Coach Guido standing on the sideline in win over American.

After nine months at the helm of Colgate Women’s Lacrosse, Coach Guido has already made major strides in developing the program and integrating herself into a new environment, coaching staff, and team. She has brought a renewed spirit and energy to the group, along with a wealth of experience.

While statistics and game notes offer one way to track how the program has evolved over the past year, speaking with Coach Guido about her experiences and goals reveals a more personal and insightful perspective.

Guido was first able to share how she found her way to this position in Hamilton, N.Y. She grew up in Rocky Point, N.Y., on Long Island, a region known for its strong lacrosse culture. Surrounded by the sport from a young age, she picked up a stick at just eight years old after watching her cousin thrive as a goalie at Yale. That early exposure sparked a lifelong connection to the game.

Her playing career in both high school and college was shaped by two influential coaches, Dan and Joe Spallina. Each had a distinct approach that helped her grow as both an athlete and a person.  

“My high school coach was somebody who I would definitely say coddled me a little bit more,” Guido said. “And then my college coach was somebody who wanted to push you to be your absolute best, pull everything they could out of you, and teach you the lesson that nothing is going to come easy.”

Learning from both coaches helped Guido form a balanced coaching philosophy, and understand that coaching was what she wanted to pursue as her career. She took what she valued from each experience to create her own approach, one that focuses on challenging athletes to grow while also recognizing who they are off the field. 

Junior Meg Cole runs past an American defender.

That effort hasn’t gone unnoticed by her players. Junior defender Meg Cole said Guido’s coaching style has been a steady and motivating force.  

“What I appreciate most about her coaching style is how balanced it is. She pushes us to be better every day, but she also listens. She leads with both intensity and empathy, which is rare. You can tell she genuinely cares about developing us as people just as much as players, and that just makes you want to work even harder for her.”  

This approach was especially important as Guido stepped into her role at Colgate. Inheriting a team she didn’t recruit herself, she focused much of the fall season on getting to know her players beyond their positions or stats. She made it a priority to meet with each of them individually to learn about their personal experiences, motivations, and relationships with the sport.

Outside of lacrosse, Guido also shared insight into her personal life. She expressed a love for travel, which has been fueled by her involvement with the Filipino national team and her fiancé’s role as a player for the German national team. She also joked that her current hobby, endurance running, is far from how she was as a student-athlete who once dreaded extra conditioning.  

“I started distance running at the end of 2019, and then obviously everybody picked up some sort of something in COVID, so I ran a lot during that time. My first marathon was New York City, then Philly, and then Chicago. I kept getting faster the more I raced, and qualified for Boston. After a while, I wanted to try something else and looked into triathlons because sometimes when you’re in a training block, running can become monotonous. This allowed me to shake it up.”

Junior Caroline Panzirer celebrates a goal against Bucknell.

As a passionate coach, and competitive athlete, it was no surprise that when discussing her values and the legacy she hopes to leave, Guido emphasized the importance of providing a positive experience for her athletes. She hopes that this will leave them wanting to return to campus and remain a part of the program even as alumni. 

“Recently, I got to hang out with the alumni a couple of weekends ago, and a lot of them talked about how they loved being at Colgate but didn’t necessarily highlight their experience lacrosse-wise. I want that to be the super exciting part about coming back. For them to be like, ‘I get to see my old teammates, and maybe my coach is still there,’ and see the program be successful and know that they took part in that.”

Guido seems to already be laying the groundwork for that kind of legacy. Her players emphasized both the positive team environment and the standard she’s beginning to set. When asked what she’ll remember most about her time playing under Guido, junior attacker Caroline Panzirer spoke to the energy and connection she’s felt.  

“Looking back, I feel like I’ll remember her constant energy—not only how genuinely excited she was every day, but how excited she made me. Her love and knowledge of the game is so contagious and feeds into collective buy-in to our success. I’ll remember her joking personality at practices and how she makes jokes to us in a way that tells us how much she cares. She makes practices fun and enjoyable in addition to just a learning experience.”

Taking on a new role with a new team is never easy. However, Coach Guido has taken it in stride, and her impact on Colgate Women’s Lacrosse is already evident. The foundation she’s built in just nine months will likely shape the program and its players for years to come. Be sure to keep your eyes on this coach and team in the coming weeks, as they close out Patriot League play and look to make a run in the postseason tournament.