It’s only about 30 miles from Ludwig Field in College Park, Md. to Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
But the excellence of, and lessons from, Cindy Timchal have continued even after a coaching move that shook the game two decades ago.
Timchal, remember, had been the architect of one of the best patches of play in the history of NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse, overseeing the University of Maryland to national championships every season from 1995 to 2001. But after the 2006 season, she moved over to the U.S. Naval Academy to take over their nascent varsity program.
The first season, the Mids were a club team. But they won 18 games and finished second in the U.S. Lacrosse national championship for women’s collegiate clubs.
Tuesday was the latest personal milestone for the Hall of Fame coach, as she picked up her 600th coaching victory in Division I — the only person to have achieved that mark.
But even deeper than this milestone is the wide and deep coaching tree that Timchal has engendered over her career at Northwestern, Maryland, and the Naval Academy.
Former players like Jen Adams, Acacia Walker-Weinstein, Kerstin Kimel, and Kelly Amonte-Hiller populate the coaching boxes at Division I university lacrosse programs. Too, Timchal coached former U.S. women’s national field hockey team member Jen Averill before she would win national championships at Wake Forest.
These days, Timchal isn’t churning out coaching talent; the women who finish four years at the Naval Academy go directly into the United States Navy or the Marine Corps. However, the occasional figure shows up in the post-graduate space. Ingrid Boyum, after serving five years in the Navy, showed up for tryouts for the 2024 U.S. women’s national box lacrosse team. She helped pace the U.S. to gold in the inaugural championship game, beating Canada 10-7. And this even game as she tore a ligament in her knee making a fourth-quarter stop.
That’s the kind of desire that is the hallmark of Timchal as a coach; she has harnessed the physical talent and mental makeup of her players. She has not only led them to excellence on the pitch, but off. The women who have played for her graduate as better people.