Legendary lacrosse player has Cathedral in final four

Imagine if Peyton Manning returned to Indianapolis after his NFL career to coach high school football. Or if Kevin Durant moved here to coach a high school basketball team.

Girls lacrosse may not be as popular as those sports, especially in the Midwest. But it is growing. And if Katie Erbe has anything to do about it, lacrosse will eventually be as visible here on the youth level as basketball or soccer.

"Kids are excited about (lacrosse) and want to learn," Erbe said. "It makes me think that if it was introduced earlier, there would be more kids playing. The opportunities just aren't there yet."

Erbe is in her first season coaching at Cathedral, which will play this weekend in the state final four at Heritage Christian (the Irish play Park Tudor in one semifinal on Friday; Carmel vs. Fishers-Hamilton Southeastern is the other).

Erbe jokes that she left one person behind on the East Coast and became another in the past year. The former Katie Chrest (her maiden name) was one of the sport's biggest stars. The Maryland native began playing lacrosse as a fifth-grader and went to be a three-time All-American at Duke, winning the Tewaarton Trophy as the nation's top player in 2005. After leaving college as Duke's all-time leading scorer, Erbe played six years with the United States national team and was a member of the 2009 World Cup championship team.

So what is she doing coaching high school lacrosse in Indy?

"It's kind of divinely-inspired," Erbe said.

She'd been an assistant coach at Columbia University since 2011 but moved to Indiana last summer when her husband, Ryan, started working toward his doctorate at Indiana University. A former Duke teammate, Ashley Fairweather, was coaching at Heritage Christian and put Erbe in touch with former Cathedral coach Craig McGinnis, who was leaving the area.

Erbe jumped in as coach last fall and, admittedly, wasn't sure what to expect. Lacrosse is a club sport in Indiana, unsanctioned by the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Many of Cathedral's players have a background in sports other than lacrosse. Basketball. Soccer. Softball.

"The first thing I noticed was a lot of athleticism," Erbe said. "The skills weren't great but that was expected because this is a non-traditional area (for lacrosse)."

When practice officially started in the spring, Erbe spent a large chunk of each session on skill work. Plenty of passing and catching on the move.

"It's hard to play basketball if you can't dribble," she said. "It's very similar in lacrosse that if you can't handle the ball it's really hard to move beyond just letting them run around."

There were a few Cathedral players who realized the level of expertise they were getting with Erbe. Kelly Donnelly, a junior, has been playing lacrosse since fifth grade. Like Erbe, Donnelly's had a soccer background.

"I was really into soccer," Donnelly said. "Then I picked up a stick and definitely loved lacrosse. I knew it was my sport."

Cathedral was 15-5 last season but was ousted by Park Tudor in the state quarterfinals. Led by Donnelly and a strong senior class, the Irish are 15-2 going into Friday's semifinal against Park Tudor. Cathedral's losses came to Kentucky Country Day and Loyola Academy (Ill.).

Donnelly said Erbe's influence is obvious even in just a few months working with the team.

"She's taught us so many aspects of the game," said Donnelly, a midfielder. "The way we play is so different now. We play fast and move the ball and work together as a team. It's not one individual, just everybody working together consistently. We're so lucky to be coached by her."

Grayce Petruzzi, a senior, didn't play the sport at all until her freshman year. But she'd played basketball, soccer and softball growing up with three brothers.

"Lacrosse is kind of a combination of all different sports," Petruzzi said. "Soccer players can jump into it. Basketball and softball players can, too. If you are an athlete you can play the sport. The defense and transition are a lot like basketball."

IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox said there has been no push by the membership at this point to add lacrosse as a sanctioned sport. The IHSAA rules require half of the membership (more than 400 schools) to participate in order to recommend a championship series. Though the numbers are on the rise, there are 47 boys high school club teams in Indiana and 23 on the girls' side.

"We still get treated like we are a school sport," Donnelly said of the experience at Cathedral.

Erbe, who recently had her first child, would love to continue to play a role in developing lacrosse in the state. Her husband is one year into a doctorate program that will take about 3 ½ years to complete, keeping her here for the time being at least. Working with youth programs and providing coach education are two areas where she'd like to get more involved, although she is still figuring out the best way to go about it.

Every so often, Erbe will hop into a drill during practice.

"That boosts the energy on the field," Petruzzi said. "Usually a coach will stand on the sideline and tell you what to do. It's fun when she jumps in and we see what she can do."

More than anything, Erbe hopes to be a role model for a future generation of girls lacrosse players. It appears she's on her way to that goal.

"Don't tell her this but I wrote a paper about her in one of my classes," Donnelly said. "She's an inspiring person and coach. A lot of other teams say they've heard about her, too, so she's even inspiring other teams. She's changing the game around here."

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

GIRLS LACROSSE FINAL FOUR

Where: Heritage Christian

Games: Friday semifinals, Fishers-Hamilton Southeastern vs. Carmel, 6 p.m.; Cathedral vs. Park Tudor, 8 p.m.; Saturday championship, 4:30 p.m.