Kasper O’Brien to head new women’s lacrosse program

Brandon Ramon
Contributing Writer

VCU Athletics continues to expand and create opportunities for student athletes. With the creation of a brand new women’s lacrosse program, VCU welcomes new head coach Jen Kasper O’Brien.

Kasper O’Brien brings experience as a four-year player at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and six years of coaching experience, most recently at John Hopkins University, to the Rams.

The CT recently caught up with the new coach to talk about her plans for building the WLAX program at VCU.

CT: How has the adjustment from Maryland to Virginia been so far, have you had the chance to get acclimated with the university and city of Richmond?

JKO: The transition from Baltimore to Virginia has been seamless. Everyone in Richmond is so warm and welcoming, which has made the move very easy. I am fortunate to have a few friends in the area who have offered to show me around. I am looking forward to taking multiple tours of campus so I can get to know the ins and outs of VCU.

CT: This must be a very exciting time for you as you are not only the new head coach but you have the opportunity to build a new program from scratch. With two years to build a roster, how are you approaching the recruiting process?

JKO: It is no doubt exciting for myself, the program and VCU Athletics. It’s a great time for women’s lacrosse as it is constantly growing and evolving. In terms of recruiting, I plan to first and foremost look local. There is tremendous talent in Richmond and the surrounding area and I hope to keep this talent at home. Throughout my time at Johns Hopkins and Stanford, I have developed great relationships with club and high school coaches, I have and will continue to reach out to these coaches who are invaluable resources. I am also excited to host several recruits on campus this fall. VCU absolutely sells itself.

CT: Will you look to add all true freshmen or find a more mature lineup of players possibly from smaller colleges?

JKO: I would have no problem having a lineup of true freshmen, there is no better experience than living it firsthand. Fortunately, we have two years to develop talent on the Club Lacrosse Team, which will allow for a more mature look come spring of 2016. In all honesty, the best players will play, whether they are recruited freshman or senior walk-ons.

CT: What style of team can we look forward to cheering for starting in the 2015-16 season—physical, fast, aggressive, etc.?

JKO: You can expect an absolutely relentless team from top to bottom. We will out work our opponents—on the practice field, in the weight room and come game time. I promise you that. We will be physical, hard-nosed and blue collar. You play like you practice, therefore practices will be intense and up-tempo. In my opinion, hard work beats talent any day, and that’s the kind of work we will put in on a daily basis.