Carly Richards is the most prolific scorer in Potsdam women's lacrosse history. On Saturday night, she'll become just the second member of the relatively young program to be inducted into the Bears Hall of Fame.
Richards, a Niskayuna, N.Y. native, played for a powerful high school lacrosse team that drew lots of collegiate recruiters. One was then Potsdam assistant coach Torrie McGowan. In the spring of 2008, McGowan traveled to Niskayuna to look at one player, but realized he needed to persuade her friend Richards to come to Potsdam as well. At the time Richard's wasn't sure what her collegiate future would be, but McGowan and Bears head coach
Lauren Bruce had a strategy.
"We knew Carly's brother (Bears men's lacrosse goalie Billy) was here and we thought maybe we could convince her to come to Potsdam if she came with her buddy," said Bruce, who is in her 17th year as head coach. "We both knew Carly would be a program changer instantly. She's super talented plus the bonus of being a lefthanded attacker."
Fortunately, Richards was convinced to visit campus and Bruce was immediately impressed.
"I met her out on the lacrosse field and I distinctly remember the interaction because her personality won me over even more," Bruce said. "She was not sure about college, but started opening up to the idea here."
Growing up and still today, Richards was passionate about the outdoors. She played soccer until she made the switch to lacrosse in eighth grade. She also became a skilled wake surfer and would even play catch with Billy while on the board. The North Country, which provides many outdoor adventures, helped seal the deal to get Richards to Potsdam.
"We walked out to the lacrosse field and it just happened to be a beautiful sky," said Bruce. "And Carly said 'this is a place where I could see myself, because it's just so beautiful here.'"
Richards arrived on campus in August 2008 and weeks later began her first fall practice with the Bears.
"Coming to Potsdam I wasn't sure what to expect," said Richards. "What kind of level it was going to be. But as soon as I got there it was like an immediate connection with all of my teammates and the coaches. As soon as the first practice happened, I knew this was going to be an awesome family."
Once the 2009 season finally began, the freshman still had to earn her time on the field. She didn't make her collegiate debut until the Bears' third game, scoring three goals and adding an assist off the bench in a 16-6 win over Keuka on March 14. Richards didn't start until game five, recording nine points on five goals and four assists as Potsdam hammered Pomona Pitzer 19-8 out in California. She continued to post eye-popping numbers as the season went on. She scored a personal best nine-goals and added two assists at Oswego on April 14. When the year came to a close, Richards had 65 points on 49 goals and 16 assists.
As a sophomore, she proved to be even more of a playmaker. While her goal total dropped slightly to 43, she raised her assists up to 23 to finish the year with a career-high 66 points.
While Richards had clearly become the biggest offensive threat on the team, her main focuses were to support her teammates and to have fun.
"She was never someone that asked for the stat sheet at the end of a game," Bruce said. "She was going up to people and celebrating their goals or successes of the day. She had more fun assisting on a goal than scoring a goal herself. I'll never forget her goal celebrations either. They were just ridiculous. I've never seen so much joy for anyone who scored. She was jumping up and down and giving hugs. That's the kind of momentum she could create by being on the team."
As she progressed through her career, Bruce saw Richards' natural leadership ability emerge.
"Her concern for others and her desire to give everyone else confidence is something you can't coach or tell someone to do," said Bruce. "That's just something that's a part of her. Of course teammates want everyone to play their best, but she put a lot of extra time and thought into how to give that person more confidence in themselves. A positive person is going to help everyone feel comfortable and play at their best because they have someone like that to look up to and lean on a little bit."
Richards attributes much of her success to the team atmosphere created by her coach.
"It was amazing," Richards said. " I always felt some kind of shyness around Coach Bruce and I never wanted to disappoint her. I respected her so much in that way. Obviously she wanted us to be successful and win, but she really cared about team dynamics and that we were happy and having fun. Kind of creating that friendship environment. That's what I respected most about her. She also made us work super hard. I really enjoyed my experience with her."
Trying to provide an enjoyable experience and sense of success are always at the core of Bruce's plans for her team.
"I guess I personally had such a great experience as an athlete and I try to recreate that," Bruce said. "I don't want them to feel they're not growing as a person, as a leader, or as a teammate," I truly believe all those skills that you learn in athletics translate to your adult life. I think that's why people enjoy it (playing at Potsdam) because even if the W's aren't always there, they still feel successful at the end of the day."
Richards had another typically proficient year as a junior and reached a milestone. At home, against Brockport on April 2, 2011, she recorded a goal and an assist to pass fellow hall of famer Alisha Schaad for the program's scoring record. Richards was not finished producing. She finished the year with 42 goals and 21 assists for 63 points. After her amazing consistency, Richards finally received the well overdue honor of being named to the All-SUNYAC second team.
Having watched Richards amass 194 points in just 45 games through three seasons, it would be hard to guess that she was playing through regular pain. She had chronic left shoulder injury that she had been battling since high school. Richards needed surgery after her sophomore season and the constant attention of former athletic trainer Lisa Brown.
"She (Brown) saved my shoulder a lot of times," said Richards. "I'm super grateful for all the thought and times she put it into in its socket. She never hesitated to help me out and by the end of my senior year, she had somehow engineered this tape system that worked. So I'm super grateful for her and her support."
The combination of Brown and the surgery kept her rolling through three seasons, but the shoulder pain proved too much at times during her senior year and she was forced to miss minutes and a few games. As a result, Richards saw limited time in just 12 games, though still managed to produce a solid 24 points on 13 goals and 11 assists. At the end of her career, she left Potsdam with 218 points on 147 goals and 71 assists. She holds the program's records in points and goals and is second in assists.
In May 2012, Richards graduated from Potsdam with degrees in Sociology and Human Services and has been working the field ever since.
"I've been doing a lot of human service work with adolescents and working in the mental health field, through wilderness therapy," Richards said. "For the last four years I've been working at the Joshua School (Englewood, Colo.) for kids with autism and developmental disabilities. All of that has been crazy and ridiculous and amazing all at the same time."
On top of her efforts at the Joshua School, Richards has been working on her master's in counseling through Adams State (Colo.). After completing her current counseling internship at Golden High School and Middle School she'll graduate this summer. Along with the fulfilling work with students, there is another perk.
"I'm actually going to be coaching their JV team in the spring. So that's going to be cool," said Richards. "Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a school counselor at a high school and their varsity lacrosse coach. That's been my dream since I was about 12."
Though heading out west after Potsdam, even as far as Hawaii, Richards still stays in close touch with her Bears teammates and thinks about her time in the North Country regularly.
"I love lacrosse. I love the competitiveness, but what was the most meaningful for me is the community of the people," Richards said. "All of my teammates were my best friends. They were my family. We have a group text we all communicate in and send pictures on a weekly basis. We're all really connected. We all had a very meaningful experience together. Being a student-athlete, you live with your teammates, you play with your teammates, you have classes with your teammates. You are like one being. Potsdam did wonders for my growth as a person. As an athlete. As a friend. In life essentially. It was a really, really great experience. I miss it."
Bruce describes Richards as "phenomenal" and "a joy to be around." Her teammates agree. 20 of them are returning, out of 30 total women's lacrosse alums, to see their friend inducted into the hall of fame this weekend.
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| Carly Richards with (L-R) mom Judy, brother Billy and father Bill. |
