Lacrosse is often cited as one of the fastest growing sports in America, and Prospect has joined the upward trend. Earlier this year, District 214 announced the addition of boys’ and girls’ lacrosse starting in the 2020-21 school year. With new teams come new coaches, and Terra Ringo will be the first head coach of the girls’ lacrosse program at Prospect. 

Ringo brings multiple years of coaching experience. She currently works full-time with True Lacrosse, a club team in the Chicago-area. She also previously was the head coach at Missouri Valley College, and most recently was the head coach at Regina Dominican High School. She never was able to coach a game at Regina Dominican, as this now-canceled spring season was supposed to be her first. 

She describes her coaching style as “family style”.

“What I mean by that is when I think of a team, I think of them as a family,” Ringo said. “…in order to gain respect and have my players trust me, I need to treat them as family.” 

While she was a part of a rebuilding process at Missouri Valley, she has never started a program totally from scratch. Yet, she sees only positives from the opportunity. 

“I’m really looking forward to coming in and just trying to build,” Ringo said. “The way I look at it is we are technically already at the bottom being brand new, so there’s only up from here.”

Ringo certainly knows what it’s like to be a part of a winning program. She was a part of a Robert Morris University (Ill.) team that won a girls’ lacrosse national championship and had numerous final four appearances during her time in college. She also has a clear vision for what she wants her program at Prospect to be known for.

“Passion and growth,” Ringo said. 

For growth, she referenced wanting to see both the number of teams in the program expand and to see the number of wins increase year-to-year. As for passion: 

“When [people] think of Prospect  [girls’ lacrosse], I want them to always talk about how much passion that they see in not only the girls but the coaching staff as well,” Ringo said.

For players considering trying out, Ringo has a message. Her sophomore year of high school was her first time playing lacrosse, she had never even watched a lacrosse game before. A few years later, she was in college playing for a national championship. 

“You just have to put in the work,” Ringo said. “And, you have to want to be successful.”