Photo by: Lance Wendt
Stinson's Leadership Key For Buffs Down The Stretch
April 04, 2019 | Lacrosse
BOULDER – Confidence, motivation, inspiration and accountability are all traits of a leader. More importantly, these are all characteristics of University of Colorado senior attacker Miranda Stinson.
In her senior year, Stinson has found herself in a leadership role for the lacrosse team as she is one of four captains. After three seasons of having other players like Johnna Fusco and Darby Kiernan to look up to, now she is the one that younger players are looking up to, and even she admits it's a lot of responsibility.
"I have to make sure that the less experienced people that are on the field are doing their jobs and I'm giving them confidence to step up, because, I can't do it all," she said. "I have to give them confidence, be a better leader, and not just be a player as a senior. It is more pressure in a different way. It is a lot of responsibility. When we have losses, I take that a lot more personally. The performance of everyone on the field has to do with the leadership."
Sixth-year head coach Ann Elliott Whidden knows that Stinson has been challenged in many ways throughout her career, but thinks she has adjusted well to her new role of leader.
"She's been challenged in many ways here over the last few years, and has been challenged this year in terms of her leadership," Whidden said. "And to step up and fill the shoes of some of the other great players that we've had. She's done a great job of that, especially this year, I think that she responds as a leader. She understands that no matter how good she is, she always needs to be better and there is always something else that she can do. She has accepted that challenge this year, and hopefully that will lead to her having an exciting senior year, and an exciting last month or so of playing."
One of the biggest challenges during Stinson's career was during her junior year when the coaching staff moved her from midfielder to attacker. Now a year later, she is very happy with the change.
"I definitely felt a little bit lazier going from midfield to attack," she said. "Now that I've been at attack for some time, I understand that there is more that I can do. In the ride, I can cause turnovers and in transition, I can push that a lot harder than I could have as a midfielder. Now, I'm just more attack focused and I'm doing my job a lot better. I feel like I can do a lot more on attack rather than doing what I did at midfield."
Stinson did not become the leader she is overnight. She has actually been playing lacrosse since she was in sixth grade, although it was not her first sport.
"I played soccer for the longest time," she said. "I played toddler soccer up until sixth grade when I started playing lacrosse and field hockey. In high school, I ran indoor track and I did swim team for one season. I also did rock climbing for two indoor seasons."
Once she started playing lacrosse, she fell in love with it. "I had so much fun playing," Stinson said. "It was so fast paced. Every other sport I played was a dribbling sport. I loved that in lacrosse you had the ball, you had control and it was very fast paced."
When it came time to look at colleges, Stinson fell in love with the University of Colorado throughout the recruiting process. She knew she wanted to be in a 'classic college town' and she loved the outdoors.
In addition, "I wanted a big campus with a big college town and it was absolutely beautiful," she said. "I love fishing and I love the mountains. Talking to Ann, Colleen (Magarity) and Hannah (Nielsen) at the time I knew that there was a really solid plan and that the program was going to go places. I was confident in the coaching staff. Colorado's athletic department is phenomenal and the facilities are great."
As a freshman in 2016, she recorded 13 goals and three assists for 16 points for the Buffs. But then during her sophomore campaign, she more than tripled that output with 51 points (36 goals and 15 assists), all of which are tied for second in the CU sophomore record book.
On the difference between those seasons, she said it was an adjustment. "I just adapted and I knew what I was doing," she said. "I gained a lot of understanding and confidence by my sophomore year to take the ball to the net."
The upward trajectory continued during her junior year as she tallied 77 points. Her 58 goals that season are a CU junior record and her 19 assists rank second.
Now in her final season, she has shown no signs of slowing down. Through 10 games, she leads the team in points (45), goals (35) and assists (10), as well as caused turnovers (15), shots (92), shots on goal (66) and draw controls (15). She set the single-game goals record with eight against California on March 10, which included a CU record for most goals in a half (six). With her eight goals, she broke her former record of seven goals in a game, which she shared with Kiernan.
Where she was as a freshman to where she is now has certainly been a journey, one that Whidden is excited about.
"Seeing where she was as a freshman, to where she is now as an individual, and as a leader for our team is a big change," Whidden said. "Hopefully she understands that and sees that and is excited about the player that she has become, and the leader that she has become on this team."
She has also earned numerous awards during her career at CU. This year she has been named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week three times, but an even bigger honor is the fact that she was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. The Tewaaraton Award will be given to the top male and female NCAA athlete at the end of the season, so it is a pretty big honor to be included amongst the nation's best.
"It meant a lot to me because I knew it meant a lot to my coaches and the people who got me here," Stinson said. "My high school coach saw I was on the list and my mom said that she was crying. So, that makes me really happy. Personally, I don't believe awards mean much unless the team wins. It means a lot that I have that to give back to the people that got me here."
There is a lot of season still left to play with five regular season games and the Pac-12 Tournament at the end of April. And if all goes well, the NCAA Tournament. Stinson knows it needs to be a team effort to get there, but she is ready to do what she can to help the team reach its goals once again this season.
"Team-wise, I want us to win the Pac-12," she said. "We need to win these last games. The Pac-12 Tournament is really difficult for everybody because it's at a mentally draining point in the season. We need to focus and keep that focus going into the tournament. I also want to get into the NCAA tournament and make it farther than we did last year."
As far as individually, Stinson knows exactly what she wants. "I want to keep up my production," she said. "I need to keep having a solid shooting percentage, because that was something I really struggled with last year. I would like to not just be an honorable mention All-American. I would like to be an All-American. I want to leave no regrets coming off the field. I want to know that I did everything I could for this team. I want to cause turnovers, groundballs, assists, and win draw controls. Everywhere I am present; I want to do the best that I can do."
Stinson has proven over the years that she can do a lot for this team. As a sophomore, she recorded a career-high nine points in CU's first ever road win against a ranked team, No. 6 Penn State. She had five goals and four assists in the 16-11 victory. She also owns the CU single-game record in goals with eight, which she has done twice already this season. As a junior, she was the second leading scorer for the team and now in her senior season, she leads the Buffs in just about every category and is the leader the Buffs need heading into the final stretch.
One thing is certain. No matter how the rest of the season plays out, Stinson has definitely left her mark on the program.
In her senior year, Stinson has found herself in a leadership role for the lacrosse team as she is one of four captains. After three seasons of having other players like Johnna Fusco and Darby Kiernan to look up to, now she is the one that younger players are looking up to, and even she admits it's a lot of responsibility.
"I have to make sure that the less experienced people that are on the field are doing their jobs and I'm giving them confidence to step up, because, I can't do it all," she said. "I have to give them confidence, be a better leader, and not just be a player as a senior. It is more pressure in a different way. It is a lot of responsibility. When we have losses, I take that a lot more personally. The performance of everyone on the field has to do with the leadership."
Sixth-year head coach Ann Elliott Whidden knows that Stinson has been challenged in many ways throughout her career, but thinks she has adjusted well to her new role of leader.
"She's been challenged in many ways here over the last few years, and has been challenged this year in terms of her leadership," Whidden said. "And to step up and fill the shoes of some of the other great players that we've had. She's done a great job of that, especially this year, I think that she responds as a leader. She understands that no matter how good she is, she always needs to be better and there is always something else that she can do. She has accepted that challenge this year, and hopefully that will lead to her having an exciting senior year, and an exciting last month or so of playing."
One of the biggest challenges during Stinson's career was during her junior year when the coaching staff moved her from midfielder to attacker. Now a year later, she is very happy with the change.
"I definitely felt a little bit lazier going from midfield to attack," she said. "Now that I've been at attack for some time, I understand that there is more that I can do. In the ride, I can cause turnovers and in transition, I can push that a lot harder than I could have as a midfielder. Now, I'm just more attack focused and I'm doing my job a lot better. I feel like I can do a lot more on attack rather than doing what I did at midfield."
Stinson did not become the leader she is overnight. She has actually been playing lacrosse since she was in sixth grade, although it was not her first sport.
"I played soccer for the longest time," she said. "I played toddler soccer up until sixth grade when I started playing lacrosse and field hockey. In high school, I ran indoor track and I did swim team for one season. I also did rock climbing for two indoor seasons."
Once she started playing lacrosse, she fell in love with it. "I had so much fun playing," Stinson said. "It was so fast paced. Every other sport I played was a dribbling sport. I loved that in lacrosse you had the ball, you had control and it was very fast paced."
When it came time to look at colleges, Stinson fell in love with the University of Colorado throughout the recruiting process. She knew she wanted to be in a 'classic college town' and she loved the outdoors.
In addition, "I wanted a big campus with a big college town and it was absolutely beautiful," she said. "I love fishing and I love the mountains. Talking to Ann, Colleen (Magarity) and Hannah (Nielsen) at the time I knew that there was a really solid plan and that the program was going to go places. I was confident in the coaching staff. Colorado's athletic department is phenomenal and the facilities are great."
As a freshman in 2016, she recorded 13 goals and three assists for 16 points for the Buffs. But then during her sophomore campaign, she more than tripled that output with 51 points (36 goals and 15 assists), all of which are tied for second in the CU sophomore record book.
On the difference between those seasons, she said it was an adjustment. "I just adapted and I knew what I was doing," she said. "I gained a lot of understanding and confidence by my sophomore year to take the ball to the net."
The upward trajectory continued during her junior year as she tallied 77 points. Her 58 goals that season are a CU junior record and her 19 assists rank second.
Now in her final season, she has shown no signs of slowing down. Through 10 games, she leads the team in points (45), goals (35) and assists (10), as well as caused turnovers (15), shots (92), shots on goal (66) and draw controls (15). She set the single-game goals record with eight against California on March 10, which included a CU record for most goals in a half (six). With her eight goals, she broke her former record of seven goals in a game, which she shared with Kiernan.
Where she was as a freshman to where she is now has certainly been a journey, one that Whidden is excited about.
"Seeing where she was as a freshman, to where she is now as an individual, and as a leader for our team is a big change," Whidden said. "Hopefully she understands that and sees that and is excited about the player that she has become, and the leader that she has become on this team."
She has also earned numerous awards during her career at CU. This year she has been named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week three times, but an even bigger honor is the fact that she was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. The Tewaaraton Award will be given to the top male and female NCAA athlete at the end of the season, so it is a pretty big honor to be included amongst the nation's best.
"It meant a lot to me because I knew it meant a lot to my coaches and the people who got me here," Stinson said. "My high school coach saw I was on the list and my mom said that she was crying. So, that makes me really happy. Personally, I don't believe awards mean much unless the team wins. It means a lot that I have that to give back to the people that got me here."
There is a lot of season still left to play with five regular season games and the Pac-12 Tournament at the end of April. And if all goes well, the NCAA Tournament. Stinson knows it needs to be a team effort to get there, but she is ready to do what she can to help the team reach its goals once again this season.
"Team-wise, I want us to win the Pac-12," she said. "We need to win these last games. The Pac-12 Tournament is really difficult for everybody because it's at a mentally draining point in the season. We need to focus and keep that focus going into the tournament. I also want to get into the NCAA tournament and make it farther than we did last year."
As far as individually, Stinson knows exactly what she wants. "I want to keep up my production," she said. "I need to keep having a solid shooting percentage, because that was something I really struggled with last year. I would like to not just be an honorable mention All-American. I would like to be an All-American. I want to leave no regrets coming off the field. I want to know that I did everything I could for this team. I want to cause turnovers, groundballs, assists, and win draw controls. Everywhere I am present; I want to do the best that I can do."
Stinson has proven over the years that she can do a lot for this team. As a sophomore, she recorded a career-high nine points in CU's first ever road win against a ranked team, No. 6 Penn State. She had five goals and four assists in the 16-11 victory. She also owns the CU single-game record in goals with eight, which she has done twice already this season. As a junior, she was the second leading scorer for the team and now in her senior season, she leads the Buffs in just about every category and is the leader the Buffs need heading into the final stretch.
One thing is certain. No matter how the rest of the season plays out, Stinson has definitely left her mark on the program.