Coach Maddie Wilson has always lived by a simple motto: live, love and ‘lax.
The longtime collegiate assistant women’s lacrosse coach is getting her first chance to lead a program, having been announced as Hiram College’s new women’s lacrosse coach on Aug. 7.
“It is extremely special that they are allowing me to jump in and be a part of this restart as a program,” Wilson told The Weekly Villager on Aug. 15. “I like to uphold high standards; by having a fresh start and creating it myself, bringing in an entire class for next year, I get to develop it with high standards from the start.”
Wilson had previously served as an assistant girls’ lacrosse coach at her alma matter, Chagrin Falls High School, this past spring. Prior to that she spent two seasons as an assistant women’s lacrosse coach at the University of Akron, but decided to leave the program last January in search of a fresh start.
According to Wilson, after the high school lacrosse season ended, she was recruited by Hiram men’s lacrosse Coach Jason Griffith, who had previously been Kenston’s boys’ lacrosse coach, to resurrect the women’s lacrosse program which had not been active since the 2020 season.
Wilson said that after she took a tour of the campus and spoke with Hiram Athletic Director Scott Pohlman, she said the fit felt right. It marks the second time she will serve as a head women’s lacrosse coach, having done so in her first year at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike when she was thrust into the role of interim head coach.
The women’s lacrosse team’s first season will not take place until the spring of 2026, which gives Wilson plenty of time to work on her first recruiting class. While she recruits players, she will also try to improve the relationship between the incoming group of freshmen and the alumni who played on Hiram’s women’s lacrosse teams earlier.
“I have my program bricks which are the foundation and values of the program that I want to create with the players. Those four bricks are respect, excellence, loyalty and commitment,” she noted. “All four of these bricks are what builds our foundation and what we will live by and play by and excel in classes by,”
Growing up Chagrin Falls, Wilson acknowledged that lacrosse was not a sport she instantly fell in love with but instead played ice hockey, a sport her father competed in.
She said that she was recruited to play lacrosse when she was in middle school, as the Chagrin Falls’ team was looking for a new goalkeeper. Although Wilson had never played goalie in hockey, she was not afraid of the contact a lacrosse goalkeeper would experience.
“I think the sports are very different, but the fast pace is the same, especially for women’s lacrosse. Women’s lacrosse has been developing exponentially speeding up the game and rule changes to keep the pace going,” she added. “It has been really incredible to see that and be a part of that.”
Wilson played goalie for the varsity team in all four years of high school and competed in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II State Final Four three times out of four years, including playing in the state championship match during her senior year.
She noted that playing lacrosse at Chagrin Falls was a memorable experience but it was even more special playing for Coach K.C. White.
“She is the most incredible person; I don’t know if I would be coaching today, actually, if it was not for her and her guidance,” Wilson said.
Wilson went on the play four years of lacrosse at Capital University. After graduating with a degree in psychology, she spent four seasons at Ursuline College, then two years at Longwood University and two more seasons at the University of Akron before she returned to her alma matter as an assistant coach for the 2024 spring season, coaching alongside White.
Although she enjoyed getting the chance to coach with her former high school coach, Wilson yearned to return to the collegiate ranks because she had developed a love for coaching players who had just graduated high school and preparing them for the real world.
Now she will have the opportunity to do so once again by inheriting a program that is still in its infancy stage. Despite Hiram’s women’s lacrosse program being new, Wilson is ready to thrive.
“I have a strong youthful energy and a lot of experience and knowledge of different levels of the game,” she said. “I think our values just aligned with us wanting to inspire athletes and build something strong here that is going to be successful.”
