MEET THE TEAM
Andrea Ervay
TEAM Founder, National Coaching Director
Originally from Upstate New York, Andrea moved to San Diego from the East Coast in May of 2008, making her way back to Charlotte, NC in October 2016. Playing every sport growing up kept Andrea well-rounded; however, it was lacrosse where she excelled. A starter her freshman year on Varsity lacrosse, Andrea aided her team to the State Championship for four consecutive years. Being involved with many extracurricular activities, Andrea was president of Key Club for three years, treasurer of her senior class, and parliamentarian of the student council. She also coached younger kids at the local YMCA in gymnastics, was an ice skating instructor, and worked summers for Parks and Recreation. Growing up, Andrea also played volleyball, basketball, ran track, and was on the swim & dive team. Ultimately, it was lacrosse where she found her passion.
In college, Andrea not only continued her love for athletics by playing lacrosse, but also wrote for various publications, was on several committees, secretary of Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society, and started substitute teaching when she was 19. Ready to start her life, Andrea graduated a year early from Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional & Technical Communication. In 2004, she moved south where she started her entrepreneurial journey, working with the first of four start-up companies.
Over the next few years Andrea lived in Baltimore, MD and Charlotte, NC where she coached girls' lacrosse for middle school, youth leagues, and high school camps. She also helped student-athletes who were interested in playing at the collegiate level by helping them with the recruiting process. Andrea's ability to help kids get excited about what they can accomplish is where she feels the most fulfilled.
Andrea moved to San Diego in 2008, and was the Head Varsity lacrosse coach at both public and private high schools, helped coach a competitive club program, and ran numerous clinics and lessons. Andrea coached for four seasons as a middle school girls' coach for the Scripps Ranch Lacrosse Association, and was the Executive Director of SRLax overseeing the boys' and girls' pee-wee and middle school programs for two years. She coaches for five years at the collegiate level as Head Coach at UC San Diego from 2012-2016. In 2014, the Tritons were coined the WWLL Division II Champions in Santa Barbara. Andrea was also named Coach of the Year during the league championship.
In 2013, Andrea left her six-figure job in medical sales to pursue her dream and go full-time lacrosse. In February 2016, TEAM Lacrosse Academy was officially born. Andrea continues her love of the sport year by playing post-collegiate lacrosse with San Diego Lacrosse Club, traveling to tournaments in Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, and Las Vegas. In addition to coaching, Andrea has been involved in several non-profits, charities and served on the board for the San Diego Chapter of USA Lacrosse, Secretary of Be REAL Students, Secretary of the WWLL (Western Women's Lacrosse League), and Committee Chair for Tackle ALZ (SD Alzheimer's Association).
In October 2016, Andrea moved to Charlotte, NC expanding TEAM Lacrosse Academy, helping spread the love of lacrosse from Southern California to the East Coast! She started off as the head varsity lacrosse coach at Providence High School for four years, and was named Coach of the Year for the 2016-2017 season. Currently Andrea resides in Huntersville, NC where she is the head varsity coach for Lake Norman Charter as well as a substitute teacher and tutor. Andrea's true passion is to coach, teach and mentor student-athletes on the lacrosse field as well as prepare students for educational excellence.
Beth Kelleher
Cornelius Coach
Beth Kelleher moved to North Carolina from Miami in 2007. She played lacrosse in High School (and was a founding member of the girls lax program at her high school) and continued to play in college at Florida State University at the club level. She played mostly midfield. Beth is mom to Cailyn who loves playing lacrosse for TEAM, Aidan who is all about baseball and hockey and two fluffy puppies who you will see at practice from time to time.
Beth believes that organized sports plays an important part of youth development and helps develop teamwork, motivation, communication and commitment. While winning is fun, Beth believes it is more important to give it your all, try your best and have fun. Winning is just icing on the cake. She says "some of my best memories as a kid are from my time playing sports - some of the best life lessons were learned out on the field."
In her day job, Beth works in technology sales. When she can find spare time, she enjoys cheering on the New England Patriots, hanging out by the pool, playing board games and spending time with friends and family.
Laura Diamond-Williams
South Charlotte Director
Laura moved around quite a bit growing up and discovered lacrosse in 5th grade in North Haven, CT. She continued to play after moving to Chapel Hill, NC where she played in both middle and high school. She was on varsity for 2 years and a senior captain at East Chapel Hill High. After graduating and going to UNC Charlotte, Laura helped start up the UNCC club lacrosse team in 2014 where she helped with setting up team games, practices, and finances.
In 2016, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she began coaching JV at Decatur High School where she found her love for coaching! After 10+ years of playing, she can’t decide what she loves more: offense or defense, so she plays in different positions whenever she gets the chance.
Laura has been coaching for TEAM Pride for over three years and is currently the assistant coach at Ardrey Kell High School.
Laura looks forward to continuing coaching and mentoring young women in the South Charlotte area.
Kayleigh Ground
Charlotte Director
Coach Kayleigh grew up in Rochester, NY and began playing organized lacrosse in 6th grade. She played for various club teams including Common Goal, Lady Roc, and Awkwesasne Ride. Being Native American (Haudenosaunee, Onondaga nation) lacrosse holds a special place for Kayleigh - she’s passionate about growing the game.
Kayleigh played her freshman year at D1 Kent State University and in 2019 transferred to D3 Rochester Institute of Technology where she was a 4 year starter on attack. During her time in college she was nominated for and attended the Future Leaders of the Game: IWLCA Students of Color Coaching Symposium and coached at RIT’s recruiting clinics. She received her BFA in New Media Design from RIT in 2023 and now resides in Charlotte and works as a Product Designer for Red Ventures.
“My goal as a lacrosse coach is to empower young players through teaching them strong fundamentals, and building their confidence and lacrosse IQ. When you put good into something, you get good out, and you’re only as good as the effort you put in. When I gave my all to lacrosse and had coaches who believed in me and pushed me - I became a better player, teammate, and person. I will provide this mentorship and support to the girls I coach.” - Coach Kayleigh
Alicia Young
North Charlotte Coach
Coach Alicia is originally from Charlottesville, VA where she grew up playing lacrosse, as well as many other sports. She started freshman year on the Varsity team and eventually became a captain. Alicia won several awards throughout her time as a high school athlete such as first team all-district and state, Defensive Player of the Year, and Outstanding Female High School Athlete Award provided by WinS (Women in Sports).
Alicia briefly played in college at a Division III level and ultimately ended up playing intramural sports throughout her time in college. She graduated a semester early with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Communication Studies.
Her previous coaching experience includes working with 7th and 8th grade girls for the Chesterfield Hammers in Richmond, VA.
Her day job is working as a Recruiting Coordinator for Walmart, which is what brought her to Charlotte, NC recently. Her spare time includes reading, spending time with family and friends, and long walks or trips to the dog park with her pup
Emily Phipps
North Charlotte Coach
Coach Phipps was born and raised in Linthicum, Maryland, where her passion for the game ignited at the tender age of 6. She attended Archbishop Spalding High School and played for the CCLax Club Team. Her lacrosse journey continued at the collegiate level in which she attended Wingate University starting as a freshman, earned Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, and SAC Conference Champions in 2023! Graduating in 2023 she now resides in Mooresville, NC and works as a Real Estate Agent with the Besecker & Maynard Group of Keller Williams Unified.
Her passion for the game continued as she transitioned from player to Head Women's Lacrosse Coach at South Iredell High School. With her wealth of experience and unwavering passion, she's dedicated to fueling the next generation of lacrosse stars, instilling in them not only the skills to succeed on the field, but also the values of teamwork, resilience, grit and sportsmanship that define the essence of the game. Emily's commitment to lacrosse and her role as a coach is a testament to her enduring love for the sport and her desire to inspire others to reach their full potential, both on and off the field.
Madalynn Rola
North Charlotte Coach
Madalynn has been playing year-round for six years. Growing up in Buffalo, New York, lacrosse was something she was exposed to at a young age, but did not competitively play until moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. She specializes in defense and plays midfield at times.
She played at TEAM Pride for four years in high school before moving on to North Carolina State University. At State, Madalynn plays club lacrosse and studies business. She is a member of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women and the Honors and Scholars College at North Carolina State. She has coached for three years with Pride and also tutors locally.
Kaitlyn Coleman
Fayetteville Coaching Director
Kaitlyn Coleman was born in Hermitage, Tennessee but grew up outside of Charlotte, North Carolina in Matthews for 17 years. Kaitlyn and her sisters played every sport growing up but spent 10 years playing Fast Pitch Softball until her Freshman year of High School, Kaitlyn found lacrosse. For the Butler Bulldogs she was a four-year Varsity starter, Three Year Team Captain, and Matthews-Mint Hill Player of the Year in 2018.
After High School, Kaitlyn went off to go play Division 1 Lacrosse at Radford University, before COVID-19 stopped her Freshman Year. In the Spring of 2021 Kaitlyn later decided to transfer from to the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina. At Mount Olive, her team won the Conference Carolina’s Championship two consecutive times, along with making their programs first ever NCAA Tournament Appearance in 2021.
Since graduating college, Kaitlyn has traveled and lived in Colorado where she coached at the United States Air Force Academy’s Prep School, Air Academy. From there her love for coaching and making a difference in the world of athletics took off. She is now the Assistant Coach at Methodist University in North Carolina. Her coaching philosophy is, “To speak love and light into every athlete”. She believes you play best when you’re having fun. She is passionate about recruiting and wants to help high school athletes hopefully find the right place the first time around.
Julee Delellis
Fayetteville Head Coach
Julee was born and raised in Hackettstown, NJ and attended Hackettstown High School. During her time there, she participated in four years of varsity cross country and was a 4-year starter on the lacrosse team. Notably, she was a part of Hackettstown's inaugural season for girls lacrosse, where she played in the defensive position and eventually became the team captain in her senior year.
After graduating from high school, Julee pursued her education at Campbell University for a period of time. However, in 2019, she made the decision to transfer to Methodist University. At Methodist, she committed to play Division 3 women's lacrosse and excelled in the midfield position. Julee's leadership qualities were evident as she was appointed as the team's speaking captain during her junior and senior seasons.
In her final year at Methodist University, Julee's exceptional skills and dedication were recognized when she was selected to play in the IWLCA Division 3 Senior All-Star Game. Her accomplishments on and off the field showcased her passion and talent for lacrosse, leaving a lasting impact on her team and peers.
Jennifer White
Fayetteville Head Coach
Jennifer White graduated from Methodist with a Sports Management and Physical Education degree. She played 3 years of lacrosse at Methodist and was an All DIAC player.
Jen taught and coached volleyball and softball at St. Paul’s High School for 6 years, and is currently teaching Physical Education at Terry Sanford High School, where she has been for the past 11 years. Coach White been the head lacrosse coach since the program started in 2016. She has coached multiple conference championship teams, made several state playoff appearances, as well as has won Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2022.
Jen has had the honor of coaching several NCAA lacrosse players and is very excited to grow the sport in Fayetteville and help the community learn more about this wonderful game.