Lacrosse is in high demand at Brighton High School. Even before the club sport became a sanctioned sport in 2021 by UHSAA, Brighton lacrosse was attracting record numbers of student-athletes to learn and compete in the fast-paced, contact team sport. 

“I played in the first year Brighton had a club sport team. Soccer, basketball, softball didn't quite appeal to me, but I fell in love with lacrosse. I played through high school and two years at college,” said Haley Korous of her lacrosse experience. The sport has added state championship trophies to Brighton’s Hall of Champions. Brighton girls lacrosse has regularly been ranked as a top-three program in the state over the past decade with Melissa Nash as coach. BYU’s Big-12 Conference lacrosse program also recognized coach Nash’ pattern of excellence and recently hired Nash as its women's lacrosse head coach. 

“It is quite literally my dream come true to be a full-time coach. My happy place is on a lacrosse field,” Nash said. She grew up playing every sport available: tennis, soccer, basketball, gymnastics and horseback riding. She started playing lacrosse as a freshman at Highland High to keep in shape for soccer. But because Highland didn’t have enough girls in that early era she joined the Olympus lacrosse team. 

“I fell in love with lacrosse and it became my whole life—camps, clinics, tournaments. Every birthday present was wrapped lacrosse balls or a new stick or some new rebounder,” Nash said.  She qualified for Team Utah (similar to the Utah National Team now which is the team for the best players in Utah) and traveled to represent Utah at tournaments throughout high school. Nash was highly recruited for next level play at multiple universities. The BYU campus caught her fancy where she committed and where she collected high honors: Rookie of the Year, MVP, Top Scorer and captain. 

After a stand-out career with BYU lacrosse she naturally moved to coaching. At Skyline High School she coached under head coach Elise Caffee and whom she considers one of her many mentors whom she continues to adore. They took the Skyline team to the Division 1 State Championship that year (2013). She then took her considerable talent and energy to the grateful students of Brighton where the program has flourished under her care. 

Every year, Nash has qualified players to be recognized as USA Lacrosse All-Americans and Academic All-Americans. This is significant because the All-American designation is reserved  for only the top-10 players across the state and it is the top award a high school student-athlete can attain. Actually there is another award that goes each year to the top female lacrosse athlete in the state each— the Jackie Pitts Award. This national award is given to the athlete who demonstrates exceptional service to her team, school and community, while embodying the spirit of the game through leadership, dedication to lacrosse’s growth in their area and exemplary teamwork. Under Nash’ guidance over her decade at Brighton, four Brighton students have been recognized as Jackie Pitts Award recipients: Baylee Bruce, Mary Stubben, Ayla Cole and Emma Henderson. Nash herself has been named Coach of the Year three times while at Brighton. 

 Nash, besides having taught health and student government at Brighton, is also director and head coach of Utah Elevate, a club team of 300 players across Utah who play lacrosse year-round. “Elevate is something I’m really proud of. We’re known as a talented, fun, positive and energetic team. That is the culture we bring to Brighton as well,” Nash said. 

Speaking of Brighton, the supportive administration at the school have arranged matters such that Nash can continue coaching girls lacrosse at Brighton. “BYU practices in the morning, Brighton in the evening. It will be a balancing act, but I have incredible assistant coaches on both teams who will help keep things going. And Garrett Wilson, AD at Brighton, has been so supportive too,” Nash said. 

Wilson said about Nash: “Melissa Nash is an outstanding coach who cares deeply about her athletes and works tirelessly to help them succeed. She has been a tremendous asset to Brighton athletics and we feel fortunate that she will continue to coach with us while taking on this exciting new role as the head coach of BYU Women’s Lacrosse.”

“Nash has dedicated her entire life to training young women (players and coaches) to be the best they can be both on and off the field. She’s had an extreme impact on hundreds of young players lives, and mine as well. Go Nash and go Cougs!” said Chelsea Owens Worth, a Brighton graduate who was assistant coach to Nash for six years. 

Nash said, “There is nothing more rewarding than watching a lightbulb moment happen for one of your players. Or see a drill pay off in a game. Or watching my players create those lifelong relationships that can only come from competing together on the field. I’m lucky to have had incredible coaches as mentors and huge life influences during my playing career—John Tomasi, Lindsay Aerts, MacKenzie Harding, Ashley Lower, looking at you!— and I hope to be the same for my BYU and Brighton players!”

Brighton will bring the team to Freestone Field next spring lead by a Big 12 Conference coach.