VARSITY COACHING STAFF
Jess Hanson - Head Coach
We are super excited to welcome Jess Hanson as our new Chatfield Girls Lacrosse Varsity Coach! Jess has been coaching girls club lacrosse in Colorado with 3D, and previously Northern California and Oregon withTenacity Elite, for 7 years. She played lacrosse in college at George Fox University and moved out to Colorado to attain her Masters degree in sport psychology from the University of Denver. She has many athletic accomplishments to include, 3x Northwest Conference Championship, 3x Northwest Conference First Team, Northwest Conference Player of the Year (2018), IWCLA All West Region First Team (2018), NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee (2018), led the conference in points and assists (2018), and graduated holding these school records: Career points, career assists, single season points, single season assists, single game points. With her experience coaching and in sport psychology, she always prioritizes using lacrosse as a way to empower athletes outside of sport. Outside of lacrosse, Jess runs a small business working with retired athletes on mental health, fitness, nutrition, and career counseling.
Alice Barnes - Assistant Coach
Alice has coached lacrosse in Michigan and for travel programs in the Midwest. She has ran several clinics for middle school and high school girls. These clinics emphasized skill development, anti-bullying and team building strategies. She played high school lacrosse in Cincinnati, Ohio, recognized as the the Girls Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year (2012-2013) and received CHL Awards all 4 years (2009-2013). These awards are for player recognition by league coaches for outstanding skills and sportsmanship. She briefly played collegiate lacrosse at the University of Michigan. Following an ACL year, she developed a special interest in injury prevention strategies and concussion management. She now has her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Campus and is completing a residency at Children’s Hospital Colorado, specializing in adolescent and collegiate sports medicine. Outside of the clinic she loves coaching fitness classes, mountain sports, cooking, traveling and dancing. She looks forward to getting back into coaching and empowering high school athletes to develop physical and mental strength and injury prevention techniques on and off the field.
Ellie Clark - Assistant Coach
Ellie recently moved to the Denver area from Maryland. She grew up playing lacrosse, was a three-sport varsity athlete and a four-year varsity lacrosse starter at Mercersburg Academy in central Pennsylvania. She continued her career as a starting center and attacker at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont. Ellie graduated with a degree in Neuroscience and Studio Art in 2019 and plans to pursue her MBA in the near future. This will be Ellie’s first season on the sidelines as a coach, and she is excited to share her love of the game and support our student athletes on and off the field. Outside of lacrosse, she currently works as a team manager at a FinTech called Mercury. She spends her free time snowboarding, hiking, traveling, and volunteering at a local animal shelter.
JV COACHING STAFF
Savannah Mellberg
We are excited to welcome back Savannah Mellberg for her second season as our JV Head Coach! In addition to coaching at Chatfield, Savannah also coaches for Summit Lacrosse Club. She is an alumnae of Team 180 and Chatfield Lacrosse, was a four-year varsity starter, two-year captain, and was recruited to play defensive-mid for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Claremont, California. Savannah graduated with a degree in Economics and Studio Art form Scripps College in 2018, and plans to pursue her Masters of Public Health in 2022. As a coach, Savannah believes very strongly in empowering her athletes to not only be the best players they can be, but also the best people they can be, and approaches coaching from a holistic point of view. Outside of lacrosse, Savannah works as the Provider Education & Training Coordinator for Sepsis Alliance, the leading sepsis organization in the U.S. working in all 50 states to save lives and reduce suffering from sepsis. She spends her free time golfing, climbing, skiing, and hanging out with her fiancé and their five-year-old rescue dog, Benji.
Brianna Willner
This will be Brianna’s first year coaching lacrosse. She is a Chatfield Alumnae and played for Chatfield for four years (2009-2013). Brianna graduated in 2021 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She started as a Cardiac Stroke nurse and now has moved into her passion as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. She loves to go hiking, traveling, and spending time with her nieces, family and two dogs.
