Coskren Ready to Shine

Before she was elected tri-captain of the Harvard women’s hockey team, before she spent the summer with the national team, and before she became an All-ECAC selection and nominee for the Patty Kazmaier Award, Leanna Coskren was the baby of a hockey-playing family who was always trying to keep up with her bigger and stronger older brothers. It wasn’t easy—all four brothers went on to play Division I hockey.

“I guess growing up I was always trying to do everything they did and whatnot, and so that’s how I got into hockey,” Coskren says.

Not surprisingly, Coskren’s big brothers weren’t exactly excited about having their little sister tagging along.

“We certainly didn’t make it easy on her growing up,” recalls brother Nick ’09, a former forward for the men’s team. “We always gave her a hard time, us being older boys...It led to a few fights. Sometimes she would want to play, and we wouldn’t want to let her. She would play anyway...she didn’t really experience much success in the household. In the long run, obviously, it’s worked out for her.”

Coskren’s hunger for challenges carried into her organized hockey as well. Unsatisfied with the level of hockey on local girls’ teams, she signed up to play with the boys.

“If you wanted to play competitively, you basically had to play on boys’ teams,” the Massachusetts native explains. “So I played on two at the same time, and I was the only girl on both teams, and usually the only girl in the league most of the time...[Girls’ hockey] got more competitive as I got older, but I still played on the boys’ teams until I got to high school.”

When she finally started playing with girls, Coskren immediately went from underdog to top high school player. She was named all-league in the Independent School League all four years. With Coskren on the blue line, Noble and Greenough won four ISL titles and two New England Championships, making the finals a third year.

“She always had this uphill climb,” Nick says. “She always competed with us. Then when she started playing girls her own age, she had this edge...she had this leg up on other girls.”

But emerging as a star in her own right didn’t make Coskren forget about the big brothers who had helped her on the way, albeit unintentionally. While all four had played a role in toughening her up, brothers Mike ’09 and Nick would influence her in another way—helping her choose a college.

“I’d definitely say that their choices influenced me,” she says. “They would tell me for two years what [Harvard] was like, what their hockey was like. I’d come in every so often...I was able to see the school for myself. And then, I’m really close with my family, so having them here was definitely, it was an influential factor.”

Just as in high school, the youngest Coskren was quick to make an impact on the ice.

“She’s been awesome for us since she got here,” Crimson coach Katey Stone says.

In her first two years at Bright Hockey Center, Coskren earned her reputation as a defensive stalwart.

“She’s one of the smartest defensemen I’ve coached,” Stone says. “The way she feels pressure and reads the game is tremendous.”

But it wasn’t until her junior year that Coskren made the jump from a solid blue-line player to a star at both ends of the ice.

“Junior year is when I kind of put both [offense and defense] together, and it’s when I was able to become a consistent defender but also help contribute offensively,” she reflects.

Her emergence couldn’t have been better timed. With Harvard having graduated its top three scorers from the year before and with spark plug Liza Ryabkina injured during the first part of the season, Coskren proved to be a welcome addition to the Crimson’s offense in 2009. But it was back on the blue line where the skater made her biggest impact. Already a leader on the defensive end, Coskren took on even more responsibility when then-senior goaltender Christina Kessler sustained a season-ending injury. Rather than be undone by the injury, Coskren and co-captains Kathryn Farni ’10 and Cori Bassett ’10 helped current sophomore Laura Bellamy assimilate into net, and Harvard didn’t miss a beat, earning home ice advantage in the NCAA tournament.

“Leanna and Cori Bassett really took the lead and showed people what needed to be done on the ice and were shut-down defenders,” tri-captain Kate Buesser says.

Coskren’s efforts did not go unnoticed; she was named a second-team All-Ivy selection, a third-team All-ECAC selection, and a nominee for the Patty Kazmaier Award. The then-junior also garnered an invitation to join the national team for the summer.

Her efforts didn’t escape the notice of her family either. Once her rivals, Coskren’s brothers have become some of her biggest supporters.

“Now it’s completely different,” Nick says. “I think she’s a very talented player...I usually talk to her on the day and the day before games. I’m always telling her to be more offensive...trying to build her confidence. When she was trying out with the U.S. national team, I would text her, ‘You belong there, don’t be intimidated by the other girls.’”

While Coskren still relies on her brothers for guidance and support, she’s become one of the senior authorities in her second hockey family—the Crimson.

“As a goalie, I love her because I know she’s going to take care of the puck,” Bellamy says. “She’s been great with showing the underclassmen the right mentality...just to keep the puck away from the net. Her poise and calm on the ice are going to settle the underclassmen quite a bit.”

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.