By: Doug Poole, New Hampshire Associate Director of Athletic Media Relations
Kids may want to become a number of things later in life when they grow up. For Katie Leland, there apparently were too many to keep track of.
"I don't really remember," said Leland, a senior and women's lacrosse standout at the University of New Hampshire. "I think it changed every week. I've sort of always wanted to be a coach. It's been an aspiration of mine."
Born in Baltimore, Md. and raised in nearby Timonium, Leland was a three-sport star (lacrosse, soccer and basketball) at Dulaney High School. Her favorite class there was anatomy and physiology, but she knew that wasn't going to be her academic pursuit in college. Leland's aspirations were elsewhere.
"Sports have always been a part of my life," Leland stated. "I was always the kid on the playground playing what everyone else was playing. It didn't matter what it was. I can’t foresee myself being in a career that I’d enjoy without sports being a part of it."
That passion led her towards athletic training and the University of New Hampshire, despite colder winters than she was accustomed to.
"I came to UNH for a visit in February and I went to my very first hockey game," Leland explained. "It was really cold, but that didn’t deter me. I’m so used to it being warm. I go home over (winter) break and work out in a t-shirt and shorts.
"One of the reasons I looked at UNH was because it was the only school I could be an athletic training major and play a sport," she added. "After my visit here with my mom and dad I got off the plane and told them ‘I’m going to school there.’ Being here less than two days, I just knew it was the place for me."
Due to the extensive time commitment required to both lacrosse and the academic studies of an athletic trainer, Leland, who is also pursuing a minor in psychology, recently changed her academic focus to kinesiology: sport studies. Her focus on the lacrosse field, however, has not wavered.
As a Wildcat rookie in the 2003 season, Leland immediately stepped into the starting lineup and she ranked third in assists as well as fourth in both goals and points to earn America East All-Rookie Team honors.
She followed that with a record-breaking effort in 2004 in which she scored 60 goals and assisted on 30 others to shatter UNH's previous single-season benchmark of 68 points with 92. Leland's postseason honors included IWLCA All-Region First Team, America East All-Conference First Team and Most Outstanding Player of the America East Championship.
In 2005, Leland became the first 'Cat in the program's distinguished 29-year history to record 70+ points in consecutive seasons with 72 points on 51 goals and 21 assists. She repeated as an All-Conference First Team selection and was also voted to the All-Region Second Team.
Leland broke yet another school record in 2005 with a nine-goal game – best in Division I that year – and she also recorded two assists to become just the second 'Cat to reach double digits in points with 11. That game was also one to remember for Leland because she recorded both her 50th career assist and 100th career goal.
In 56 career games, Leland has amassed 188 points on 126 goals and 62 assists. She is one of just three UNH Wildcats to attain both the 100 goal and 50 assist plateaus, and is one of five 'Cats to rank in the top 10 in all three offensive categories – sixth in goals, third in assists and fourth in points.
It is conceivable that she could leave the program as the record holder in both career goals and points. Leland is 52 shy of the goals record (178) and 47 away from the points record (235). The assist mark of 101 seems the least attainable.
Her individual accolades and achievements are impressive, but Leland's focus is on the team.
"I always remember the team (achievements) first," Leland said when asked her most notable individual achievement. "Any individual accomplishment is truly attributable to the team."
And although she played a number of sports growing up, there was little doubt that lacrosse was going to be that team.
"My mom played lacrosse. My aunt played lacrosse. My older brother played. All my cousins played. It was one of those things you just did. And it was a lot of fun for me," Leland stated.
"I'm very family oriented," she added. "My parents, my big brother, my aunt (Ellen Burke) and grandfather (Jim Burke) are all role models for me. My grandfather is the coolest man I know."
The importance of family was another aspect that drew Leland to UNH.
"The UNH athletic community just sticks together as a family, so being away from home wouldn’t seem as bad as it might be otherwise."
In that respect, Leland does her share to help the Wildcat athletic family and make her peers feel more at home. In one of her more recent endeavors, Leland volunteered in September to tutor fellow student-athletes in various classes, including computer science and anatomy/physiology.
"My favorite class is anatomy," says Leland, who took the course at UNH after becoming enamored with the subject so much as a high school senior. "I just enjoy computers – I never used to."
In the beginning of the semester, the demand for tutoring was light. But now that the fall semester has surpassed the midway point, she is being pressed into service more frequently. What started out as a 1-3 hour per week commitment has escalated into 3-5 hours.
Leland herself is well accomplished in the academic field. She was honored by the America East conference as the 2005 Scholar-Athlete of the Year in women's lacrosse and was also a member of the 2005 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) National Honor Roll. Leland is also a three-time selection to the America East Academic Honor Roll.
"As a senior Sport Studies major, Katie has proven to be a top student," said Karen Collins, Ph.D. in the UNH kinesiology department. "Her GPA of 3.46 speaks for itself. Katie’s experience in athletics complements her role as a student. Whether it is through her writing or participation in class discussion, Katie has the ability to let her athletic experience be a guide for discussion. What makes Katie a top student is her ability to engage in discussion that not only focuses on experience, but, in doing so, offers informed critical inquiry on the topic of the day. As a student-athlete, Katie is committed to success – and we see that on the field and in the classroom.
"The bottom line is that Katie Leland is a good kid, good student, and I know when she is on my class roster, I will get a full effort from her."
A full effort is also standard on the playing field, where she is mentored by UNH alum Sandy Bridgeman ('87), the 10th-year head coach and 1988 U.S. Olympic Field Hockey Team member.
"Katie ultimately embodies the qualities we look for in all of our lacrosse student-athletes," Bridgeman said. "She is extremely conscientious and values the importance of excelling in the classroom and on the field.
"She's someone you look to on the field as a leader and she sets an example for teammates to follow in the classroom as well," she added. "There is so much she brings to the UNH community. She has such a strong sense of family – both the one in Maryland and the one here at UNH. It's been a pleasure to coach her and I'm glad we have another year together."
Fall of 2002 was Katie's first semester at New Hampshire and entering her first fall ball, she wasn't sure there would be a year together with coach Bridgeman.
"I was so nervous," Leland said. "I just didn’t know what to expect. I was nervous about playing Division I, that I didn’t know anyone on the team very well. I was just nervous in general. Not playing well. Getting cut. Every aspect I was nervous about. This year was the first year I wasn’t nervous heading into fall tryouts."
Leland describes herself as easy going and laid back – just not on the field, where she's intense and extremely competitive – and not that imaginative, although that doesn't seem to apply on the field either with a number of creative passes and shots in her repertoire. And she loves to read books, murder mysteries in particular and anything by James Patterson since reading The Beach House.
And in case you couldn't tell, Leland also loves lacrosse.
"It’s been awesome," Leland said of her UNH experience. "I’ve had a lot of great teammates and I’ve had a lot of fun. I can’t complain about playing the sport I love every day.
"There have been ups and downs, but this whole experience is always something I’ll cherish and remember."