Sarah Lawrence College and The Birth of a Liberal Arts Soccer Program

SLC is a small, private liberal arts school in Westchester about a half hour outside New York City. It’s well known for a lot of things, but athletic prowess has never been one of them. A typical SLC student, if there is such a thing, is someone interested in the arts – from the theater to writing, to dance, and music. They are creative, intelligent, curious, and are more likely to be nominated for an Emmy or Pulitzer in the future than MVP of a big sports team.

So when a sport like soccer permeates the artsy-intellectual bubble of a storied school and resonates deeply with its people, we can see yet another aspect of how much the sport has grown.

This may not seem like a big deal. Lots of liberal arts schools have great soccer programs. But Sarah Lawrence is different. I know because I went there not too long ago when the biggest organized sporting event was the “fags versus dykes” ultimate frisbee game. There were no teams or even club level sports that students could participate in. There wasn’t a huge drive for it either but that has clearly changed. In 2011, the Gryphons hatched a soccer team. Three years after that the program rolled up its sleeves and joined the NCAA Division III Skyline Conference. They haven’t looked back.

When speaking with Head Coach, Maurizio Grillo via Skype, you could feel the deep respect and pride he has for the program. Coach Grillo has been at the school for three years and in that time has seen the program go from its scrappy infancy to something that’s becoming a part of the school culture. He speaks humbly in his thick, Italian accent, “The first year I was here, we got killed. The second year, that was exciting, we went 5-10! And this year, we won more than we lost.”

For anyone who knows what it’s like to start a team, that’s a pretty good trajectory of success in a short period of time. Coach Grillo recalls his captain, Sophia Spralja, telling him she couldn’t believe her first year they didn’t have uniforms that matched, and this year they made it to the postseason. “It’s been kind of a dream season,” he says with a wide smile.

The dream season is right. Coach Grillo was awarded Coach of the year in the Skyline Conference and as for that postseason game, the Gryphons won it.

I wondered if secretly the coach was some kind of a real hard ass and asked him about his coaching technique. It sounded unusual at first, but not for a school like Sarah Lawrence.
“I often tell my players, if you need a day off to rest or have a big test, you should do that.” I never threaten them ‘you won’t start tomorrow if you missed practice.’ And the funny thing is that even when they’re cramming, or sick, they find time to come to practice and work.”

What’s impressive is the way that the school has kept its creative and experiential learning style yet created a competitive, successful program. Make no mistake, Coach Grillo spends time recruiting the best players by taking several trips to the west coast and looking for that skilled player whose creative streak is not only played out in patterns on the field but can express them in the classroom. “I know that students come to Sarah Lawrence to learn, not (necessarily) win an NCAA title, so it’s a balance.”

Sarah Lawrence has definitely upped its game. Now, when you visit the campus, one of the main attractions is the 48,000 square foot Campbell Sports Center, which includes a Fitness Center, two basketball/volleyball courts, elevated jogging track, a swimming pool, squash courts, student lounges, rowing tanks, and a multipurpose dance studio.

To support the flourishing soccer program, the school made a deal with the city and now has a designated field for their homes games, Fleming Field. They also provide fan vans for games in the area and, yeah, now the team now has matching kits in their team colors of green and white.

All of this bodes well for the future of women’s soccer at Sarah Lawrence and the country as a whole. I’m particularly proud of my alma mater for its ability to evolve with their student body’s needs and desires. Like the mythical and powerful gryphon they wear on their crest, which symbolizes strength and intelligence, there’s no telling how far this team of young women can go.

The sky’s the limit for the lady Gryphons to spread their wings and take soccer and the world, by storm.

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