Player Bio: Lellie Cherry Swords

Lellie Cherry Swords

Last College:
James Madison '96

Position:
Associate Head Coach

Experience:
Sixth Season

Lellie Cherry Swords, a 1996 graduate of James Madison, is entering her sixth season as the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins and was promoted to Associate Head Coach in the fall of 2006. Swords was a volunteer assistant her first season before being promoted to full-time status in August 2002.

Swords began her coaching career at George Mason. After one season with the Patriots, she became an assistant at Cornell, where she worked primarily with the defense. Cornell ranked as high as No. 15 during her three-year stint in Ithaca and won the 2000 ECAC Championship by defeating Hopkins. During the 2001 season, Swords was an assistant coach at the St. Paul's School for Girls in Baltimore. She continued her playing career on Team Toyota until retirement last year.

Swords directs a defense that was ranked in the top-10 nationally in 2003 and 2005. Johns Hopkins has posted a 56-28 record since Swords arrived as she has helped the program develop into one of the premier women's lacrosse programs in the nation. She coached 2005 IWLCA All-American Lacey-Leigh Hentz, who was a four-time First Team All-ALC defender. This past season, sophomore defender Sarah Gallion (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) earned Second Team All-ALC honors.

Swords was a four-year letterwinner at James Madison and started all 35 games on defense during her final two seasons. She led the team in interceptions with 55 as a junior and with 45 as a senior, and was awarded the team's "Unsung Hero Award" in 1996. Swords, a native of Cherry Hill, NJ, was also a Virginia 1/South 2 selection as a senior. She graduated from James Madison with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and minor in business.

Swords' husband Kyle played professional soccer in the A-League with the Hershey Wildcats and Charleston Battery, and in the indoor league with the Harrisburg Heat and Baltimore Blast. He is a physical education teacher and the head varsity soccer coach at Loyola Blakefield. The Swords welcomed their first child, Ryanne, into their lives in October 2005.