Lani Larson

Head Coach for the Chicago Lions Middle School program

Bio

Lani started her rugby career back in 1999 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Being completely new to the sport, she took on playing with the Fox Valley Vixens over the summers and breaks to work on her skills.

By her senior year, she had worked her way into a starting Lock position as U of I women made it to the National Championship in 2003 v. Navy. Having lost that final match by just a conversion, the hunger to keep playing at a competitive level led her to play with Chicago North Shore women where she would continue to play for the next 14 yrs.

This time with a few more chances to win a national title, they were able to come away with as 1st place D1 Champions in 2011 and several 2nd and 3rd places in the years surrounding. During these years she was involved on the board in the capacity of match secretary, recruiter and president. In her final years as president, she helped elevate North Shore from D1 to WPL status.

Additionally, she was an assistant coach at Noble Street High School for several years. After a serious injury, Lani decided to step down to retire, but was excited to join the Chicago Lions as they worked to kick-off their full women's program with a 15s side.

Driving the team from D2 to D1 status within their first year, Lani worked on the operations board to help the program grow. With COVID, injuries, and age working against her spirit to play, Lani took some time away from rugby and is excited to step in as a Head Coach for the Chicago Lions Middle School program and help grow the game!