Delaware's Barnhill still writing the book on lacrosse

WILMINGTON – She has already been enshrined in five halls of fame because of her lacrosse exploits, but Feffie Barnhill isn't content with being a historic treasure or an engraving on a plaque.

The game and the players still mean that much to her.

So, at age 62, Barnhill still lives it and loves it, these days as, among other things, the Ursuline Academy coach.

"Ball! Ball! Ball!," she shouts from beneath her sun-bleached red baseball cap during a game at the Raiders' Serviam Field against Wilmington Charter. "Come up with it!"

"Catch-cradle-pass" may be lacrosse's holy mantra, the skill set that, when honed, is the foundation for individual success. But a groundball that can't be scooped up and out of the grass drives Barnhill batty, because lacrosse, especially the female version, is all about possession.

Ursuline can't quite get enough of those and loses a 13-12 thriller. But Barnhill hardly utters a discouraging word to her troops and is upbeat in her postgame assessment, as the Raiders will, after all, take an 11-4 record into the upcoming state tournament. They'll host No. 9 Middletown (10-5) Saturday at noon in the first round.

A 1971 Tatnall School graduate, Barnhill has coached youth, high school, college and national teams, including the U.S. and Scotland. She was president of U.S. Lacrosse and the first president of the Federation of International Lacrosse, a worldwide union of the men's and women's factions of the sport that is now pushing for Olympic inclusion.

She has not just watched lacrosse's explosive growth, but aided it through education aimed at helping the many coaches who may not have played the game. Her travels have taken her throughout Europe, North America and to South Africa.

"I just want to coach kids and watch them play," she said. "My biggest bad day is when the season's over and I've got nothing to do at 3 o'clock. Whenever that day comes, it's time for mourning."

Her Ursuline players know what they've got and they appreciate it. Barnhill doesn't really think they know that much about her esteemed background. The older ones? They know.

"She's pretty great," said senior Maddy Hughes. "She's probably in every lacrosse hall of fame you can name."

"She pretty much wrote the book," chimes in senior Lexi Goldberg.

Added senior Emily Blazskow: "We know what we're doing every time we step on the field. We trust her, with all the experience she has."

Barnhill was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2006. The FIL has publically recognized her status as a pioneer and innovator. She's also in the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame and Delaware Lacrosse Hall of Fame, as well as those at Tatnall and Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, where she merely starred in five sports.

"Field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, softball and badminton," she said of those she played. "I had varsity letters every season except hockey. The team was so stellar I didn't start freshman year. It took me a year to break in. But I learned a ton.''

From 1982-98, Barnhill was head women's lacrosse coach at William & Mary, which she guided to an AIAW national tournament berth and, then when the NCAA took over women's sports, six more postseason berths. She had 26 All-Americans, nine U.S. players and a 157-87-1 record. But on the day of what would be her final game, an event in Delaware ended up bringing her home.

"I was coaching an NCAA game with my William & Mary girls and my dad died during the game and somehow I knew it," she said of George T. Barnhill III, a Wilmington dentist.

"Something happened on that mountain. I thought that's probably it for my collegiate career. The whole meat market of recruiting was beginning. I was seeing people be dishonest and cheat and talk behind their backs 'If you go there your coach is this and that's what's going to happen.' I really got tired of where that was going and the requirement to work year round."

So Barnhill came home and became Wiz Applegate's assistant coach at Tower Hill School while continuing to impact the sport on the international level, including as a coach, clinician and organizer for various international events, such as men's and women's world championships. This summer's itinerary includes working at the women's under-19 worlds in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Lacrosse has been the nation's fastest growing sport most of the 21st century, and that continues unabated. An annual participation report released by U.S. Lacrosse last month showed a 3.5-percent increase in youth participation just from the previous year, the 11th consecutive year in which the net increase had numbered 20,000 boys and girls.

Most of that growth is at the under-15 level. But, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, 551 schools added boys teams and 556 schools added girls programs from 2009 to 2014 — a growth rate of 27.8 percent for boys lacrosse and 31.2 percent for girls lacrosse. No other sport had an increase above 10 percent.

"It's the most fulfilling thing," said Barnhill, who, along with University of Delaware men's lacrosse coach Bob Shillinglaw, has authored many of the training programs that are given to young coaches and used in clinics.

And in her role as leader of the Federation of International Lacrosse, she has helped merge the management of the men's game (10 on a side with lots of contact) and the women's version (12 a side with limited contact).

"Same game, different sports," Barnhill said.

Lacrosse hasn't been an Olympic sport since 1908. But the 2014 men's world championships began with 40 teams and nearly as many are playing the women's version, so a return to the Summer Games isn't out of the question.

"We have the numbers to apply for recognition, which is the first step," Barnhill said. "We still have a ways to go. That's huge for us."

On a typical weekend, when she's not coaching, Barnhill said she'll watch six college games on TV. Among her many duties is also overseeing the selection of the women's Tewaaraton Award winner as college lacrosse's top player. But last weekend she marveled while watching the exploits of Albany's Lyle Thompson, the all-time leading scorer in Division I men's lacrosse who actually has a chance to be the first men's repeat Tewaaraton Award winner after sharing the 2014 award with brother Miles.

When it comes to lacrosse, Barnhill doesn't discriminate and she can't get enough.

"I've always been in the athletic field coaching. I've coached a lot of sports," she said. "But this game gives you the opportunity to be the most creative. It's a creator's game.

"And to see the growth that has occurred here in Delaware and in the world, to see the videos of kids playing lacrosse in Thailand – it's such an impactful, meaningful thing to see this game grow in all these various realms. And it all starts with little kids playing. It's infectious."

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.