Kara Sanford | Founder, womenslaxdrills.com (based in Amsterdam; community worldwide)
When Hurricane Sandy derailed her marketing career, Kara Sanford took a temporary coaching job and never looked back. Years later, a move from New Jersey to Cologne, Germany handed her a new challenge: no local coaching network, a big time-zone gap, and no quick way to swap drills or ideas.
So she built the resource she wished existed.
Today, Kara runs womenslaxdrills.com—a thriving, member-driven community of 1,200 coaches serving girls’ and women’s lacrosse across every level, from “littles” through college. It’s part library, part classroom, part coffee shop—where coaches learn, share, and connect.
“I started it because I needed it. Now it’s a place where coaches feel seen, supported, and never alone.”
The Spark: From NJ Sidelines to a Startup in Europe
Kara grew up in New Jersey, where lacrosse was love at first whistle. A high school coach who mentored through tough life moments left a lasting imprint; Kara carried that standard into college, then into her own coaching career.
After Sandy, a “temporary” coaching role rekindled her purpose. When an opportunity came to coach in Germany, she jumped—then realized she’d left behind the fastest-growing asset in her toolkit: a dense web of coaches she could text or meet for coffee.
The solution became the mission: connect coaches anywhere, anytime—and make it practical.
Inside womenslaxdrills.com: Built for How Coaches Actually Work
Kara’s community, called Circle Up, is designed around real coaching life:
Level Pathways:
- Littles (4th grade & under)
- 5–6th
- 7–8th
- High School & Club
- College
Everything in One Place:
- Trainings (live + recorded) led by top trainers and college coaches
- Drills with video, PDF, equipment & coaching cues, and even GIF diagrams for quick visual learning
- Practice plans, skills libraries, agility & prehab, and coaching tools
Community Feed (High-Touch, High-Help)
- Post film questions (“What defense is Hopkins running?”) and get answers + linked resources
- Niche groups (International, Littles, etc.)
- Book club (half-year)
- Perks, partnerships, events, and weekly updates
Kara obsesses over learning styles—so each drill includes multiple formats (watch it, read it, visualize it). The result is a resource you can use between classes, on the bus, or at the field.
“If you’re a visual learner, a listener, or a read-and-go person—there’s a way for you to learn here.”
Community > Content
Yes, the content is robust. But the culture is the differentiator:
- Kara knows members by name. She hosts the meet-and-greet, keeps touchpoints high, and DMs coaches directly.
- The tone: generous, curious, and human. Coaches hug at conventions. They share film breakdowns at midnight. They rally around the new coach who just took over a team of 12-year-olds.
The ripple effects are real. Kara recently stepped away from coaching—after stints with the German national team (field & Sixes)—but calls it “the most beautiful bow” that the entire German national staff today are womenslaxdrills members. The pipeline didn’t just teach; it elevated careers.
Where It’s Heading (And How It’s Decided)
Kara’s roadmap is simple: ask the community—then build what they ask for.
- Members recently requested more short-form content → it’s shipping.
- Kara dreams of more in-person meetups in the U.S.—not just at lacrosse events, but human connection gatherings: coffee, dinner, time to talk shop and life.
“Wherever the members want it to go, we’ll take it. My job is to listen and build.”
Why It Matters
Girls’ and women’s lacrosse is growing fast—but access to quality coach education isn’t always even. The stakes are highest in the earliest years, where one thoughtful coach can shape confidence, belonging, and a lifetime love of sport.
Womenslaxdrills.com gives coaches practical tools and a supportive network, so they can give athletes the same.
Try This With Your Team This Week
1. Choose from 200+ Drills – Pick a drill, learn it your way, teach it in 90 seconds, run it for 8 minutes.
2. Reverse Engineer a Play – Show the end result of a WLD offensive strategy, then challenge players to design the steps that lead there.
3. Two-Minute Journals – Post-practice, ask players to jot: “One thing I learned. One thing I’ll do better.”
4. Get Vulnerable – Post a burning question inside the WLD coaching community and see what comes back.
Why Signature Is Spotlighting Kara
At Signature Athletics, our mission is to Grow the Game—by making sport more inclusive, accessible, and coachable. Kara’s community is a living blueprint: level-specific resources, high-touch support, and a culture that helps coaches (and their players) thrive.
Want In?
- Coaches of girls’ & women’s lacrosse (men welcome if you coach girls/women): explore womenslaxdrills.com and ask about the Circle Up community.
- Brands & partners: want to support coach education that lifts access and quality? 📬 Reply to this email.
Have a story: know a coach or program changing the game? Nominate them for a future feature.
