IWLCA Announces 2023 Kristina Quigley Scholarship Winner

The IWLCA has announced that Meg Decker, head coach at Xavier University, has been named the 2023 winner of the Kristina Quigley Scholarship. This award honors the former Seton Hill coach, Kristina Quigley, who was tragically killed in a bus accident in 2013 while traveling with her team.

“I would like to congratulate Meg Decker on receiving the 2023 Kristina Quigley Award,” said Mike Scerbo, former head coach at Duquesne University, chair of the selection committee, and Quigley’s mentor in her first collegiate coaching position. “Meg exemplified the strength it takes to effectively lead a group of young, impressionable individuals, while simultaneously growing and maturing within herself. It was Meg’s dedication and fortitude that encouraged the committee to select her as this year’s recipient.”

In her scholarship application, Decker expressed how her mother’s words of wisdom have guided her through many tough times and gave foundation to her coaching career and philosophies she currently lives by. “My mom is the best coach I’ve ever had. She showed me that love and structure can go together really nicely. She showed me that connection is the foundation of everything. She loved me through hard times, pulled me through dark ones, and saw the light in me before I knew it was there. I believe coaching is a lot like that. Coaching and family feel very close to the same.”

Decker went on to describe how challenging coaching has been in her young career and how being a role model of integrity and kindness has been extremely important to her growth as an individual. She also explains how opening up to her lacrosse community has created a lifetime of support and has powered her through troubling circumstances she has faced with a very ill significant other while having a toddler in the mix. “Convention has always been my favorite time of the year. Last year's convention was one of the darkest times in my life, for me and for my family. And somehow, I still showed up! Something in me needed that hope, that inspiration that I always left with. I want my family to be able to see that. To see what this career and this community looks like from my point of view.”

The Kristina Quigley Scholarship description reads, in part:

To honor the passion, commitment, and values of Kristina Quigley, the IWLCA has established a scholarship in her name. The purpose of this scholarship will be to subsidize a trip to the location of the IWLCA Annual Meeting for the recipient’s family. The time-intensive nature of the coaching profession is significant and family time is often sacrificed. The opportunity for a family to join a coach on this trip represents the very essence of Kristina Quigley. 

Decker was selected by the Kristina Quigley Scholarship committee based on her essay response detailing her “passion for coaching and family,” and describing “what it would mean to have your family with you at the IWLCA Convention.” After being informed of her selection, Decker said, "It is such an incredible honor to receive the Kristina Quigley Scholarship and be able to bring my family with me to Convention. Every coach who is also a parent knows how hard it is to leave family behind for work obligations; being able to share this part of my professional life with Matt, Jaxon, and my mom means everything." She went on to say, "I am so proud to be a member of the IWLCA knowing that our association professionally supports not only individual coaches, but also supports our families and our overall well-being. The fact that the IWLCA chooses to keep Kristie Quigley's memory and legacy alive with this scholarship each year is a testament to our understanding of how important it is to be able to bring our whole selves to this profession, and an acknowledgment that our families are a critical piece of the puzzle that is the life of a coach. I would also like to thank my family for supporting me in doing this work that I love."

The 2023 IWLCA Convention will be held at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Hotel in St. Petersburg, FL, from November 15-17. Decker will attend with her husband Matt, their son Jaxon, and her mother.