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For the past 11 seasons, Amy Bokker has paced the sidelines of the George Mason University women's lacrosse team as its head coach. In her first year at the helm in 1998, she guided Mason to its first winning record with an 8-7 mark, and she followed that campaign with an impressive national ranking of 14th in the final 1999 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association poll. Since 1999, Bokker has continued to maintain Mason's status among the national elite, having led the Patriots to top-20 national finishes in six of the last 10 seasons, including a ranking of 16th at the end of 2008. George Mason finished 19th in the IWLCA Poll in 2004, 20th in 2002, 18th in 2001 and 19th in 2000. Wrapping up her 11th season in 2008 as the Patriots' mentor, Bokker owns an 86-94 record (.478 winning percentage) at Mason and is the winningest coach in the program's history. She is 94-102 overall in 12 years as a head coach. Bokker is no stranger to success having achieved it, first, as a dual-sport star at William & Mary, then as a head coach at American and at George Mason. The Phoenixville, Pa. native came to Fairfax in the fall of 1997, becoming just the second coach in the history of the women's lacrosse program, which began in 1994. In her first year, Bokker guided the Patriots to one of their most productive seasons ever with eight overall victories and three wins in the Colonial Athletic Association. Her squad upset a top-20 opponent for the first time, defeating No. 15 Towson, setting the stage for what was to come in her second year. The 1999 campaign was another impressive one for Bokker and the Patriots. They entered the year ranked No. 11 and finished off as the 14th-best team in the nation. Mason upset No. 12 William & Mary for its first-ever victory over the Tribe, and topped No. 13 Old Dominion in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament. The Patriot defense was ranked 12th in the NCAA, allowing a school-record low 121 goals. Bokker saw five of her players gain All-CAA honors, three garner All-America status and two earn IWLCA Academic Honor Roll recognition. Mason defeated William & Mary and Old Dominion again in 2000, and posted a 12-10 win over No. 17 Vanderbilt. Three Patriots earned All-CAA honors, while Kinsley O'Garrow was named Defensive Player of the Year and an IWLCA third-team All-American. Five Patriots earned All-CAA honors in 2001, as the team started the season with a 7-3 overall record. Mason posted its first win over a top-10 opponent when it knocked off sixth-ranked James Madison 7-6 at home. It was also the Patriots' first win over Madison in school history. The 2002 campaign was also one to remember as Mason set five school records en route to a 9-9 mark. The records included number of wins, goals scored and points scored in a season, and goals scored in a game. Individually, Bokker helped mentor 2002 Rookie of the Year Meg Dentler and had five players selected All-CAA. In 2003, Mason posted its first winning season in five years and tied the school record for wins after finishing 9-8. The 2004 campaign witnessed the Patriots fall to seven ranked teams by five goals or less en route to a 7-10 overall mark. In 2005, Mason finished tied for second in the CAA standings and won at least five conference games for the first time in school history after going 5-2 in the league (7-10 overall). During the 2006 season, the Patriots finished with a 7-9 overall record, finishing with one of the top attacks in school history, scoring 184 goals, the second-highest total all-time. Mason set a single-game school record for goals scored in a 23-11 rout of conference rival Old Dominion on April 9, 2006 at George Mason Stadium. In 2007, the Patriots had two players selected to the All-CAA team and to the conference's All-Rookie team, one player named to the IWLCA All-South Team in attacker Laura King and a defense that ranked among the top-10 in the country in both caused turnovers and ground balls. In 2008 Bokker guided Mason to its best season in the 15-year history of the program. The Patriots set a school record for wins and tied a school-record for conference wins, reaching the highest ranking in school history during the season at No. 9 before finishing the season ranked 16th. Mason won seven consecutive games, setting a school record in the process, as Bokker was named the US Lacrosse Coach of the Week on Feb. 24 and the IWLCA South Region Coach of the Year. King became Mason's first IWLCA/US Lacrosse All-American since 2005 when she was named to the Third Team. In addition, three Mason student-athletes were named to the IWLCA All-South Team, four were named All-CAA and three made the CAA All-Rookie squad. Maggie Bridges was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year for her role in leading a Mason defense that ranked fifth in the nation in caused turnovers per game and sixth in ground balls per game. The Fairfax, Va. native was the first Mason athlete to earn CAA Defensive Player of the Year honors since Kinsley O'Garrow won the award in 2000. Under Bokker's guidance, George Mason's Jill Toomey, who graduated as the program's all-time points and goals scored leader, became the first Patriot to earn more than one IWLCA All-America honor after receiving the nod to the third and second teams in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Her second-team All-America selection was also a Patriot first as five others had previously been given third team consideration. Dentler joined Toomey as a 2004 second-team All-American following her junior season and was named third-team All-America as a senior in 2005. Overall, Bokker has had 45 players named All-CAA, nine others selected IWLCA All-Americans and 16 players have received IWLCA All-Region accolades. Under her tutelage, Dentler became the first Mason player to earn the conference's highest honor, as she was named CAA Player of the Year in 2005. Her players also excel in the classroom as 15 have earned IWLCA Academic Honor Roll recognition. The 2004 squad received the IWLCA Team Academic Award for having a 3.0 or above team GPA, a feat that was repeated by the 2006 team. Before her arrival at George Mason, Bokker served as the head women's lacrosse coach at former CAA conference member American University. In her one and only season, she led the Eagles to a school-best 8-8 record and was named the 1997 CAA Coach of the Year. Bokker graduated from William & Mary in 1995 with a degree in kinesiology and a minor in biology, earning letters in both lacrosse and field hockey. During the four years she played lacrosse, her squad was ranked in the top-10 nationally, and she helped guide the Tribe to two NCAA Tournament appearances. She was selected to numerous postseason all-star teams, garnered first-team All-South Region honors as a junior and senior, and was named first-team All-CAA both years. She was also named a BRINE/IWLCA All-American her senior season. A team captain during her final campaign, Bokker led the team in scoring as a junior (28 goals, 6 assists) and was second on the team as a senior (26 goals, nine assists). She finished her career with 97 points (74 goals, 23 assists). In field hockey, Bokker was a team captain her senior season and a two-time All-CAA selection. Following her graduation from William & Mary, she served as an assistant lacrosse and assistant field hockey coach at American. She was promoted to head lacrosse coach and associate field hockey coach in July 1996. That year, Bokker was one of 12 U.S. coaches selected by the Japanese Lacrosse Association to direct clinics in Tokyo, Japan, in conjunction with the 19-and-under World Lacrosse Championships. In 2009, Bokker will serve as an assistant coach for the Canadian National Team that will compete at the IFWLA World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic. Bokker was a tri-sport star at Phoenixville High School, where she was an All-American lacrosse player as a senior. She was an all-area selection in field hockey as well as a four-year national swimmer. In the summer and on weekends during the winter, Bokker runs the highly successful "Change Your Level Lacrosse Camps" at George Mason. She is a certified high school official and serves on numerous IWLCA committees, including the Regional All-America Committee, where she has been chair since the 2004 campaign. She is also the secretary of the Board of the Potomac Chapter of US Lacrosse. In December of 1999, Bokker was one of five coaches chosen to speak at the IWLCA Coaches Clinic. She also speaks at various lacrosse clinics on the East Coast. Bokker married her husband, Scott, on June 12, 2004. The couple resides in Springfield, Va. with their son, Chase, and daughter, Alexis. Bokker received her master's degree from George Mason in exercise, fitness and health promotion in December of 2007. THE BOKKER FILE Record at school (yrs) 86-94 (11) Career record (yrs) 94-102 (12) Born: October 28, 1973 Hometown: Phoenixville, Pa. Alma Mater: William & Mary, 1995 |
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