When Ange Bradley attended a recruiting event in Virginia over the summer in search of a new assistant coach, she wanted to find the best fit for her staff.

Bradley wasn’t prepared to settle. She spoke with candidate after candidate, but none piqued her interest.

Then she met Natalie Barrett.

‘I just was meeting with different people, looking for an assistant coach to fill a vacancy,’ Bradley said. ‘When I met Natalie, I met with so many people, and within 30 minutes I knew she was the person I wanted to work with.’

The pair hit it off in their discussion and soon after, Barrett joined Bradley’s coaching staff. The youthful Barrett has made an immediate contribution to the program, coaching from the sidelines during games and competing on the field in practice. Barrett will be a key part of the Orange’s (3-2) preparation for a pair of home games this weekend against Rutgers (1-4) and No. 19 Princeton (2-2).

Three years ago, Barrett was still competing at the collegiate level for Kent State. The forward then moved on to serve as an assistant coach at Division III Christopher Newport University. Now at SU, she still gets the urge to play, frequently hopping into drills during practice.

 ‘Any time I can get a chance to play, I love it,’ Barrett said. ‘I love playing against the girls and just really being a part of the practice, whether that be more from the coaching aspect or the player-coaching side.’

Barrett’s ability to coach and challenge players in practice is something that sets her apart from most coaches. She can relate to players on the field as her playing days are still fresh in her mind.

Senior midfielder Martina Loncarica likes what Barrett brings to the team and appreciates her unique perspective.

‘She just competes with us,’ Loncarica said. ‘Sometimes she can see something from a player perspective, and she’ll help you with little things like pick-ups or how to perform certain skills.’

Besides teaching players technique, Barrett creates a competitive atmosphere at practice when she competes in drills.

And when she does play, Bradley has noticed the players are more motivated to fight harder. They want to beat their coach.

‘It helps with the speed of a drill, the smarts of a drill and it also ups the ante a little bit,’ Bradley said. ‘It makes practices more competitive, because you’re going against your coach and you always want to beat your coach.’

That competition between the players and Barrett can often be seen in small-game scenarios at practice. These scenarios include possession games and drills that feature uneven sides, with either the offense or defense having an extra player.

On Tuesday, Barrett jumped into a series of 5-on-4 and 3-on-2 drills in which players would rotate on offense and defense. And as the players aimed to beat their coach, they were also improving.

The drills change every week. They are specifically geared toward preparing the team for its upcoming games, Barrett said.

‘We’ll do multiple variations,’ Barrett said. ‘We’ll do different types of attacking. We’ll do it on defending. There isn’t just one set pattern. We’ll do multiple variations to focus on the aspects that we need to get ready for the weekend.’

Barrett’s presence in those drills only adds to the preparation. She brings out the best in the players each day. And she has enjoyed her first major coaching experience so far.

Looking back on that day in Virginia this past summer, Barrett could not be happier with the way the situation has unfolded. She and Bradley share the same vision for the Orange and are driven to push SU to the top.

‘The two of us, we’re on the same page as far as her expectations of the team and the goals that we want to achieve,’ Barrett said.

sebail01@syr.edu

Published on September 14, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1