"She is a genuinely great coach who helped me find my love for the sport again. She pushed me, challenged me, and held me to a high standard, but she also cared about me as a person and wanted to see me succeed. I am a better athlete because of her, but more importantly, I left the program with a renewed appreciation for the sport. Having played at the Division I level and experienced multiple coaches and coaching styles, I feel like I have a pretty strong frame of reference for what demanding coaching actually looks like. This coach is nowhere near “toxic” or “abusive,” and honestly, I think some of these reviews reflect a pretty distorted understanding of those terms. She is demanding. She holds her players accountable. She has high expectations and isn’t going to baby you or tell you what you want to hear just to keep you happy. But that is not toxic coaching, that is coaching at a competitive Division I level. Is she a perfect lacrosse coach? Of course not, no coach is. There are always going to be things athletes disagree with, decisions they would have made differently, or aspects of a coaching style that don’t work for everyone. But some of the stories being told about her being a bully, controlling who players can be friends with, or trying to dictate their personal lives are so far removed from the coach I actually experienced that they are genuinely hard to recognize."

"Virginia Tech is a great school and the team seems to have fun together. My daughter never played and loved it. Kristen Skiera was nothing but kind to our family. Many parents felt like their kids should be on the field. We were just happy to be there! "

"Coach Skiera pumps her players up & creates an environment where you are free to feel confident in your game. She’s so well respected by players, and creates an environment of healthy competition needed to succeed at a high level in the acc. She loves to win and does everything she can to make sure the team gets to feel the joys of big wins in the acc."

"My daughter was able to play under Coach Skiera and I am very thankful for that opportunity. My daughter grew and evolved in a positive way throughout her time under this coach and I was able to see it happen. I felt my daughter was taken care of and looked after while she was away from home. I was also thankful for the relationship the parents were able to maintain with the staff and their families feeling like one big family. I very much looked forward to being on campus, at games, and with everyone after each week. It was a great experience! "

"I was very fortunate to have been coached by Coach Skiera. She is someone who does truly take time to get to know everyone and know about their personal lives. I felt like each practice starts with chit chatting and catching up on whatever is happening. Practices were a great balance of hard work and having fun. Coach Skiera loves to be competitive and it is often woven into practices through team drills or year long competitions that gets everyone involved. Through both the warm atmosphere and fun practices, I was able to look forward to showing up each day. I enjoyed playing under her and felt I was my most confident self in those years. "