Susan Cassidy-Lyke was featured in the March issue of the Long Island Catholic. The story is below:

Susan Cassidy-Lyke incorporates her Catholic faith into her daily work as the athletic director and head softball coach at Molloy College.

"I try to live out my faith every day in my interactions with the student-athletes and with the kids I coach," she said. "I believe that I have an opportunity and responsibility to positively affect people throughout each day, and living out my faith helps me do that in a positive way."

Cassidy-Lyke, who guided Holy Trinity to four New York State championships in 1999, 2003, 2004, and 2005, started at Molloy in 2006. She led the Lions to three East Coast Conference titles in 2011, 2012, and 2016, and three NCAA East Regional Championships in 2010, 2013, and 2017.

Through all of her success, the 2010 regional championship stands out to Cassidy-Lyke.

"My favorite coaching moment was winning the best-of-three series in the Super Regionals and advancing to the National Championship in 2010," she said. "We were clearly the underdogs and winning in walk-off fashion in extra innings on the road was very memorable. My Dad was 81 at the time and coached first base. It was the last time we coached together. We were close, and coaching was always our special bond."

Whether it's on the field or as the athletic director, the Lions' leader is always encouraging the student-athletes to be the best people they can be.

"I want them to know that each day we have moments to do something positive for ourselves and for others. We should not squander those opportunities," Cassidy-Lyke said. "We need to capitalize on opportunities that present themselves and see them as gifts for us to learn and improve."

Cassidy-Lyke is on the school board at Holy Family in Hicksville, serves as a parent advocate with the diocese for Holy Family, serves on the Principal's Advisory Board for Holy Trinity, and is active with Michael's Angels at Holy Family Church, which conducts breakfast runs for the homeless in Manhattan every two months and performs outreach at Bethany House in Roosevelt and Baldwin.
The Hicksville, N.Y. native uses her example to encourage the Molloy student-athletes, which recorded over 3,000 hours of community service in 2019, to give back to the community.

"As coaches and administrators, we have opportunities to teach the student-athletes about more than their sport," Cassidy-Lyke said. "Community service is a great way for us to expose them to ways they can make a positive difference through community outreach. As student-athletes, they have responsibilities as leaders outside their sport, and this includes making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. We are tasked with developing them athletically, academically, spiritually, and socially."

Cassidy-Lyke has led many student-athletes to be successful on and off the field at Molloy. She credits her time at Holy Trinity and Molloy for encouraging her to be the person she is today.

"Attendance at Holy Trinity and Molloy were places where my faith was strengthened and reinforced," she said. "I was able to be comfortable as a Catholic and learn more about my faith. It led me to a life of service. I spent 20 years in law enforcement, have coached for 30 years at both the high school and collegiate levels, and served as an athletic director for the past fifteen years."