After nine successful years leading the Radnor High School girls’ lacrosse team, Coach Brooke Fritz resigned during the summer of 2019. Since then, Coach Fritz has moved on to become the assistant coach for the women’s lacrosse team at Haverford College. Coach Fritz has certainly made her mark at Radnor, including four state championships, appearances in the championship game on two other occasions, and 25 US Lacrosse High School All-Americans.

Last fall the Radnor High School Athletics department announced that Kristin Addis will take the helm as head coach of the Raiders. Coach Addis is a proud Radnor High School alum, Class of 2003. Remarkably, she was captain of her field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse teams. On the playing field, Coach Addis is a highly decorated player. As a defender in lacrosse, she was named a two-time US Lacrosse All-American and continued to play at the University of Notre Dame. During her junior season, while playing for the Fighting Irish, Coach Addis made it to the NCAA Final Four. 

After graduating from Notre Dame, she pursued collegiate coaching. Her first positions were at the University of Delaware and then James Madison University. While at James Madison, Coach Addis led her team to win the Colonial Athletic Association Championship and then went on to help lead the team to the Elite 8. The JMU team finished the season with the second-best record in school history.

Recently I had the opportunity to interview the new coach. Coach Addis explained that the decision to accept the head coaching position of the girls’ lacrosse team at Radnor was due in part to her experience as a student here. “I had a tremendous experience at Radnor and it created so many opportunities for me,” she said. “I wanted to pay it forward and give back to the program that gave so much to me.”

When asked about working with players, Coach Addis says she connects with players who are “gritty,” and have a “team-first attitude.” Unbeknownst to her was just how soon these qualities would be put to the test. In April, the PIAA announced the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, and, subsequently, ending the Raiders season before games even began. Coach Addis says she is proud of the way the team handled the news and has been working with them in an effort to continue her transition into the head coaching role. She told me that “Since I took over the program, the team has accepted the change, shown resiliency and found ways to overcome adversity while remaining positive.” She proudly mentioned “See[ing] the same fight in the team towards COVID-19. I have been incredibly impressed by the team’s ability to stay the course and connected during this time of uncertainty.”

When the team returns for the 2021 season, Coach Addis’ goals for the Raiders are quite simple: win and develop great players on and off the field. “I want the program to not only compete in but win championships,” Coach Addis said. “We have an opportunity to win the Central League, District, and State championships. The Central League is the most competitive league in the area and that helps prepare us to make those championship runs.”

Having this season cut short, after a week or so of practices, was hard on everyone. The team was ready to make a strong push for the Central League title and far into the playoffs. Unfortunately, the only opponents Coach Addis faced in her first season was during the winter indoor league this past fall. Coach Addis and the Norlax team stand ready to return as soon as it’s safe to do so.