Erika Lawler captained the Wisconsin women's hockey team to a national title two seasons ago—her third in four years—and earned a silver medal with the U.S. Olympic team in Vancouver last winter.
But when she graduates from UW-Madison later this month, she will find herself in the same unenviable position many of her fellow graduates are dreading: looking for what to do next now that her time at Wisconsin is over.
""Everyone has to do it at some point in life and it's just my time, unfortunately,"" Lawler said with a laugh.
Before that day, however, Lawler is taking advantage of her time in Madison. Since the start of the season, she has been skating with the Badgers in a coaching role, sharing her years of experience with the team and getting back to what she said is her favorite aspect of being an athlete—getting to play the game every day.
""When you graduate you realize that you take it for granted when you're in the situation,"" she said. She added that she will remind the team ""you could be in a wind suit pushing pucks, so enjoy it.""
""She was a big part of our program for four years,"" said head coach Mark Johnson, who coached Lawler on Team USA as well as with the Badgers. ""Being an Olympic athlete and having those kids around helps.""
Senior forward Meghan Duggan, who played alongside Lawler on the Olympic team, said Lawler has a wealth of experience she uses to teach current Badgers.
""She adds a lot of knowledge to some of our younger players and any of us on the team,"" Duggan said. ""She's got a great eye for the game and I think many of the things she says are similar to what coach [Johnson] says.""
But it did not always seem like Lawler's time with the team this year would be so easy, as Wisconsin today is a far younger team than the ones Lawler played on.
Fewer than half of the players on today's Badger roster were on the team in Lawler's senior season two years ago. With so many new faces, Lawler said she was nervous about how the team would respond to her return.
""Fortunately they made the transition really easy for me,"" she said. ""I have a ton of fun with them.""
During practices Lawler said she is ""definitely not just another coach on the ice,"" and that she tries to keep the mood light by joking around with players during the team's often tough practices.
""I just have fun with the girls,"" she said. ""I really enjoy that part of the day when you get to just forget about school and have a good time.""
When Lawler crosses the stage at her graduation, she will close this chapter of her career and life. Whether the next stage will match the past five and a half years, a time highlighted by national championships and Olympic achievement, is still to be determined.
""We'll see what the real world is like in comparison to all of that,"" she said.
