Clement Park Girls Lacrosse Camp

Coach Ann Elliott Whidden is in her 10th season as the head coach at Colorado and has compiled a 98-53 record (.649) in her time.

She has been recognized twice as the IWLCA West/Midwest Region Coach of the Year (2017 and ’18) and was the 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and 2017 MPSF Coach of the Year. In addition, she was selected to be an assistant coach for the 2019 U.S. U20 Team which won gold, defeating Canada 13-3 at the world championship.

Whidden was hired as CU’s first-ever head lacrosse coach on March 26, 2012, just short of two months after the school officially added the program.

In her eight years as the leader of the program, the Buffaloes have thrived. Besides an impressive overall record, she has guided the team to a 47-16 mark in conference play, which includes a 9-1 record during the inaugural Pac-12 season in 2018. With that mark, the Buffs became the first-ever regular season Pac-12 Lacrosse Champions.

Under Whidden’s guidance, the Buffs have become a nationally recognized lacrosse program, doing so very quickly since the program started in 2014. In the first four years of competition, the Buffs finished in the top four of the MPSF, which included a second-place finish in 2017.

Then in 2018, the fifth year of the program, CU won the inaugural Pac-12 Conference regular season championship. During the 2019 season, the Buffs recorded their third straight NCAA Tournament berth and advanced to the second round for the second straight year. CU has always finished over .500.

Under her leadership, several players have earned numerous honors in the program’s history, including Julia Lisella, who was named the 2018 IWLCA Goalkeeper of the Year. Four of her athletes have combined for six IWLCA All-America honors. Sarah Brown and Lisella were the first two players to earn first team honors (2018); Brown was also a second team honoree in 2017. Darby Kiernan was also a two-time All-American, earning second team honors in 2018 and third team honors in 2017. Paige Soenksen was the fourth Buff to record the prestigious award as a member of the third team in 2017.

Additionally, Whidden’s athletes have recorded 18 all-region and 34 all-conference honors, as well as 18 conference all-tournament selections. In eight seasons, CU has earned 45 weekly conference awards. CU has also earned the Pac-12 Defender of the Year (Brown, 2018 and Lisella, 2021) and the Pac-12 Attacker of the Year (Miranda Stinson, 2019).

Prior to joining Colorado, Whidden was a major force at powerhouse Northwestern. After an astounding collegiate career, she returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach ahead of the 2009 season. Before the start of the 2012 season, she became the first to ever be promoted to the associate level. As a player and aide under Kelly Amonte Hiller, who is considered to be one of the nation’s top coaches and recruiters, Whidden and Northwestern appeared in the NCAA title game seven times, winning six titles, including three as a player and three as a member of the staff.

After graduating from Northwestern with a bachelor’s degree in radio, television and film in 2007, Whidden served as the head coach of the Wildcat Elite Club and the Wildcat Developmental Team for Amonte Sports. She also spent one season as an assistant coach for New Trier High School, helping the Trevians to the 2008 state championship.

She was also actively involved in Amonte Sports since her playing days at Northwestern, serving as a camp counselor as well as heading the development of New Wave lacrosse clinics for the organization and coordinating youth and high school clinics across the country. She also utilized her major, doing extensive work in video production for Amonte.

Primarily a defender during her collegiate career, she played in 72 games, including starts in 63 of a possible 64 her sophomore through senior years, all NCAA championship seasons. As a senior and team captain in 2007, she was an Inside Lacrosse third-team All-America selection when she was a key member of a defensive unit that allowed an NCAA-low 6.1 goals per game, with opponents scoring in double figures only twice. She played an important role on Northwestern’s 2005, 2006 and 2007 national championship teams, scoring 14 goals, causing 44 turnovers and scooping up 101 ground balls. She earned four varsity letters and was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten team member.

Whidden was a four-year letter-winner in lacrosse at Ohio’s Shaker Heights High, where she set a school record with 278 ground balls. She had 115 goals, 50 assists, 114 caused turnovers and 99 draw controls in her prep career.

Coach Whidden was a two-time All-America and first-team all-state selection, helping lead the Raiders to two state championships and four consecutive seasons of undefeated conference play. As a senior, she was the team captain and was named the Northeast Ohio Defender of the Year. Whidden also played goalie for the Ohio Flames ice hockey club team, which finished second at nationals in 2002, and lettered one year as a goalie on OSHH’s field hockey team.