Humility

The Key to Success in Lacrosse

To start things off, here is a quote from Paul Rabil about the importance of humility:

"Humility is the foundation of a great lacrosse player. When you are humble, you are willing to learn and grow. You are also willing to put the team first and sacrifice your own personal gain for the greater good."

Humility is a value that is often overlooked in sports, but it is essential for success in lacrosse. A humble lacrosse player is someone who is willing to learn from their mistakes, accepts responsibility for their actions, and puts the team goals and priorities before themself.

Here are some of the reasons why humility is so important in lacrosse:

• It creates a positive team environment. When players are humble, they are more likely to be supportive of their teammates and celebrate each other's successes. This creates a positive team environment where everyone feels valued and respected.

• It leads to better decision-making. Humble players are more likely to listen to their coaches and teammates and take their advice. This leads to better decision-making on the field.

• It makes players more coachable. Humble players are more willing to learn from their mistakes and make changes to their game. This makes them more coachable and helps them improve as players.

• It makes players more resilient. Humble players are less likely to get discouraged when they make mistakes or lose games. They know that they can always learn from their experiences and come back stronger.

Here are some tips for developing humility as a player:

• Be willing to listen to feedback. Don't be afraid to ask your coaches and teammates for feedback on your game. Be open to their suggestions and be willing to make changes.  BECOME COACHABLE.

• Take responsibility for your actions. When you make a mistake, don't blame it on someone else. Take responsibility for your actions and learn from them. BECOME ACCOUNTABLE.

• Put the team first. Don't worry about your own personal stats or accolades. Focus on what you can do to help the team win. BECOME A GOOD TEAMMATE.

• Celebrate the successes of your teammates. Be genuinely happy for your teammates when they succeed. This shows that you are a team player and that you are not focused on yourself. BECOME THE BEST TEAMMATE.

Here are some examples of humility in lacrosse:

• A player celebrates their teammate after scoring a goal, making a save, picking up a ground ball, making the correct slide, causing a turnover, catching a bad pass, setting a great pick, communicating effectively, making a heads-up play to get or keep possession of the ball.  TEAMMATES CELEBRATING THE BIG PLAYS AND THE TINY PLAYS.

• A player acknowledges to their teammate that they made a mistake and assures them they will fix the mistake moving forward.  HOLDING YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE.

• A player accepts a decision made by their coach to switch goalies in the second half, change the attack unit, shuffle the midfield lines, send the second or third line midfield for a shift, run a different play, switch defensive tactics.  BEING A TEAM PLAYER AND TRUSTING YOUR COACH.

• A player congratulates an opponent on a good play. GAME RECOGNIZING GAME.

Humility is a quality that is admired by everyone in the lacrosse community. When players are humble, they make themselves and their teams better.