Making the Cut, My Professional Lacrosse Experience

Professor box/indoor lacrosse played in a hockey rink with astro turf. Lacrosse is the national sport of Canada and the Canadians play largely box lacrosse

In 1988 I earned a spot on the newly created box/indoor lacrosse team the New York Saints of the also new Major Indoor Professional Lacrosse League. We played our home games at the Nassau Coliseum home of the New York Islanders too. The team consisted largely of Long Island Lacrosse club players and a few players from the recently established New York Athletic Club Team (NYAC) out of Manhattan.This served as my first experience in professional sports. It did allot more for my ego than it did for my billfold. More importantly the experience of going through a rigorous trying out went a long way in preparing me for the tryouts for the 1990 U. S. National Team. 

The Gait’s Canadian Box Lacrosse Roots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWd_SS3gQNU

The Gait Brothers: http://lacrossememoir.blogspot.com/search?q=paul+gait

How Many Goals Did the Gaits Score Right-Handed?: [Watch 8 min 24 sec] http://lacrossememoir.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-many-goals-did-gaits-score-right.html

Winter Workouts Part 2

Photo: Walter Payton running “the hill” in Arlington Heights, Illinois

What drove me to run in the cold, lift weights, and work on my stick skills as a Syracuse lacrosse player over winter break were stories of athletes like Larry Bird and Walter Payton. Bird, the story goes, would be out on the court in Indiana heat waves shooting jumpers for hours alone. Similarly during the off season with the Chicago Bears, Walter Payton ran steep hills religiously near his Illinois home about 20 times a day wearing specially made training shoes. So as I said in part one of this series yesterday, in January when I was playing college lacrosse, I would be working my butt off right now and eating wisely in hopes of earning a starting position when I returned to campus. I figured if I worked harder than my teammates and opponents I would have the edge. I continue the habit of working out four times a week but now it’s with weights and biking, and it’s for one hour instead of two. My habits have also stood me well as a prof, author, and blogger. The English writer Charles Reade said, “Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny” 

Hard Work Lacrosse Stories: http://lacrossememoir.blogspot.com/search?q=%22hard+work%22

Food and Fitness: http://www.foodasalens.com/search?q=resolution

How to Improve Your Stick Skills: [Watch 4 min 2 sec] http://lacrossememoir.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-i-developed-my-lacrosse-stick.html

Winter Workouts

Mike Woicik ran the strength and conditioning program at Syracuse when I was there as a lacrosse player in the 80s. Mike told me how he has run into former SU athletes and NFL players that he worked with during his career and that they were so out of shape that he did not recognize them. I’ve had similar experiences with former teammates. Mike explained, “It’s about changing your lifestyle.” Is comment made me reflect on what I would be doing in the winter off season when I was a college player. I got up in below freezing New York weather and went for training runs. At that time few understood the rigors of playing a Division I sport. I would coordinate with the basketball coach at my high school to get access to the weight room and a place to do wall ball. 

Syracuse Lacrosse Stories: http://lacrossememoir.blogspot.com/search?q=%22Tom%22

Food and Fitness Stories: http://lacrossememoir.blogspot.com/search?q=fitness

Lacrosse Wall Ball Routines:

http://television.insidelacrosse.com/tag/how_to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiwZV_a2EfY