Girls U14 Head Coach: Courtney Papka


Courtney is was one of those all around type of players who has played all positions on the field. She recently graduated  Chesterton high school where she was started all four years, captain her senior year, and started playing on the high school team as an 8th grader! While playing at Chesterton she helped lead her team to the sectional championships twice and semi state once. She played on travel teams East Ave and Lake effect. She helped Lake effect gain its first tournament championship. Even after high school  lacrosse has been a big part of her life as she coaches year around! When she isn’t coaching for Lake Effect she is coaching Valparaiso club. As the head coach for their 14U girls team. Courtney attends Indiana University Northwest where she is a double major in biology and geology.

Fun fact : live in a divided house during spring season … as Courtney and her sister Kaitlyn are both coaches  for local middle school programs who play against each other during spring season. 

U10/U12 BOYS: Nico Kitteridge


Lake Effect Lacrosse is pleased to welcome back Nico Kitteridge as a U10/U12 Boys Coach!
Nico attends Aquinas College studying Clinical Exercise Science where he plays lacrosse for the Saints. He has played lacrosse for 9 years, and has experience in multiple positions. Currently he is a midfielder. and I’m currently a midfielder. He has played travel lacrosse with Indy Elite, Titans Lacrosse, and East Ave. Nico is a returning coach and we are excited to see him develop and encourage young players in the region.

U10/U12 BOYS: Ty Pappas


Lake Effect Lacrosse is pleased to welcome Ty Pappas to the L.E. family as a U10/U12 Coach!
Ty, a graduate from Munster High School, currently attends Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI majoring in Clinical Exercise Science. He has 8 years of experience with the game. At Munster, he was team captain his senior year and won a state championship! A natural athlete, he was 4 year varsity athlete in High School for lacrosse and bowling. He was a captain all 4 years of high school for bowling, winning a state championship in bowling! He has experience playing in every position on the field, even goalie! We are so excited to see him share his Lacrosse IQ with young players in NWI!

Girls U10 Head Coach: Sylvia Coslov


Lake Effect Lacrosse is pleased to welcome home Sylvia Coslov as our Girls U10 Head Coach. Sylvia was first introduced to lacrosse when her brother played in 2013. She started playing her freshman year of high school, and has been playing lacrosse for four years now. She started playing attack her freshman year, and played midfield sophomore through senior year. She is on the leadership council for the girls lacrosse team this year and has played with both Lake Effect and East Ave throughout her highschool years. She is looking forward to her senior season and coaching for the first time this summer with Lake Effect Lax!

High School Girls Elite Head Coach: Maddie Cary


Lake Effect Lacrosse is proud to announce the promotion of Maddie Cary to Head Coach of the High School Girls Elite Team. This is Maddie’s second year coaching with Lake Effect and her third year with the company. Maddie is a sophomore at Franklin College, majoring in Spanish & Psychology, and minoring in Non-Profit Leadership. At FC, she is a starting player for the Grizzlies as a defensive player and the backup goalie. Last year, her team made program history and finished second in the conference championship game. During the conference tournament, Maddie represented the Grizzlies out on the field and in the goal. Prior to college, Maddie played for Chesterton High School and on the very first Lake Effect Girls team where her Defensive skills helped lead the team to a championship win in their first summer as a club. Maddie will bring her skills and experience from college action to help prepare these girls for their future as lacrosse players and challenge them to keep growing.

High School Girls Elite Offensive Coach: Rachel Speckhard


Lake Effect Lacrosse is thrilled to welcome home Rachel Speckhard as our High School Girls Elite Offensive Coach. Rachel Speckhard is a freshman at Saint Mary's College, majoring in Communcations Studies. As a Saint Mary's Belle, Rachel plays primarily attack. She played for Munster High School all four years and was a captain her Junior and Senior year. While at Munster, she was an All-Conference Player her Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year, All-Sectional Junior and Senior year, and All-State her Junior year! Summer of 2022, Rachel’s offensive skills and draw controls helped bring home a tournament championship, later earning her the title of 2022 Offensive MVP. Rachel has experience playing every position, but her focus will be Draw Control and Attack. She is so excited to be joining Lake Effect and hopes to help develop the team's skills as well as love for the sport.  

BOYS HIGH SCHOOL DEFENSIVE COACH: Kevin Fulk

Help us welcome back Coach Kevin! Kevin played and started at Chesterton High School for 4 years, where he decided on his college. Following this decision, he started all 4 years of college and was a captain for 3 of them. He graduated with degrees in International Business and German at Alma College. He is currently coaching the Chesterton High School Boys High School team with the help of Dave Rogers and Brian Staubas, being our backbone of organization. He is thrilled to see how they do this season and cannot wait to see more familiar faces come Lake Effect Season! 

Boys High School Head Coach: Kinley Hynote


Lake Effect Lacrosse is proud to announce Kinley Hynote as head coach of the High School Boys team.  This will be the second year Kinley served as head coach of the High School Boys. Summer of 2022, Kinley spent the summer training and serving as the assistant coach of our High School level team.  Kinley has been playing lacrosse for nearly 10 years.  He started his journey playing lacrosse for Chesterton Lacrosse Club in 4th grade.  Kinley started traveling during the summers in 6th grade and then in 8th grade began playing year round lacrosse.  He has played with the Steelheads, Titans and East Ave,  both out of Illinois. His experience includes Field, 7X7, Indoor and Box Lacrosse. Kinley is a graduate of Chesterton high School and was the Offensive MVP his senior year. He attends Indiana Tech where he majors in Marketing and plays lacrosse for the Warriors.

High School Girls Coach: Kaitlyn Papka

Allow us to reintroduce, Kaitlyn Papka, a very special part of our Lake Effect family.
Lacrosse has been apart of her life since 2017. Her alma mater is Chesterton high school, where she was a four year starter and captain. She was an all sectional player in 2021! After college she studied nursing at Purdue Northwest and became the first female coach for Lake Effect. Her first season coaching Lake Effect won its first tournament championship. She has been coaching with lake effect every season the program has ever had. She is now the head coach for crown point’s middle school girls program - coaching both 14u and 12u girls team.
“I don’t expect you to be the best player on the field but I do expect you to want it the most. .. it’s okay not to catch every pass but you better get that ground ball”.
Her coaching goal is to make players better human beings, she wants her players to leave Lake Effect with better sportsmanship, work ethics, and overall kindness/positivity while also improving their lacrosse skills and IQ.

Some fun facts about her is that she loves adventures such as skydiving, cliff jumping, zip lining and scary hikes. She also has coached all the Female Coaches on Lake Effect coaching staff.

5/8 Boys Youth Head Coach: Lucas Cunningham

Lucas Cunningham is originally from Columbus, Ohio. He has been playing lacrosse since the 4th Grade. Lucas has been a part of Chesterton Lacrosse where he has played primarily a defensive role. He wrapped us his high school career as Team Captain. Lucas has participated in travel lacrosse for 6 years as a part of Steelheads Lacrosse, East Ave Lacrosse, and Beast Ave Box Lacrosse. Lucas attends Wabash College and is a defensive player for their Men's Lacrosse Team. Lucas is also a Certified Lacrosse Ref! After the conclusion of his freshman year at Wabash, he was named WABASH DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR! Lacrosse runs deep in his family. Lucas’s father is the Assistant Coach for the Chesterton High School Girls Lacrosse team, his Sister plays for the Chesterton High School Varsity Lacrosse Team and East Ave, and his younger brother plays for Chesterton Lacrosse and East Ave Lacrosse Clubs.  This will be his third season coaching with Lake Effect and he is ready to get back after it!
"I am ready to prove that NWI is a powerhouse that has been in the shadows!" ~ Lucas Cunningham