Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year: Humphries leads Hillgrove to new heights

In his fifth season as Hillgrove’s girls lacrosse coach, Keon Humphries experienced his best season to date and led the Lady Hawks to an 18-2 record in their most successful season in program history.

After winning a second area title, advancing to the state quarterfinals and posting a 7.7 average goal differential, Humphries was named the Cobb County Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year by his peers.

“This year, we had a lot of firsts,” Humphries said. “First time making it to the elite eight. First time being ranked in the top 10. First time beating Milton. First USA Lacrosse Magazine Player of the Week ever from (girls) lacrosse. On and on and on, just a ton of firsts. And it’s good to have those things, and to put those things down in our history books.”

Hillgrove won 16 games in a row at one point, and Humphries said his players gained great leadership skills and experience during this stretch.

“Honestly, going into this year, knowing the team that I had (and) knowing the girls I had, I expected them to follow the line,” Humphries said. “I was confident in those girls all year and the leadership that we had on this team. It was a fun ride. It was a fairy tale of a run.”

After outscoring McEachern and Carrollton a combined 33-7 to open the season, Hillgrove lost to eventual state runner-up Creekview to drop to a 2-1. This is what Humphries said was the beginning of the “fairy tale” moment of the season.

Humphries believed the team was going to be special after the second day of practice. He attributed that to the confidence and an environment of competitiveness, talent and leadership capabilities they possessed from Day 1.

“I knew this team was special after the second practice,” Humphries said. “It was a perfect storm of an amazing senior class, dominant goalie and an extremely talented sophomore that made all the difference. These girls created an environment of competitiveness every day and literally picked back up where we left off from last season. They were working at a level that was 10 games ahead of where we were.

“The key was this talented sophomore class that really impressed the seniors. If you can compete against this senior class every day, you will undoubtedly become better.”

Humphries praised senior leader Lauren Render, a midfielder who has signed with Virginia Tech.

“Lauren Render is the absolute most dynamic, dominant and humble athlete that anybody would ever have come to,” Humphries said.

Humphries, a former wide receiver from 2004-08 at Mississippi State and Alabama State, credited his former coaches for teaching him about the mental prowess of coaching sports and being a pro.

“I would say I’ve had great coaches in my life,” Humphries said. “My parents, (Alabama State assistant) Richard Moncrief and (former Mississippi State coach) Sylvester Croom all helped me to understand what being a pro in life and coaching is all about. The values they instilled in me has allowed me to coach and adapt. Succeed in creating an environment of success off the field and everything else will follow accordingly.”