Derek Lalonde and his wife, Melissa Lalonde, have both pursued a career in sports, albeit in different sports. His wife, a former soccer player, was named Ferris State University’s second head women’s soccer coach in June 2003.
The couple first met at Hamilton College, where Melissa served as an assistant soccer coach and Derek was an assistant hockey coach.
Currently, her spouse works as the head ice hockey coach for the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings (NHL).
From 2018 until 2022, he assisted the Tampa Bay Lightning’s head coach in guiding the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2020 and 2021.
And from 1995 to 1997, Lalonde worked as a graduate assistant at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, where his coaching career started.
Lalonde started as a coaching assistant at Lebanon Valley College in 1998 for two years. He then worked as a coaching assistant at Hamilton College for two seasons.
Derek Lalonde Wife Melissa Lalonde: A Women’s Soccer Head Coach
Derek Lalonde’s wife, Melissa Lalonde, formerly held the position of head women’s soccer coach at Clinton, New York-based Hamilton College from 2000 to 2002.
Throughout her two-year tenure, she managed Hamilton to a 19-13-1 overall score and two straight trips to the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) Championship.
In addition to teaching, Lalonde provided lifetime activity classes at Hamilton in sports including tennis, racquetball, and fitness.
Lalonde worked as an assistant coach at Bethany College (W.Va.), where the Bison won the 1999 President’s Athletic Conference title, for two seasons (1999–2000), before making her breakthrough as a head coach.
In 1998, she worked as an assistant coach at the Erie, Pennsylvania-based Penn State University-Behrend.
Melissa Was Named All-Conference (NCAC) championship
Lalonde worked as a state team assistant coach for the New York State Youth Soccer Association from 2000 to 2001 while coaching in the Olympic Development Program.
From 1996 to 1998, she was a semi-pro soccer player with the Cleveland Eclipse of the United Soccer League. Lalonde played soccer and track and field while attending the College of Wooster (Ohio).
Under the direction of head coach David Brown in 1996, Lalonde led Wooster to an overall record of 18-3 and a spot in the national tournament.
She still holds the school record for the most points (eight) and assists (three) in a single game. Likewise, she was a two-time conference sprinting champion and won four varsity letters in track and field.
Melissa Lalonde Graduated From Padua Franciscan High
Lalonde, an Ohio native who graduated from Padua Franciscan High School in 1994, twice earned soccer honors as a prep student, including All-North Coast League and All-Greater Cleveland Area.
As per Ferris State University, the four-year letter winner captained the Bruins’ squad and was named to the preseason all-conference track and field team nine times.
Lalonde succeeded Pete Watkins, the only former head coach of the team, who had previously worked as an assistant at NCAA Division I Central Michigan.
He left his position to lead the men’s soccer program at NCAA Division III Aurora University (Ill.).
Melissa Lalonde Parents: Jim And Cindy Eging
Lalonde was born to her parents, Jim and Cindy Eging, in Tampa, Florida. Her mother is active on Facebook, and her bio states that she attended Valley Forge High School and graduated in 1969.
Likewise, her Facebook profile features images of her grandchildren.
The Couple Have Been Married For 18 Years
Derek Lalonde and his wife, Melissa Lalonde, walked down the aisle in May 2004 in Cleveland. Similarly, they had a 1970s-themed wedding, where the groom showed up late.
Additionally, according to The Athletic, Lalonde and his mother-in-law used some foul language that wasn’t suitable in a church setting.
Furthermore, the pair is active on Facebook; however, Lalonde appears to be an ardent Twitter user only since his first and final post on Facebook was about his children on November 21, 2010.
Lalonde met his wife, Melissa, while working as an assistant hockey coach at Hamilton College, just east of Syracuse. She worked as a soccer assistant coach.
She held an assistant coaching position at Central Michigan before becoming the head soccer coach at Ferris State.
According to MLive, Lalonde, a hockey, football, and baseball aficionado, recalls mocking soccer at the time. Then Dwight Parrish, a defenseman who played for Ferris State and later played hockey in England, educated him about the exquisite game.
He advised him to have patience, and ultimately he would enjoy it. This was after he met his wife, and now he is the biggest soccer fan in the family.
Derek And Melissa Are Parents To Three Kids
The Lalonde’s have been blissfully wed for 18 years with three children—Alex, 16, Luke, 14, and Abby, 12
Basically, the family is primarily seen together in images uploaded by their mother on her Facebook page. Conversely, several photographs show her son playing junior high ice hockey.
Aside from that, the majority of the post depicts the family praising their father for his amazing journey in athletics.
The family has had the opportunity to celebrate back-to-back Stanley Cup victories.