NORTHAMPTON - Smith College lacrosse assistant coach Phoebe Crowther has been selected to take part in the 2026-27 IWLCA Aspire Classes, as announced by the association last week. 

Aspire, which launched in 2024, was designed to align with the IWLCA's vision to offer an intensive, high-quality continuing education opportunity for current assistant coaches. Crowther was chosen as one of 26 coaches to take part in the program, and one of only 10 coaches at the Division III level.

"We received valuable feedback from last year's participants and have used it to tweak some elements of the program to ensure it is continually evolving to meet the needs of our membership," said IWLCA Director of Internal Operations and Programming, Danie Caro. "The coaches that have already completed the program cited increases in confidence, positive personal growth, and new peer connections as some of the top benefits of their experience and that's exactly what we hoped for when we launched this programming. I am very excited to see this year's class of participants take this self-improvement journey and apply what they've learned in their own programs."

The IWLCA continues to work with e.t.c. coaching consultants to plan and execute the Aspire program's curriculum, and Sarah McQuade and Julie Muller will serve as the lead facilitators. The parallel cohorts will partake in virtual and in-person programming throughout the fall semester, wrapping up in January 2027 to allow the participants time to focus on their teams and put their coursework to use during their competitive season.

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