Most athletes think showing up is enough. Go to the tournaments, hit the showcases, get seen, and the offers will come. Nick Tintle has spent nearly two decades watching that belief cost athletes the opportunity they worked their whole career to earn.

Nick is a 2x All-American, MLL Champion, and founder of The Lacrosse Barn, the first lacrosse-exclusive training facility in Texas. In this episode, Nick breaks down what recruiting actually demands before a player ever steps on a showcase field, why his 8-person small group training model is developing smarter, more situationally aware athletes, and what it really means to grind in the dark when everyone else is chasing the spotlight.

We also get into the book he spent four years writing, a story born out of grief, finished through relentless consistency, and what that process revealed about resilience, gratitude, and the people who show up when you're running on empty.

If you coach athletes with college dreams, train players who think presence equals preparation, or you're an athlete trying to find your edge, this one is for you.

In this episode:

• Why tournaments are a needle in a haystack for recruiting
• The 8-person training model and why it beats privates
• Skill vs. situational awareness — and why the gap matters
• How to communicate hard work without dismantling effort
• Burnout — how to spot it, how to address it, and when to step back
• The book, the grief, and four years of showing up anyway

Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training: 15 Min Dynamic Warm Up Flow - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/warmupflowOld Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com