#498 "It's not who we are playing against. It's who we are playing for.": A Conversation on Values, Connection and Purpose with Kate Livesay, 8x NCAA Champion Coach of Middlebury Women's Lacrosse

Kate Livesay was a two sport star at Middlebury in field hockey and lacrosse, twice earning All American honors and leading her Middlebury lacrosse teams to two NCAA titles. She is one of the most decorated coaches in college lacrosse history, leading Middlebury Women's lacrosse to seven NCAA Championships (2016, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026) and Trinity Women's lacrosse to a single NCAA title. Her teams have set the program single-season wins record three times over, going a perfect 23-0 in 2023, 2024, and 2026 — a standard of excellence virtually unmatched in the modern era of the sport. Over her 18 year head coaching career had compiled a record of 322 wins and only 38 losses.

Her individual honors are equally remarkable. A four-time IWLCA National Coach of the Year (2012, 2016, 2019, 2022) and seven-time NESCAC Coach of the Year, her staff has also been recognized four times as IWLCA National Coaching Staff of the Year, reflecting not just her personal vision but the culture she has built around her. The consistency of those honors across nearly two decades speaks to a program that doesn't just win championships; it sets the standard for what championship programs look like. In our conversation today, we discuss how she consistently builds championship cultures, focuses on values, connection and purpose, and intentionally manages her entire roster to keep everyone on board for such long seasons. Get ready to take some notes.

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