| |
I firmly believe that people throw around words and phrases without truly understanding what they’re saying. I also think that people make the grievous mistake of making bold assumptions. In my experience, coaches do both of these things all too often. We somehow find ourselves up on soap boxes and haranguing you to play for the Love of the Game, to find the joy with which you used to play when you were five years old. Well, you’re not five anymore, and through experience, I know that not everyone gets onto the line for Love of the game. I realize that some women will be there because they love competition; and some women will be on the field because they love sport in general; and some players will be there because their parents require it. Whatever your reasons are for making your way to the turf for practice everyday, I’m over it. I’m over whatever gets you to that line. But I’ll tell you what, when you’re on the field, when you’ve crossed that line, that’s when I care what motivates you; and what motivates you had better be your teammates and pride. It is an honor to be selected to play for the first women’s lacrosse team at Centre College. You are given the opportunity to be part of the cornerstone of women’s lacrosse not only at Centre, but also in the entire state of Kentucky.
If you look towards schools with continuously successful lacrosse programs, you see deep traditions. The women are proud of their institution, and are driven by the desire to continue that train of success. This takes the player accepting and understanding that the team requires hard-work and discipline. Unfortunately, in our millennial generation, there is a pervading idea of entitlement; meaning, that people are expecting instant gratification without work. We are not entitled to win games; and you are not entitled to be part of this team. None of us can be here to seek notoriety for individual accomplishments. To be successful, the team has to be looking towards greatness as a whole. The ideal player will embody the selfless drive to help her teammates, both on and off the field.
You’re going to need guts and determination. But I can promise you, that the payoff will be huge. The disciplines you learn on the field will follow you into the classroom and the world beyond college. If you have the determination and the grit to follow through with the demands given a student-athlete, you will be able to make the necessary commitments both to your academics and the women's lacrosse program. It won't always be easy, and your days won't always be as fun and relaxing as your classmates, but when you graduate you will be able to look back with the satisfaction that is only awarded to a fulfilled commitment, and to all the memories and unique experiences you participated in, and say with pride, "I was there; I did that." As a coach, I am not exempt from the guidelines listed above: you should require of me the same things that I require of you. I can assure you that I did not get into coaching because I wanted to be miserable, or fail. I started coaching because I firmly believe that success is doing makes you happy while fulfilling your duties to yourself and others. Beyond making Centre College synonymous with excellence in lacrosse, I will deem myself successful when each of you walks down the graduation aisle and left in someway a better person than when you began this program. That’s my definition of successful team and overall success, ladies. What's yours?
|
|
