When Grand Valley State University women’s lacrosse head coach Alicia Groveston applied for the position two years ago, she never thought she would fall in love with West Michigan and the first-ever Laker program so quickly.

Born and raised in Annapolis, Md., lacrosse wasn’t the first competitive sport Groveston excelled in. While attending Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, she participated on both of the women’s varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams. After two years, she transferred to Salisbury University, located on the East Coast, to continue her lacrosse career.

There, she led her team to an NCAA Regional Championship appearance. She was not only smart on the field but off earning regional All-American honors both years.

But when Groveston visited GVSU’s campus for the first time, she knew it was where her home was supposed to be.

“It was a combination of a lot of things that made me choose Grand Valley,” Groveston said. “It was the excitement that the school shared, which was mirrored by myself, the support the other programs gave me making me feel like I wasn’t going to be alone. I knew that I had 30,000 people already behind the program within the faculty, students and staff. The environment and the culture of Grand Valley create the opportunity of a lifetime.”

With the success the Laker athletic programs have had in the past, the task of building a program from ground up didn’t scare her away.

“Success doesn’t happen overnight,” Groveston said. “We are able to create our own tradition and I saw that as a unique opportunity when I accepted the job. It’s not a deterrent to start a new program; it’s actually a benefit. I plan on us being successful right away.”

Success isn’t the only aspect Groveston wants to convey to her athletes but more importantly mixing a “twinge” of laughter and seriousness makes up her coaching style. Groveston and assistant coach Erika Walker have been able to build up a relationship with their athletes during practices thus far making sure to use humor to push them enjoy working even harder.

“We compliment each other,” Walker said. “Our personalities are similar. Sometime she’s more of the jokester and I am more serious one day and then the next day our roles have flipped-flopped. I think we have something really great here.”

Beyond the duties of being a head coach, Groveston strongly believes in helping out the community. Recently she was honored with the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Collegiate Association Service Award (IWLCA) for participating with the Lax-4-Life campaign that provides support towards adolescent and young adult suicide prevention awareness.

Not only does Groveston want her players to understand the game of lacrosse but also to get them to understand that there is more to life besides winning or losing a game.

“With every learning moment, her energy transfers over to us to continue to work hard on the field and off and to not give up,” said junior captain Allyson Fritts. “It’s been a roller coaster that you really don’t want to get off of.”

The Lakers first-ever home game is on March 16 against Lindenwood University.

“We are the new toy, so hopefully people want to come and play with the new toy,” Groveston said. “Lacrosse is a sport that we want to share with everyone on campus. Its finally our turn to give back.”

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