GameChanger Lacrosse

Lars is coaching his second season as the head coach of UVa Men’s Lacrosse.

He comes to Virginia with 12 years of coaching experience. He spent 10 years at Brown, his alma mater. His final year at Brown he led the Bears to a final four appearance and 16 - 3 record. During his time at Brown his teams won an Ivy League title in 2008, 2010, 2015, and 2016.

Tiffany was the New England Coach of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2015, and 2016 and was the Ivy League Coach of Year in 2015 and 2016.

As of the launch of this episode, UVA is currently 6 - 1. They’re ranked 9 in the nation.

In this interview Coach Tiffany and I talk about his journey to becoming a coach. The lessons he learned along the way. Taking over as head coach at UVa. How he’s trying to make his team more cohesive, and how he’s attempting to make his players smarter on and off the field.

The GameChanger Lacrosse Podcast is about talking to people who have dedicated their life to the game of lacrosse and learning about who they are, how they got to where they are today, and what they do to improve themselves and their teams.

Be sure to follow us on twitter, @GCSports. And, if you’re a coach, a parent or you run a travel or club team, check out GameChanger Team Manager in the app store. Its the essential, all-in-one, scheduling and communication app for lacrosse coaches and parents. Unlike other team apps, GameChanger Team Manager is free, easy to use, and doesn’t serve ads. Learn more at GC.com/TeamManager

Today on the show we have Drew Adams.

Drew's a graduate from Penn State University. He was a three-time ECAC Goalie of the Year and honorable mention his senior year. He started every game of his career while at Penn State. He was team captain his senior year. He holds the all-time save record at Penn State with 694 career saves.

He’s been a 4-time MLL All-Star. He was Goalie of the Year in 2011, 2012, and 2015. He won an MLL Championship in 2015 with the New York Lizards. And, a silver medal on Team USA in the 2014 World Games.

Drew and I were teammates for a short time on the Lizards. He and I got to talk about a range of topics like learning through trial and error, gaining confidence in goal, efficiency, dealing with setbacks, and much more.

The GameChanger Lacrosse Podcast is about talking to people who have dedicated their lives to the game of lacrosse and learning about who they are, how they got to where they are today, and what they do to improve themselves and their teams. Be sure to follow us on twitter, @GCSports. And, if you’re a coach, a parent or you run a travel or club team, check out GameChanger Team Manager in the app store. Its the essential, all-in-one, scheduling and communication app for lacrosse coaches and parents. Unlike other team apps, GameChanger Team Manager is free, easy to use, and doesn’t serve ads. Learn more at GC.com/TeamManager

In part 2 of our episode with Brett we talk about things like what he'd do differently if he could redo his college career, being aware of what's going on around him on the field, and meditation.

The GameChanger Lacrosse Podcast is about talking to people who have dedicated their lives to the game of lacrosse and learning about who they are, how they got to where they are today, and what they do to improve themselves and their teams. Be sure to follow us on twitter, @GCSports. And, if you’re a coach, a parent or you run a travel or club team, check out GameChanger Team Manager in the app store. Its the essential, all-in-one, scheduling and communication app for lacrosse coaches and parents. Unlike other team apps, GameChanger Team Manager is free, easy to use, and doesn’t serve ads. Learn more at GC.com/TeamManager

Today on the show we have the head coach of Maryland Women’s Lacrosse, Cathy Reese.

Coach Reese is one of the most decorated coaches in college lacrosse. She’s been a three-time IWLCA National Coach of the Year. She’s the led the Terps to four national championships, 10 Final Fours, and 19 Conference Championships.

In total, over her career as a player, assistant and head coach for Maryland, Coach Reese has earned 11 NCAA Championships.

Coach Reese and I got a chance to talk about a lot of things for this episode like developing patience as a coach, learning to let things fall into place, building team chemistry, leading from the top, focus and much, much more. If you’re a player, or a coach you won’t want to miss this episode.

The GameChanger Lacrosse Podcast is about talking to people who have dedicated their lives to the game of lacrosse and learning about who they are, how they got to where they are today, and what they do to improve themselves and their teams. Be sure to follow us on twitter, @GCSports. And, if you’re a coach, a parent or you run a travel or club team, check out GameChanger Team Manager in the app store. Its the essential, all-in-one, scheduling and communication app for lacrosse coaches and parents. Unlike other team apps, GameChanger Team Manager is free, easy to use, and doesn’t serve ads. Learn more at GC.com/TeamManager

On this episode we talk to Brett Hughes about football versus lacrosse, how to get through your freshman year of college, and how to solve the early commitment issue,

The GameChanger Lacrosse Podcast is about talking to people who have dedicated their lives to the game of lacrosse and learning about who they are, how they got to where they are today, and what they do to improve themselves and their teams. Be sure to follow us on twitter, @GCSports. And, if you’re a coach, a parent or you run a travel or club team, check out GameChanger Team Manager in the app store. Its the essential, all-in-one, scheduling and communication app for lacrosse coaches and parents. Unlike other team apps, GameChanger Team Manager is free, easy to use, and doesn’t serve ads. Learn more at GC.com/TeamManager

For the next few weeks as the summer comes to an end and the fall lacrosse season picks up we’re gonna release a new episode every other week.

On the Thursdays we don’t release a new episode, we’ll republish an earlier show. This week, in honor of him, winning the David Huntley man of the year award, here’s my interview with Atlanta Blaze Long Stick Midfielder, Scott Ratliff.

Scott's President of LB3 Lacrosse (founded 2005)

"...ambassador for the game of lacrosse in his home state of Georgia"

Blaze highlight:

7 points in transition against the Launch.

Drafted to the Cannons / 9th pick overall in 2013 MLL Collegiate Draft

2015 totaled 20 points, the most from any Boston defender

career-high three 2-point goals.

81 ground balls put him at second in the league

2015 All-MLL Team

At Loyola:

*Tewaarton nominee

*Two-time team co-captain

*All-American selection 2012 DI National Champion.

*Second all-time record holder for 88 caused turnovers

*Seventh for 217 ground balls

*First long pole player in NCAA history to score 4 goals in one game.

The GameChanger Lacrosse Podcast is about talking to people who have dedicated their lives to the game of lacrosse and learning about who they are, how they got to where they are today, and what they do to improve themselves and their teams. Be sure to follow us on twitter, @GCSports. And, if you’re a coach, a parent or you run a travel or club team, check out GameChanger Team Manager in the app store. Its the essential, all-in-one, scheduling and communication app for lacrosse coaches and parents. Unlike other team apps, GameChanger Team Manager is free, easy to use, and doesn’t serve ads. Learn more at GC.com/TeamManager

Today on the show we have Matt Gibson

Matt is an alumnus of Yale University. During his time there he was a two-time All-American and 2 time all Ivy League. He was first team all New England and New England Player of the year.

Matt Started his MLL Career with the New York Lizards. He’s an MLL All-Star and was the MLL Rookie of the year in 2012. He also won an MLL championship with the Lizards in 2015. He's now a member of the Atlanta Blaze.

This is my first conversation with Matt. He's a very intelligent and introspect guy. In this episode, we got to talk about things like self-analyzing yourself as a player, learning patience, the benefits of consistency and accountability and much more. If you’re a young player this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

Today on the show we have Joel White.

Joel is an alumnus of Syracuse University where he was a 3x All-American and a first-team all-American his Junior and Senior year. He was also a Tewartaan trophy finalist those years as well as winning the McLaughlin award for the nations best midfielder. This made him the first defensemen to ever win that award. He also won 2 national championships during his time at Syracuse.

He currently plays in the MLL for the Dallas Rattlers. He’s a 3-time MLL All-Star and was the Warrior Defensive Player of the Year in 2016.

Most recently, he won a gold medal as part of Team USA in Israel this summer.

Joel and I got to talk about how get got started as a long stick midfielder, how he went from being a “preferred walk-on” as he put it to the best midfielder in the nation during his time in college, how he learned to play the mistake, and much more.

The GameChanger Lacrosse Podcast is about talking to people who have dedicated their lives to the game of lacrosse and learning about who they are, how they got to where they are today, and what they do to improve themselves and their teams. Be sure to follow us on twitter, @GCSports. And, if you’re a coach, a parent or you run a travel or club team, check out GameChanger Team Manager in the app store. Its the essential, all-in-one, scheduling and communication app for lacrosse coaches and parents. Unlike other team apps, GameChanger Team Manager is free, easy to use, and doesn’t serve ads. Learn more at GC.com/TeamManager

Today on the show we have Steven Brooks.

Steve is a graduate of Syracuse University where he won two National Championships. One as a freshman, and another to round out his career as a senior. His senior year he was also a First-Team All American and the McLaughlin Award winner for the nations top midfielder.

Steve was drafted 6th overall by the Chicago Machine. He’s an MLL All-Star who now plays for the Florida Launch where he’s a team co-captain.

Steve and I were roommates during my time at Syracuse so it was really great catching up with him. His passion for the game comes through in this interview. We got a chance to talk about things like how he made it Syracuse Lacrosse while playing in the non-traditional hot-bed area of Illinois. How he came back from injuries. How Syracuse was able to turn everything around after missing the playoffs in 2007 to winning the national championship his senior year in 2008 and much more.

The GameChanger Lacrosse Podcast is about talking to people who have dedicated their lives to the game of lacrosse and learning about who they are, how they got to where they are today, and what they do to improve themselves and their teams. Be sure to follow us on twitter, @GCSports. And, if you’re a coach, a parent or you run a travel or club team, check out GameChanger Team Manager in the app store. Its the essential, all-in-one, scheduling and communication app for lacrosse coaches and parents. Unlike other team apps, GameChanger Team Manager is free, easy to use, and doesn’t serve ads. Learn more at GC.com/TeamManager

Today on the show we have Matt Abbott.

Matt’s a graduate of Syracuse University where he was a two-time All-American. Third-team as a Junior, and first-team as a Senior. His senior year, as team co-captain Syracuse, won the 2008 national championship. That year, Matt was also a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist.

He was a member of the Team USA in 2014, and 2018. He now plays in the MLL for the Chesapeake Bayhawks.

Matt was a former teammate of mine at Syracuse. It was great to catch up with him. We got a chance to talk about how he thought about choosing the right school, controlling what you can, overcoming an off year and much more.