BERLIN- Sometimes life goes full circle and takes one in directions not anticipated, such as case of a former Stephen Decatur girls’ varsity lacrosse standout now the head coach of the Seahawks’ crosstown rival.
The Worcester Prep girls’ varsity lacrosse team opens its season this week with a new head coach at the helm. Leigh Ann Flounlacker, a 2011 Stephen Decatur graduate who led the Seahawks to two Bayside Conference championships and two state regional championships, is now roaming the sidelines as the head coach for neighborhood rival Worcester Prep.
Flounlacker, a three-time All Bayside Conference First Team player, played for two seasons at Elizabethtown College and made her mark on that program before transferring back to Salisbury University after her sophomore season. Now a student at Salisbury, Flounlacker learned of the opening at Worcester Prep and jumped at the chance to coach her formal high school rival.
“It was a spur of the moment opportunity,” she said this week. “They were looking for a coach and I made the first move and called athletic director Matt McGinnis and he offered me the job. It’s a huge step, but one I’m ready for.”
For Flounlacker, taking the Worcester Prep job was a logical next step in her career.
“It’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” she said. “We had such a big rivalry with Worcester when I was at Decatur. I’m a student and a coach of these girls, some of whom I’m only four years older than. It’s great to be back so close to home.”
Flounlacker takes over a deep and talented veteran team at Worcester and the expectations are high. The Mallards had three games in four days this week and will compete in the Karl Wolf Classic on Saturday.