Kathy Taylor spent years coaching women’s lacrosse at the collegiate level, including her time at SUNY Cortland, where she worked with athletes who arrived at college unsure of their place and left with a sense of purpose that extended far beyond the field.
Erin Kollar was one of those athletes.
Kollar entered SUNY Cortland as a quiet, timid freshman who doubted whether she belonged at the collegiate level. By the time she graduated in 2012, she was a senior captain. She credits that transformation entirely to Coach Kathy Taylor.
“She taught me to stand up for myself and to believe in my capability to be a freshman starter and then a senior captain,” Kollar wrote. “I owe all my success to Coach Taylor. The confidence, work ethic and leadership I have gained because of the coach she was to me.”
Kollar’s development was not limited to performance on the field. She describes a coach who understood how to push athletes forward while remaining attentive to who they were becoming as people.
“I know my story is just one of hundreds from Kathy Taylor’s former players and teams because of her gift of coaching,” Kollar wrote. “She sees the greatness in her players and knows how to motivate them to reach new levels on and off the field.”
That belief carried weight. Kollar went from questioning her place on the roster to leading her team, a shift she describes as foundational to her adult life.
“She forges a group of individuals into a team. Into a FAMILY,” Kollar wrote.
Now a teacher and coach herself, Kollar says Taylor’s influence did not fade after graduation. Years later, during some of the most difficult moments of her life, Taylor remained present in a tangible way.
“Years after graduation, she jumped into action and offered her support in a tangible way,” Kollar wrote.
When days are difficult, Kollar still returns to words Taylor shared with her during college.
“One phrase in particular: ‘the best is yet to come.’”
Fourteen years after her final season at SUNY Cortland, the impact remains unchanged. The confidence Taylor helped build continues to shape how Kollar teaches, coaches, and leads others.
For players who entered college uncertain and left prepared to lead, Kathy Taylor’s influence was not temporary. It became part of how they saw themselves.
Kathy Taylor is a longtime women’s lacrosse coach who retired after a long and successful career at both the high school and collegiate levels. Her coaching experience includes roles at SUNY Cortland and Colgate University, where she worked with student-athletes competing at the highest levels of college lacrosse. Over the course of her career, she coached players who became team captains, All-Americans, and coaches themselves, and who went on to careers in education, athletics, and leadership beyond sport. Former players frequently describe her coaching style as demanding, supportive, and focused on building confidence, accountability, and long-term personal growth.
