By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 9/1/26 (Upodated 9/2/26)
Twin Valley girls’ lacrosse coach Courtney Kaplan announced Monday she has stepped down after 10 seasons, including four trips to the PIAA 2A final and a 2026 championship.
Kaplan’s tenure ended on top as she led the Raiders to a 24-2 season that ended in June with an 11-5 conquest of Berks rival Wyomissing for the program’s first PIAA Class 2A title at State College.
During her last 7 seasons, Kaplan had a record of 143-29, winning four BCIAA championships and three District 3 titles, with final appearances in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2026. This year was special for Kaplan as her daughter, Ellie, the team’s star player, earned a plethora of honors, including the Phillylacrosse.com PIAA Co-Player of the Year.
Kaplan said, “It was the right time for me to step away from Twin Valley. I can travel and watch Ellie play at Michigan. I plan to stay involved in lacrosse and look to provide training for girls in the area.”
Kaplan’s individual honors included:
* BCIAA Coach of the Year: 2019, 2022, 2023, 2026
* USA Lacrosse Central PA Coach of the Year: 2022, 2024, 2026
* PIAA Coach of the Year: 2023
* Phillylacrosse.com Co-Coach of the Year: 2022
Kaplan is proud of the program’s amazing growth from a club team to a state power.
“When I started, the lacrosse team wasn’t funded by the school,” she said. “We had to fundraise and basically build the program from the ground up.
“I think that got us tough and resilient, and it helped develop our team culture. We had awesome athletes, but limited club players. Our players weren’t aspiring to play in college – they just liked to compete.”
Twin Valley made its first 2A state finals appearance in 2022 when it fell to Archbishop Carroll, 10-8, at West Chester East. That Raiders’ team was led by Kaplan’s eldest daughter Ellie Kaplan.
“Once we started having success against better teams, more and more girls were choosing lacrosse as their main sport and the buy-in was there,” Courtney Kaplan said. ” I was so proud when girls started committing to play in college. We even had girls go off to college and decide to play as sophomores because they missed the game so much.
“I think you don’t realize how special your time is on the team until it’s over,” she said. “I have always been surrounded by amazing assistant coaches who share the same vision of growing these girls into exceptional people. Together, with the players and their families, we built something very special.”
Kaplan also appreciates having coached her daughters. Ellie is now a freshman at Michigan and Anna (a high school All-American) played 4 years at Loyola.
“I was lucky enough to do that with my daughters and go through their HS journey with them,” Kaplan said. “I wouldn’t trade that for the world! I’m very proud of what we accomplished and how we went about it.”
