during her junior year at Bay Shore (N.Y.) High. Under Amonte Hiller’s tutelage, Leonard burst onto the scene in 2011 as one of the college game’s elite draw control specialists and a dynamic two- way defender. She was named the ALC’s Rookie of the Year. There’s no doubting Leonard’s athletic
ability. She earned 14 varsity letters during her prep career: five in volleyball, four in softball, three in basketball and two in lacrosse. She quit softball after being named an All-American as a freshman and sophomore because she “got a little bored with it. I kind of wanted something new,” she said.
Amonte Hiller saw Leonard’s elite athleticism on display at her summer camp. “You can see a level of speed and quickness, an ability to go beyond,” she said. “Alyssa is probably one of the most talented kids in terms of hand speed and quickness that I’ve seen play the game or take the draw.” And there’s no doubting Leonard’s competitive fire. After she quit softball, several of her high school friends questioned the decision when she didn’t
play much in the first lacrosse scrimmage of the season. “They were like, ‘How does it feel to sit on the bench? You could have been a starter.’ That was motivation. I had something to prove, since I left a sport that had been such a big part of my life and I invested so much time in. I didn’t want to do lacrosse just do to it, or just to have something to run around with after school.”
After the recruiting camp ended, Leonard visited Amonte Hiller’s office to discuss a potential scholarship offer. “Do I even have a chance of getting on the field? What are the odds that I’m actually going to play?” she asked. “I don’t do well sitting on the bench. I want to be able to play.” “Absolutely,” Amonte Hiller replied. The way she said it, Leonard knew the coach had faith in her yet-to-be-developed abilities. “As long as you work hard, continue to get better, be a sponge, you will be able to succeed.’”
Leonard has since succeeded in a variety of positions — another hallmark of Amonte Hiller’s player development model. She forces players to be well rounded and work outside their comfort zones. In practice, Amonte Hiller often makes attackers play defense while defenders run through the team’s offense. Leonard started her freshman year as a midfielder. Then she moved to attack. Then she became an attack-middie hybrid. And then she moved to low defense, where she has played since. “A lot of what we do is, if you can catch the ball on the back of your stick, you can catch the ball on the front of your stick two times better. When you’re running, if you can throw the ball behind your back with one hand and a defender on you, then why couldn’t you do it during the game?” Leonard said. “At one practice Kelly said, ‘We need a spark, so we’re going to try you at defense.’ I was like, ‘We need a spark, so I’m playing defense. Whatever that means.’ But she did it, I went along with it, and it worked. What Kelly does is really special. She’s the reason why I do anything I’m able to do on the field.”
2011 ALC Rookie of the Year Alyssa Leonard did not play lacrosse until junior year of high school, but Amonte Hiller loved her hand speed and quickness.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
Amonte Hiller assesses players’ strengths and puts them in a position to thrive, which they can do, as long as they have athleticism and competiveness. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. She’s just making banana bread out of bananas — both yellow ones and green ones. LM
May 2012 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 53
©PEYTON WILLIAMS
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