When Lauren Scott graduated from Fairfield High School in 1999, there was no such thing as organized girls' lacrosse in town, and very few high schools in the county had a lacrosse program.
Five years later, the sport has developed into just another of the many that girls excel at in the area, and Scott finds herself in the thick of it all.

The 23-year-old, despite never having had the opportunity to pick up a stick at the high school level, is now a high school coach. Scott recently completed her first season as head coach of the Danbury High girls' lacrosse team.

While Scott's high school alma mater didn't establish a program until after her graduation, she still found a way to bring plenty of lacrosse experience to the field in Danbury. Scott got her first taste of the game during her freshman year at Western Connecticut State University, where a new team was forming.

Little did she know what lay ahead.

With some hard work and practice, Scott soon became a standout player. She scored well over 100 goals during her career, including 53 her senior year. The West Conn. alumnus holds the school single-season and career scoring records.

Now she's trying to help younger players elevate their games.

"I love the game - I want to stay involved," said Scott, who, as a midfielder, was an all-conference player in each of her last three seasons at West Conn. Scott was recognized for her skills on defense, midfield and attack, proving she has a solid understanding of the overall game.

Scott attributes having played sports throughout her life to the success she had at the collegiate level. She was a soccer and ice hockey player at Fairfield High, where her dad, Doug Scott, is still the varsity girls' hockey coach. Doug Scott has coached a variety of sports at different levels for 25-or-so years. Needless to say, it's obvious where Lauren gets some of her genes.

"I'm happy for her - she enjoys it," the elder Scott said.

Sports family

Lauren's two siblings, sister Katie and brother D.J., are also entrenched in the sports scene. Katie, a junior at the University of Connecticut, plays club hockey; D.J, a sophomore at FHS, plays hockey, football and rugby.

"It gives us time together," Doug Scott said of the importance of sports in the Scotts' lives. "Throughout the years, I've had the opportunity to coach each of them at the youth level."

Doug and Lauren now coach together at the youth level - they run her cousins' U-10 boys' soccer team, a gig that first exposed Lauren to coaching last fall.

Lauren Scott hasn't coached for all that long, but Danbury High School Athletic Director Chip Salvestrini says she is advanced for her age.

"You'd think she'd coached many, many more years than she actually has," Salvestrini said.

The athletic director said Scott, who was a communications major, not only has a good rapport with the girls, but also with their parents. Some of what Scott brings to the table can be attributed to her father and the advice he offers her.

"Probably the best tip you can give someone at this age is when you first jump in, winning seems so important - but there are so many other aspects [to playing sports]," Doug Scott said.

This is especially the case for an inexperienced team, such as the Danbury Hatters. More than 80 percent of Danbury's varsity participants are second- or third-year players of the game. They won just four games this spring, but Salvestrini pointed out that Scott made it a positive experience for the up-and-coming athletes throughout the season

"It is discouraging to play when you're losing by 20 goals," said Scott, referring to those tough games against longer-established dominant programs such as Greenwich High. "You always have to say them they have to work hard and find ways to have fun."

Despite the fact the two teams Scott coaches are different in age and gender, she is able to apply some of the same approach to both groups. Both the boys and girls require an emphasis on teaching skills of the game - the boys' soccer players because of their age, and the high schoolers because of their inexperience, Scott said.

She is learning the art of teaching skills on and off the field. Scott is currently in graduate school earning her teaching degree at Southern Connecticut State University, with plans to teach physical education.

Although it seems like Scott had a smooth transition from her college playing days to her high school coaching days, there were a few bumps along the way.

Scott initially planned to earn her teaching degree at Central Connecticut State University in a graduate assistantship program. But only a matter of days before she was supposed to start, the program was withdrawn after the state cut money from the school budgets.

"It was frustrating because I thought I had a plan. There I am, 22 years old, about to start my life - but everything diminished right there," Scott recalled.

Soon thereafter, Scott got a phone call from her college coach, telling her about the Danbury High job - and it seems to have worked out.

"Right now, I'm really loving the high school level," Scott said.