We’ve mentioned on multiple occasions the massive amount of growth the sport has seen here in Utah, and with that comes the addition of another Women’s Lacrosse club at the college level. Here’s McKenzie Christiansen with a special edition of the Utah Lacrosse Report detailing the happenings in Southern Utah.

“Attention Utah!!!” is the message coming from Southern Utah with great excitement as Utah Tech University (St. George) has entered the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC) for Women’s Lacrosse. This is exciting news for high school seniors as there is now one more opportunity to play lacrosse at the next level for Utah Tech University. Aiming to make a statement out of the gates, Amy (Calvert) Erickson was named as the Bisons Head Coach along with Lyndsay Callahan as her assistant, giving the new program two strong, credible leaders as they build in their first full year of play.

Utah Tech University began their first ever season this past Fall, where the team gathered for practice and participated in unofficial scrimmages against Southern Utah University, who does not have a fully formed team on the women’s side but are in the workings to build one. As such, spring 2023 will be vastly different from past years for Utah College Lacrosse. Utah Tech is fully registered and has held tryouts with over 50 students in attendance. “This is our groundbreaking year, having a team and women willing and wanting to put in the effort to play and grow for the future” as Coach Callahan mentioned in her interview, is a positive sign for the future.

It is extremely hard to start a college team from the ground up, but that also allows UTU the special opportunity to build their program exactly the way they want it. Some of their team's goals this season include; build a strong team, continue to build an accepting atmosphere, strive to be competitive in their games against SUU, WSU and UVU and continue their path to creating a positive team. Coach Callahan elaborated further on their goals by sharing that “Some focuses this year are to have a team of fully committed athletes. Create a positive and inclusive environment to learn and grow as a team and individual. We want to play a minimum of four games to gain experience, exposure, and learn what works and what doesn’t. We also want to build comradery, support, and create positive relationships with other teams at Utah Tech University, the University as a whole and within the community. We want our athletes to learn, grow, and prosper as individuals, teammates, and professionals within the community. We also want to build a team that is competitive and sustainable for the future.”

For those of you that dont know Coach Erickson, she was a devoted dancer growing up until she was introduced to lacrosse by her older brother in the 7th grade. Erickson's older brother, Mike Calvert, was one of the founders and creators of the Skyline Boys Lacrosse program. She looked up to her brother and wanted to follow in his footsteps, and as such was introduced to the sport we all know and love.. She counted down the days until she entered High School at Skyline High, where she played her Freshman and Sophomore year. The Calvert family moved to Minnesota where Ericksons played her Junior and Senior year.

Once more, Erickson followed in her brother Mike’s footsteps to the University of Utah where she was a student athlete on the Utes Women’s Lacrosse team. After a few wonderful years at the U, Erickson was offered her first coaching position, having since spent 10 years as a varsity head coach, 5 of which spent at Skyline, 2 years at Bingham and 3 at Olympus High School where she led the Titans to DII State Championships. Coach Erickson has 14+ years of coaching experience as she steps into the college coaching scene at Utah Tech University.

Lyndsay Callahan, lacrosse background consists of many different disciplines growing up. She was a multi-sport athlete, playing lacrosse, basketball, softball, running cross country, and was even a champion Irish Step Dancer! Callahan started playing lacrosse in 7th grade, then transitioned into playing high school ball at Juan Diego High School while also playing for the Team Utah comp team. In college, she played for the University of Utah for 3 years, unfortunately ending her career early as she suffered multiple injuries. Callahan's coaching background consists of multiple different age ranges from Thunder ( 5th/6th) and Junior (7th/8th) leagues though elite high school. She spent three years as coach for Juan Diego, then after a few years hiatus made the move to St. George to return to coaching at the college level, stating that when she found out that Utah Tech University was starting a team, she knew she wanted to help any way that she could.

We will continue to update with schedules and other information as they become available, and look forward to following the journey of the Utah Tech Women’s Lacrosse team as they embark on their inaugural season and bringing all the coverage and behind the scenes updates throughout the season, and wish Coach Erickson and Coach Callahan the best of luck moving forward. Thanks as always for reading the Utah Lacrosse Report.

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