ALAMOSA – Adams State University women's lacrosse will be under new instruction as Kate Leavell takes over as the new head coach. Leavell has a strong lacrosse background, coming as an assistant for the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs most recently.
 
"I'm excited to join a school with so much passion for its athletic and academic programs and eager to grow a women's lacrosse team that is full of history-making potential, especially in my favorite state of Colorado," said Leavell.
 
While at UCCS, Leavell assisted for the Mountain Lions last season to a 7-10 season with two conference victories over Adams State and Oklahoma Baptist.
 
"Our women's lacrosse program is extremely fortunate to have Kate as our new head coach," said Athletic Director Larry Mortensen. "Both current players and recruits will be excited to be a part of a dynamic program under her leadership. Kate has a proven track record of building programs and hails from a strong family of lacrosse in Maryland.  She is the right person at the right time to move our women's lacrosse program to one that will compete at another level. The Grizzly family welcomes her to Adams State."
 
Leavell is a native of Annapolis, Maryland, where she played in high school and went on to play club lacrosse for the University of Maryland.

Leavell has a strong high school and club resume as she served as the head coach at St. Pius X High School in Atlanta, Georgia. While there she led the team to a third place finish in the state. She has also coached Lakeville North High School to a fourth place finish in state and was named the 2010 Minnesota High School Head Coach of the Year. She has also served as the head coach of the Georgia State University Club Lacrosse Team.
 
She has also coached with travel teams including Eaglestix, Minnesota Elite, and LAX Monkey.

Since 2012 Leavell has been a National Coaches Development Trainer at US Lacrosse and Positive Coaching Alliance Trainer. She has also written a pair of books, 'Confessions of an Imperfect Coach' and 'The Coaches Emergency Practice Guide.'
 
Leavell comes from a strong lacrosse family. Her father played at Cornell, while her brother played at Roanoke and club at University of Maryland.

Her three children also play lacrosse, with her son Michael at North Central University, her son Drew playing as a goalie as a senior in high school, her daughter Meredith as a goalie and defender in high school. Her husband Sean is also a women's lacrosse coach, a goalie coach and women's high school and college rated official.

She earned an associate's degree in exercise science and graduated with a bachelor's degree in the same field in the fall of 2017. Kate also holds numerous fitness certifications including personal training and corrective exercise. 

In her spare time, Kate loves to ski, mountain bike, read, watch movies, and travel.