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August 2, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Russell sticks with it

by Kevin Henkin/

One year ago, at the end of her sophomore season, University of North Carolina midfielder Jenn Russell expected the usual in her annual wrap-up meeting with Tar Heels coach Jenny Levy. Perhaps some appreciation from Levy on her continued progress. Maybe a few minor pointers on how to improve her game during the summer. Instead, what she got was a wakeup call, one that both player and coach now recognize as a turning point in Russell’s playing career.

“I told her, ‘Look, we just graduated two line defenders. We’ve got a lot of middies coming back. If you want to stay in the midfield, your stick has to get better,’ ” Levy recalled.

Russell understood the criticism was not unfounded.

“I knew through high school and coming into college I did not have the stick of the girls I was playing with and competing against and that it was something that I needed to work on,” said the native of Andover, Mass. “And I did work on it, but it wasn’t quite what I needed it to be, and so coach Levy said, ‘If it doesn’t get better, you’re going to play defense.’

“I think that lit a fire under me. I didn’t like hearing that at all. So I worked on it a lot over the summer and came back with a much better stick, which also helped with my confidence. It’s important in lacrosse, obviously, to be able to catch the ball, so it definitely helped a lot in my success.”

Russell, who honed her lacrosse skills playing for the Brooks School in North Andover, Mass., spent almost every day last summer playing extensive sessions of wall ball with each hand. That hard work paid huge dividends this past season.

In 2008, Russell recorded 11 goals, three assists and 20 ground balls, a respectable level of production for a developing sophomore player. In 2009, however, she made the proverbial leap to become one of the best midfielders in the country. For the season, she led the Tar Heels with 38 goals. She was strong on the other side of the ball as well, finishing second on the team with 40 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers.

“Ground balls are something that I try to focus on in every game, knowing that if I’m not able to contribute on the offensive end, at least I know that I can get ground balls,” said the 5-foot-7 Russell. “Ground balls are all about hustle. It’s the same with the draw. It’s all about who wants it.”

Levy also pointed to Russell’s participation as a member of the U.S. Women’s Developmental Team last summer as a major contributor to Russell’s improvement.

“I think the experience with that U.S. team moved Jenn forward,” Levy said. “She put a lot of time in last summer on her own getting ready for the national team. When she came back in the fall, she was ready to go.”

Said Russell: “I really think [playing for the U.S. Developmental Team] helped not only my play but also my confidence. My confidence grew as I played more. I think that really helped a lot.”

Russell’s 2009 performance earned her All-America honors for the first time, and she was a key to helping the unheralded Tar Heels advance all the way to the NCAA national championship game (a loss to Northwestern).

“We had a really great season last year,” Russell said. “Personally, I think it was a good season, but I think it was only because of the success of the team we had. We came into this season kind of as the underdogs. We weren’t ranked that high. We weren’t expected to really do as well as we did, but we had a great season because of great senior leadership and it just all came together. We’re hoping it does again next year, but we’ll see.”

Russell already has been named as a UNC captain for next season.

“I think she’s going to bring a tremendous amount of leadership to our program next year,” Levy said. “What I really like about Jenn is she’s direct and to the point and she works extremely hard every day in practice. She never demands anything from anybody else that she doesn’t demand from herself first.”

Said Russell: “I’m really excited [about being captain]. Out of any of the accolades I’ve gotten since I’ve been in college, that’s definitely my favorite, at the top of the list. I was really excited. We’ll see. Hopefully, I do a good job.”

Her captaincy is one more reason for Russell to look forward to her final season with the Heels, one that is filled with promise.

“Heading into every season, you don’t know how the team is going to come together or what’s going to happen, but we feel really optimistic,” she said. “We’re really excited. We graduated a very strong senior class. Only a couple of them contributed on the field, but they were a very integral part of our success because of their leadership. We’re looking for some juniors to step up and fill those roles and I think we definitely have the personnel to do it. I’m really excited to start a new season and see what we can do.”

In the meantime, Russell is spending five weeks this summer in Vietnam in a program called Coach for College.

“I’m going to Vietnam with one other student-athlete from UNC and two from Duke,” Russell explained. “It’s basically a program where we go to a school in Vietnam and we teach academics, athletics, team-building and leadership to middle school students. It’s a really cool program. It’s run through a graduate of Duke who created this program as her thesis when she was at Duke and it kind of just evolved from there.”

Said Levy: “The fact that Jenn was chosen to go on that program, which is very prestigious, is another great honor and a tribute to what type of person she is. She’s over there giving back. She’s just a tremendous person. Her character and her integrity off the field translates directly to her success on the field. We’re just so lucky to have her.”