FARMINGTON, Maine - University of Maine at Farmington Director of Athletics Jamie Beaudoin is pleased to announce the hiring of Kaya Backman '23 as the Women's Lacrosse Head Coach, taking over for Jon Hayes who was at the helm for the Beavers this past season on an interim basis.
Beaudoin states "we are thrilled to have Kaya take over as the Head Coach of our Women's Lacrosse program. She is a proud alumnus of UMF and will provide an abundance of energy both with her team and within our department. She has been a staple in the program, providing terrific leadership for several seasons as a player. I look forward to her continuing to do so in her new role as we work towards winning a NAC Championship."
Backman is a graduate of the UMaine-Farmington class of 2023 gaining a Bachelor's Degree in Community Health Education with a minor in Coaching. She takes over as the Head Coach after playing five seasons for the Beavers, four of which she served as a team captain.
Backman will aim to bring the program back to the height of contention in the North Atlantic Conference after reaching the NAC Championship game in 2019. She also is hoping to create a sense of stability within the program, transitioning from senior captain to Head Coach within just two months. "I am excited to be able to step into the role as the coach and create a source of stability for the student-athletes. I want to be the coach that shows up for their athletes 100% of the time, day or night, I want to be someone who they can rely on."
Backman is a passionate member of the Farmington community. After coming to the University of Maine at Farmington in the fall of 2018, Backman spent her collegiate years integrating herself in the Farmington community as a whole. She has provided to the community in a variety of ways including serving as the Assistant Coach for the Mt. Blue girls varsity lacrosse team for the past three seasons, helping to spearhead the leadership of the program that began in 2021. She also was an assistant coach for the Western Maine United U-9 girls soccer team based out of Farmington this past season. Additionally, she spent much of the spring semester her senior year interning at Mt. Blue under former field hockey Head Coach, Cyndi Pratt, who is now the school's Athletic Director.
"Farmington is home for me. When I was being recruited as a high school athlete, I instantly fell in love with the campus and small town feel that Farmington provides", Backman states.
As a player, Backman was a consistent offensive threat for the Beavers, playing in 48 contests and making 47 starts. She was named to the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) All-Conference team on three separate occasions.
During her freshman season, Backman helped lead the Beavers to an 8-9-1 record, picking up a team-high 34 goals to go along with seven assists and 19 ground balls en route to garnering Second Team All-Conference honors. Her 2nd and 3rd seasons were cut short, playing just a pair of games in 2020 and four games in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite only playing four games in 2021, Backman tallied nine goals and an assist to capture All-Conference honors once again. Over each of the past two seasons, Backman scored 21 goals in each, finishing her career with 88 goals and 21 assists for 109 points. Backman received First Team All-Conference recognition following the 2022 season.
Backman is eager to get started and hit the ground running with the team this fall. "I am thrilled to return to the University that I graduated from and give back to the program that gave so much to me. I hope to provide both current and future student-athletes with the same meaningful experience that I was given from UMF".
