Nancy Bernardini

Describe a moment that stands out in your mind. 

After losing thirteen players from the previous year, our lacrosse team had a rebuilding season. The girls had a lot of athletic ability but not much varsity experience. Every game was a struggle, as we competed against teams who had played together for years. My girls worked hard, playing their hearts out for every second until the horn sounded. Steadily, we improved.

The last game of the season was against a team of twenty-eight alumnae, many of them college players and recent college graduates, who had come back to relive the experience of playing George School lacrosse. These women were strong—the strongest alumnae team in my thirty-plus years of coaching. But the varsity girls played an incredible game, passing the ball quickly, scoring goal after goal, intercepting pass after pass, encouraging one another to work hard, and playing a beautiful “team” game with pride and determination. All they had learned in the season came together, and they blew the alumnae away.

Players and spectators alike were impressed, as was I, proud of my past and present students, who played lacrosse as hard and as well as they could, for one another and because they loved the game.

What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned through coaching?

If you love what you do, believe in yourself and your teammates, have fun while you work hard, and learn how to play the game, you and your team will go far and the experience will be positive for all.

More about Nancy:

Nancy came to George School in 1978, after receiving a BS from Ursinus College. She loves to play and watch sports, walk her dog, garden, read non-fiction books, and spend time with her family.