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Lauren Scorza always remembered a phrase Ange Bradley used to say during Scorza’s four years at Syracuse Field Hockey: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
For Bradley, it’s her motto in life. She grew up with six siblings and financial problems in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, an area where many of her peers didn’t go to college. But she stepped out of her comfort zone and played field hockey in Delaware on a scholarship — a decision Bradley will always be proud of.
“If I had made a different choice, I would never have gotten out of the comfort of knowing a new life, a different life,” Bradley said.
In December, Bradley left the field hockey world by announcing it retirement as Syracuse’s head coach after 16 years. In 32 years of college coaching — 26 years as a head coach — she compiled a record of 381-143-2, winning 246 of those at Syracuse. When SU defeated North Carolina 4-2 at the 2015 national championship, she became – and remains – the only head coach to lead a SU women’s athletic program to a title.
Now Bradley has opened her next chapter. Bradley married her 33-year-old partner on Friday. She moved back to her native Pennsylvania and lived in a Philadelphia home she bought during the pandemic.
After an Elite Eight loss to then-No. 3 Maryland in the 2022 NCAA tournament, Bradley felt she was in the perfect place to walk away.
“It was a good time to make the transition,” Bradley said. “I slowly made changes to be able to do something different. And basically it just felt right.”
Bradley wanted the opportunity to have different experiences. She and her partner both had friends who lost people to age before they could participate in retirement with them, Bradley said. This realization forced her to leave the sport on her own terms.
Her illustrious career began with a four-year stint at Goucher, Md., as its head coach, followed by six years as an assistant for Iowa and Maryland. She then served as Richmond’s head coach for six seasons from 2001 to 2006. In 2007, Bradley took on the Orange and amassed four Final Four appearances, two title games, 13 NCAA tournament bids and one national title.
Bradley said she doesn’t even know where Syracuse is on the map but sees it as an opportunity to achieve her one goal as a coach: win a national championship. It was her first head coaching position in a high-profile conference when Richmond played in the Atlantic 10. At the time, Syracuse was in the Big East before moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013.
“I knew[Syracuse]was a sleeping giant, you know, and it was a program I knew I could build,” Bradley said.
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As much as Bradley coached multiple players, she also made a point of learning from others. In Iowa, Bradley took lessons from coaches and players alike under then-head coach and former Olympic field hockey player Beth Beglin. Emma Russell, a 2015 Championship team forward, said Bradley “constantly” says she learns from her own players.
Bradley placed a high priority on instilling a sense of confidence and inspiration in her players, particularly in relation to the disparity between men’s and women’s sports, Bradley said. She enjoyed seeing her players find self-determination through sport.
“[The national championship]represented a lot of women,” Bradley said. “Then for the female athletes outside of field hockey, there was hope that (winning a championship) could be achieved.”
Many of Bradley’s former players have become field hockey coaches themselves. Scorza, who played at SU from 2011-14, is an assistant coach at Rochester – a position even she didn’t expect. Scorza spent four years in the business before returning to field hockey, and Bradley was one of her biggest influences, Scorza said.
“[Bradley]just built so much,” said Russell, a coach at St. Gerard’s School in Ireland. “(She) has passed (knowledge) to a lot of people who are coaching more girls and growing the game.”
The coaching tree and the connections Bradley has created is something she values deeply. At each school, she wanted her players to understand what they were playing for, Bradley said, and get involved with the university as a whole. She added that building her coaching tree is one “of the joys I will always have, probably more” than the championship. At Rochester, Scorza tries to instill the same mentality in their players.
In her first head coaching job at Goucher in 1991, Bradley said she built a sustainable culture and got results from it. In her freshman season, Bradley said the team only had seven players to start the season. The Gophers only finished 2-7. But after a year, Goucher improved to 12-7 the following season when Bradley received NCAA Division III South Region Coach of the Year honors. In her fourth and final season in 1994, Bradley led Goucher to the NCAA tournament, the first in the program’s history.
The early and significant results of the culture change she established team after team were evident at SU. Heather Sell, a goaltender at Syracuse from 2005 to 2008, was part of Bradley’s Syracuse first team in 2007. Sell said the whole team knew from the start that there was going to be a big cultural shift.
“[Bradley’s]expectations of us would definitely be higher than before,” Sell said. “I was a bit nervous. But at the same time I was excited because I wanted to see that change.”
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That year, the Orange had their best season since 2001, crowned by an appearance in a Big East Championship game, while Bradley received Big East Conference Coach of the Year honors.
Bradley also made it a point to ensure each of their teams was as physically fit as possible. Sell said Bradley didn’t want anyone to overhaul her team and was challenging her players “right from the start.”
In her sophomore season, Bradley made her biggest mark yet in collegiate field hockey. She was named Coach of the Year by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Under Bradley, the Oranges won the Big East Championship 22-2 and made it to the Final Four. At the time, it was the most successful season in the history of Syracuse’s women’s sport. The 2008 squad was the first SU women’s team to achieve a national No. 1 ranking.
Bradley has made the program a national powerhouse by building a culture of success, Russell said. Aside from countless team awards over her 16 seasons, Bradley took home four Big East Coach of the Year awards, one ACC Coach of the Year, and two NFHCA National Coach of the Year honors.
Their success made Syracuse an attractive target for some recruits. Current defender Jannemijn Deutman said Bradley’s winning mentality, along with SU’s style of play and team cohesion, is why she chose to play for the Orange.
“Everything was the perfect package,” said Deutman, who did the 2022 All ACC second team as a freshman.
As Bradley retires, she still maintains a relationship with her former players and even starts a group chat with program alumni. Before making her resignation public, she revealed it to the same group chat.
I knew (Syracuse) was a sleeping giant, you know, and it was a program I knew I could build. Ange Bradley, former SU field hockey head coach
Bradley wants the culture she launched in 2007 to continue without her, while still providing a sense of comfort and familiarity should players have concerns. Russell said she is in constant touch with Bradley for advice or career decisions. When Russell was in the US last summer, he visited Bradley along with several other former players. “It underscores the culture she’s built,” Russell said.
“They’re your people,” Bradley said. “You guys went through good times together. You’ve been through bad times together and despite everything you can talk to each other, respect each other.”
In retirement, it wasn’t long before Bradley returned to competition. She has picked up a new sport: Pickleball.
Just as she established a culture of winning, working hard and getting out of her comfort zone during her coaching career, Bradley is approaching her new role with the same mentality.
“Hopefully I make it to the national team,” joked Bradley. “I have to get better, I have to get in shape.”
Published on January 26, 2023 at 00:08
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