he added. “He held us accountable but knew how to do it without getting on us too hard. The guys on the team hold each other accountable. Just as I came in, I was brand new to the program as a senior and he respected me and treated me as a senior and not a freshman or a first-year.”
Following his graduation from Hiram, Eldridge returned to his alma matter KIPP Memphis Preparatory School to serve as the elementary school physical education teacher but returned to Hiram in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He secured a volunteer coaching role on the football team and was promoted to defensive line coach the next summer but also lent a hand as a volunteer coach for the men’s lacrosse program under Jenkins, primarily working with the face-off specialists.
Eldridge has embedded himself in Hiram athletics and sees his new coaching role as just another way to give back to Hiram College.
“I have already reached out to the team, we have gotten everything going and set up, ready to rock when they come back to campus,” he said. “I have a goal about how many people I bring in and where I want to bring them in from. I believe if we can follow that plan, we will be in a good spot.”
