A Lacrosse Weekend 5.9.20

Welcome to "A Lacrosse Weekend" my weekly compilation of thoughts, ideas, stories, myths, truths, about the great game of lacrosse. I hope you enjoy it! 

Phi-Lacrosse-ophy Podcasts

Duke Assistant, Ron Caputo, represents the phrase, "Behind every great Head Coach, there is a great assistant."  Listening to Ron describe his lacrosse journey, what he learned along the way, and what was meaningful, you get a solid understanding of why this guy is so special; He is as interested as he is interesting (I used this description once about the Late Great Dave Huntley).  Ronny loves talking lacrosse and I love talking lacrosse so it was a match made in heaven!  Ron started out at Duke as the Defensive Coordinator, then switched to the offensive side of the ball where he was OC and won three national championships!  Now he's back on the defensive side.  His Breadth of knowledge is vast.  We talk about the evolution of the Razor Pick, a lot about 2man game, and finally, what he's looking for in a recruit, position by position.  You will love this podcast!  Click here for the Ron Caputo Podcast!

Frank Fedorjaka, Head Coach Bucknell University had never seen a lacrosse game until the one he played in freshman year at Hobart.  He is now one of the most interesting and intelligent coaches in Division I Lacrosse, year after year over achieving.  Fed has taken his riding and defensive concepts to another level.  Frank shares his philosophies with me like he never has before!  Frank and I first met as teammates in the 1989 North-South Game and both came up through the ranks as assistants and head coaches.  When I was at Denver we played Bucknell a couple times winning one in Denver and losing one at his place.  Fed and I share an "Outside of the box" way of approaching the game and you will definitely get some interesting nuggets from this podcast!  Click here for the Frank Fedorjaka Podcast!

Here's a video of my conversation with Frank as he breaks down his philosophy on riding!

Inside The 8 Podcast with Brown Head Coach Keely McDonald was a great one.  I love working with my co-host Colleen Magarity as we try to go deep in lacrosse "Nerd-ness" with our guests!  Keely is exceptionally thoughtful and to listen to her discuss her philosophies on offense, defense, sub game etc was fascinating!  Click here for the Keely McDonald Podcast!

Penn State Offense

Grant Ament and the Penn State Offense use the goal as a 7th offensive player in both on ball and off ball situations.  Through Razor Picks and the Cat & Mouse Hang up Games, Ament and his Nittany Lion teammates create a lot of easy offense!  I think you will love this video! 

JM3 Athlete Program

One bright spot in these terrible times is working with my JM3 Athletes.  These boys and girls are committed to getting better in quarantine and I'm teaching them, helping them optimize, and providing mentorship.  

This program does provide recruiting advice and advocacy when the time comes and it's going to be more competitive than ever!  However, if you're not good enough, there's nothing to talk about.  Being good enough is by far the #1 priority.  My job is to help kids become good enough.

The results I've had with my JM3 Athletes has been phenomenal on many different levels: recruiting, honors earned, huge improvements, access to better club teams, and a true understanding of the game and their game!

JM3 Athlete Recruiting 

It will be more competitive than ever to be recruited to play high level college lacrosse.  Things get more competitive every year anyway, but now with the COVID crisis, we have a log jam for the next four years with every college lacrosse player receiving an extra year of eligibility.  With out question, this will have a trickle down effect on the current 2021's-2024's.  College coaches will plan for the potential of 5th year players by saving money and spots.  We will see more re-classing as pretty much all 2021's will become 22's!

With the fact that summer is going to be a least partially if not fully lost, college coaches will be in a position where they simply won't know the class of 2022 as well as they want to and advocates will become more important than ever.  If you listen to my podcasts, you will discover how well I know the majority of coaches in college lacrosse.  Having an insider in your corner is no guarantee, but it's helpful.

Will Your Kid Be Good Enough?

With the lost season and now the potential of a lost summer, how will your son/daughter keep improving?  By doing more wall ball?  By dodging cones and doing speed ladder work?  By shooting on empty nets.  I have create a backyard curriculum to go along with my Sandlot Model approach that has given my JM3 Athletes a huge leg up on the competition!  My athletes have made tangible gains in their dodging, shooting, and 2man games.  

Film Analysis

If you want a taste of the type of detail my JM3 Athletes receive,  watch this video assessment I did for UVA All-American Michael Kraus. 

Imagine getting this type of feedback every week!  

I used to offer Video Assessments as a product for the general public, but now I only do this for my JM3 Athletes.

JM3 Athlete Zoom Calls 

I do weekly zoom calls with my athletes where we watch film together:

• Film of what they're working on
• Film of their games
• Film of The Backyard Curriculum
• Film of skills, drills and concepts I want them to learn

The bottom line is there are a lot of motivated kids out there that need help optimizing and learning.  The kids that do this will have a huge advantage over those that a simply pounding out #Reps.

If you are interested in learning more, email me at [email protected].  This program isn't cheap, but it is a game changer.  References are available.

Have a great weekend!