Health & Fitness
BY: JIMMY BORELL
Putting in Work to Make YOU better.
I remember the first couple weeks after our season ended at Maryland what a great time to relax and unwind... a bunch of us would go up to my teammates place on the jersey shore, or ocean city, or wherever but it was nice to decompress from an intense season, and let my body recover.
Physical Improvement
It wasn't long until I got that itch to compete again, that knack to get better, bigger, stronger, and faster, that strive for perfection. The first thing I would do would be to hit up my strength coach and start working out with him 2 - 3 times a week in the morning or early afternoon whenever i woke up! Attention to detail was always stressed, getting parallel on squats, breaking down and mastering each phase of my power cleans, strengthening my core, and making my weaknesses strength. We would always finish each workout running the Maryland Stadium Stairs. There is no better feeling then walking out of that stadium or weight room, knowing the work you just put in will pay off make you better come season. It's a satisfied feeling, but every athlete knows that satisfaction is his or her worst enemy. That satisfaction fades by the end of the day and you remember that missed ground ball, or the shot you should've scored, that play you know you should've made, and you start getting hungry again, hungry to get back to work, hungry to be perfect, because you don't want that person lining up on the other side of you to ever have the upper hand.
Attitude
As a Coach I worry about my players in the off season. I worry about how my athletes take success and failure. Will being satisfied with a championship or earning All-League or All-Area Honors make them complacent, and cause that player to take off 3 months, to not try as hard, or work as hard. Lacrosse is too competitive. Its lonely on top, and its much harder to stay on top then it is to get there. When you've achieved success you get a big target on your chest, and I think that's a great thing, to have that pressure to continue to have to be the best and perform at a high level day in and day out. Everybody wants a piece of you, everybody wants to say they beat you, because deep down in side, they want what you have. Its that competitive attitude that can make a good player great, and a great player a legend.
Fear
All great players have the same fear of failure, and the bitter taste of defeat that drives them out work their opponents. I've been on both sides, and I can honestly say I hate losing way more then I love winning.
Back to Basics
Summer time is a great time to revisit the fundamentals and stop any bad habits before they start! Footwork, bod positioning, stick work, shooting, off hand, dodging. Fundamentals aren't the most fun thing to work, but its imperative they are mastered before you move on to more advanced lacrosse.