Coach Whit is originally from Arkansas and moved to Delaware at the age of 10 where she discovered lacrosse. She went on to play collegiately at Lindenwood University (where she served as a team captain both her freshman and sophomore years), and then later at the University of Arkansas where she founded the first women’s collegiate lacrosse club in the state. Arkansas made their first appearance to the CPWLL playoffs just 7 months afterwards, and Whitney was selected as a US Lacrosse/IWLCA All-American Midfielder, CPWLL’s Most Valuable Midfielder, CPWLL’s First Team All-League, CPWLL’s First Team All-Conference and Arkansas’s Most Valuable Offender and Midfielder.
Whitney then served as the Head Coach at the University of Arkansas for two more years until she left to become the Head Coach and Founder of Thiel College's DIII program in Greenville, PA. Whit eventually made her way to Arizona where she continued her coaching career as Head Coach at Gilbert High School for 3 years and the Desert Heat and Desert STIX lacrosse organizations for 4 years.
Coach Whit founded the Higley High School girls lacrosse program in the fall of 2019, leading the program to a D2 State Championship in just its third season and a subsequent D1 State Championship appearance where they finished as the runner up. Coach Whit and the Knights made yet another appearance in the D1 State Championship in 2023 and finished with a victory earning them their first D1 State Championship title. The Knights have now made the finals the last three seasons in a row and are gunning for another appearance in 2024.
Whitney has thoroughly enjoyed watching her amazing student-athletes grow and evolve into incredible human beings on and off the field. Whit is excited to continue the development of the Higley program and strives to have a positive impact her players lives through lacrosse.
Coach Wirtz started playing lacrosse in '97 with the Gilbert Tigers. After graduation, he enrolled at ASU in Industrial Design and played for the Sun Devils from 2001-2007 when they made the national tournament. After graduating from ASU with a BS in Kinesiology with emphasis on Biomechanics and Exercise Physiology, Wirtz started coaching at Mountain Pointe High School. At Mountain Pointe, he coached the boys team and the girls goalies. In 2013 Wirtz made the transition back to the Gilbert Tigers leading them to a state championship in 2016. During that time he received his Master's Degree in Secondary Education - Biology. Wirtz is currently teaching Sports Medicine and MYP Biology at Westwood High School in Mesa. After splitting his time in 2022 between the boys and girls teams at Higley, Adam is looking forward to a dedicate role as JV Head Coach in the upcoming season as well as heading up strength & conditioning efforts for both JV & Varsity programs as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
Having grown up in Southern California, Tess picked up her first lacrosse stick in the 5th grade. There, she found her love and appreciation for the sport—something that would stick with her for a lifetime. She started out in various recreational leagues and worked her way into the travel club scene. After four years on Varsity at Mater Dei High School, Tess played as an attacker on the DI Women’s Lacrosse team at ASU. She graduated with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Tess has coached for years with experience in youth and high school levels across Southern California and Arizona. She loves supporting the growth of the sport, especially in non-traditional areas. In her opinion, the best part about coaching is sharing her love for the sport with the next generation of athletes.
Coach Jagen grew up in Arizona and attended Higley High school, however didn’t find her love of lacrosse until she moved to the Kansas City area at the beginning of her junior year! She played lacrosse for Olathe Northwest High School for two years. Jagen played midfield and enjoyed taking the draws. She was named captain her senior year and has never lost the passion for the game. Jagen continued to play recreationally throughout her college years. It’s there she met her husband and has been married for five years. Coach Jagen spends her days working as the Operations Manager for an online engagement ring company called Olive Ave. She has enjoyed seeing the correlations between successful teams in both business and sports.
Coach Amelia began her lacrosse career in 8th grade with Desert Stix, led by Coach Whit. In the Spring of 2019, as a Freshman, Amelia joined the newly formed Higley High School Girls Lacrosse team. She was deeply honored to play Attack and win the D2 State Championship alongside the undefeated Lady Knights during her Junior year and become the runners up of the D1 State Championship during her Senior Year. Amelia primarily played the Attack position throughout her high school years and loved the strategy and technique of the position. In 2023, she became a volunteer coach for Higley Girls Lacrosse and enjoyed being back on the field and teaching the game of lacrosse. Amelia is currently finishing up a dual associate degree for General Business and Organizational Management at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and teaches mixed martial arts at M3 Martials Arts Academy as a 3rd degree black belt. She is very excited to be serving as an Assistant Flex Coach for the 2024 Higley Girls Lacrosse season.
