The Great Leadership of Coach Lafronz and the Great Team Chemistry Among the Field Hockey Team

By Wayne Dawes | Published November 19, 2022

Leslie Lafronz, head coach for the women’s field hockey team, has been passionate about her experiences with her players for the past 14 years, watching them work hard, portray team spirit, and evolve on and off the field. 

Lafronz expressed that it is much deeper than just coaching field hockey, it is about building lifelong bonds with the players and staff.

 “I really enjoy watching the team work hard and seeing them excel on and off the field,” Lafronz said. “It is amazing to see our student-athletes mature and develop as players, teammates, and human beings.”

The women’s field hockey team is exceptionally talented and maintaining their national rank this year, it proves that coach Lafronz’s impact on the players and the hard work they put in is being noticed and awarded. 

“We have some very talented individuals with some exceptional individual stick skills and some excellent goalkeeping,” Lafronz said. “This year, I believe that our team is very balanced and that is why I think that we have excelled.”

Leading and training new players is a task awarded to veteran players in most sports. The most experienced players, usually seniors or fifth-year players are typically the ones who guide freshmen and new players teaching them the ins and outs of the sport and how they should conduct themselves.

Lafronz agrees stating that it is crucial for veterans to set the tone for the team by displaying exceptional leadership qualities. Veteran players set a positive example and communicate expectations for the team to the younger players. A critical step to accomplish team chemistry and success.

“Without this, it would be very difficult to sustain any type of success, ”Lafronz said. 

Team chemistry established by the women’s field hockey team has been effective as the team won 14 games and only lost four. They are nationally ranked and made the NJAC tournament before falling to The College of New Jersey on November 2, 4-3.

When it comes to leadership and leaving a legacy, Peyton Mann is a senior majoring in  Elementary Education K-6 with a TSD (Teacher of Students with Disabilities), Lafronz is exceptionally proud of the player and person Mann has become. Mann has been a four-year starter known as a quiet leader and a great teammate on and off the field. 

 “Peyton received the NJAC Offensive Player of the Year in our conference which is an impressive accolade as the NJAC is one of the strongest conferences in the country, ”Lafronz said.

Winning NJAC offensive player of the year is considered a great achievement but over the last two seasons Mann has stepped up as a player, scoring many goals to help the cougars win important games. 

“Peyton traveled overseas with me the past two years on international field hockey tours which really elevated her game, ” Lafronz said. She currently has 23 goals and 8 assists which puts her on track for the Kean goal-scoring record.”

Not only is Mann on pace to break school records but going overseas with Lafronz to work on her game shows how dedicated and committed she is to the sport.

Ja’Carra Jackson, a senior who is majoring in Biomedical Engineering and a forward for the women’s field hockey team, said being a member of the team has been challenging balancing both field hockey and academics, but it has also been a great experience.

Going into the NJAC tournament the women’s field hockey team had a successful season and for Jackson team dynamics and improvements will help the team get far during the season and the tournament. 

“Being able to reflect and improve as we move forward in the season. Also creating a better team dynamic that allows us to lean on each other and have fun,” Jackson said. 

Lafronz has her players improve on weaknesses and try different things that can make the team successful for future games. 

Jackson said they work on areas that needed improvement in previous games and experiment different techniques that may be useful and successful in future games.  

Mann has made her mark throughout the past four years and has been a huge contributor to the field hockey team’s success. 

“ My time with the field hockey team has been the best and one of the most important aspects of why I love Kean so much! There are many reasons why this program is one of the best in Division III field hockey,” Mann said. “From freshman year to right now, I have met and gotten to play with teammates who I would not trade for the world.”

Mann recently reached 100 career points this season on senior day and her response shows that she is focused on getting the win for the team instead of personal accolades but at the end of the day is proud of reaching that goal. 

“It took my dad and Coach Lafronz after the game to make me realize that I hit 100 points. It definitely was a great moment to reach that 100th point,” Mann said. “If you asked me my freshman year if I thought I would be reaching 100 points during my college career, I would probably say I don’t know if I could do it. But, what’s most important is that the team contributed to each of those 100 points.”

When a decision had to be made of where Mann was going to go to school and play field hockey, her cousin Chelsea who also played field hockey at Kean had a strong relationship with coach Lafronz and Mann really liked coach Lafronz ever since they met for the first time in 2014. 

“Coach Lafronz has taught me so much over the past couple of years of knowing her. I met her when my cousin, Chelsea, played here back in 2014. I always loved coming to watch my cousin play here, and I really liked Coach when I met her for the first time,” Mann said. “I got to play in the spring tournament, here, at Kean with some players who were going to be coming here, as well as came to the summer camp that upcoming summer.”

Coach Lafronz teaches her players valuable lessons on and off the field, and for Mann, these are lessons she can carry for the rest of her life on and off the field. 

“One of the things is how much your mindset plays a factor in everything that you do. She instilled that what you believe in yourself is what impacts your success or failure,” Mann said. “I can say that, when I came to play in college, I had more confidence in myself than before because I had that positive mindset that I can be successful.”

Mann not only loves the field hockey team but also has been intrigued by the student life at Kean university and her time as a student. 

“I have really enjoyed my time at Kean as a student! I have learned a lot from many of the classes that I have been in, and I’ve met some great professors, as well! There are so many opportunities to help with succeeding as a student both in and out of the classroom,” Mann said. “Kean has provided many ways to ensure you are doing well in the classroom and make sure this is your home away from home.”

Coach Lafronz has built long-lasting relationships with all of her players; she teaches them valuable lessons that will help them on and off the field. Jackson and Mann are huge contributors to the field hockey team’s success and both players have set their legacy in the sport.

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