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BUF at SD - Sat. 10pm ET on ESPNews Schedule

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WK
1
Fri, Dec 2
FINAL
Philadelphia
8
Halifax
18
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Vancouver
8
Toronto
19
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
San Diego
15
New York
14
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Albany
11
Buffalo
10
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Rochester
16
Georgia
11
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Colorado
6
Saskatchewan
18
WK
2
Fri, Dec 9
FINAL
Las Vegas
11
Panther City
13
Fri, Dec 9
FINAL/OT
Saskatchewan
12
San Diego
13
Sat, Dec 10
FINAL
Toronto
7
Rochester
11
Sat, Dec 10
FINAL
Vancouver
9
Calgary
11
WK
3
Fri, Dec 16
FINAL
Calgary
14
Vancouver
5
Fri, Dec 16
FINAL
Panther City
9
Las Vegas
3
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Buffalo
11
Toronto
8
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Rochester
14
Albany
13
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Philadelphia
13
Georgia
12
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Halifax
20
New York
11
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Colorado
12
Panther City
9
WK
5
Fri, Dec 30
FINAL
Halifax
13
Buffalo
18
Fri, Dec 30
FINAL
San Diego
17
Calgary
14
Sat, Dec 31
FINAL
Panther City
9
Saskatchewan
11
WK
6
Fri, Jan 6
FINAL
Philadelphia
14
Las Vegas
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Panther City
9
Rochester
17
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Halifax
14
Albany
11
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Buffalo
18
Georgia
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Toronto
15
New York
7
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Calgary
8
Colorado
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Vancouver
11
San Diego
16
WK
7
Fri, Jan 13
FINAL/OT
Albany
11
Halifax
10
Fri, Jan 13
FINAL/OT
Saskatchewan
10
Colorado
11
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Halifax
8
Toronto
17
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Panther City
12
Philadelphia
10
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Georgia
9
Buffalo
11
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
San Diego
10
Calgary
14
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Las Vegas
16
Vancouver
19
Sun, Jan 15
FINAL
Rochester
11
New York
8
WK
8
Fri, Jan 20
FINAL
Buffalo
12
Rochester
15
Fri, Jan 20
FINAL
Vancouver
14
Las Vegas
15
Sat, Jan 21
FINAL
Toronto
14
Philadelphia
5
Sat, Jan 21
FINAL
New York
16
Albany
10
WK
9
Fri, Jan 27
FINAL
Rochester
7
Halifax
17
Fri, Jan 27
FINAL
Buffalo
13
Philadelphia
9
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Buffalo
16
New York
10
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Las Vegas
10
Saskatchewan
15
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL/OT
Toronto
11
Calgary
10
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
San Diego
13
Colorado
9
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Panther City
20
Vancouver
7
WK
10
Fri, Feb 3
FINAL
Georgia
10
Colorado
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL/OT
Calgary
12
Halifax
11
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
New York
14
Toronto
22
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Albany
5
Philadelphia
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Rochester
10
Buffalo
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Panther City
10
San Diego
12
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Saskatchewan
14
Vancouver
8
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Colorado
8
Las Vegas
13
WK
11
Fri, Feb 10
FINAL
Toronto
11
Georgia
10
Fri, Feb 10
FINAL
Saskatchewan
6
Calgary
13
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Halifax
14
Rochester
16
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Albany
12
New York
14
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Vancouver
13
Panther City
14
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Colorado
9
Calgary
13
WK
12
Fri, Feb 17
FINAL
Calgary
14
Vancouver
9
Fri, Feb 17
FINAL
Saskatchewan
16
San Diego
11
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Georgia
7
Toronto
16
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Las Vegas
12
Albany
10
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL/OT
Philadelphia
12
Buffalo
13
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Colorado
7
Panther City
13
Sun, Feb 19
FINAL
New York
12
Halifax
13
WK
13
Fri, Feb 24
FINAL
Panther City
12
Colorado
14
Fri, Feb 24
FINAL
Calgary
9
Las Vegas
11
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL/OT
New York
10
Rochester
11
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL
Albany
4
Georgia
20
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL
Vancouver
16
Saskatchewan
12
WK
14
Fri, Mar 3
FINAL
Buffalo
10
Halifax
9
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
New York
12
Philadelphia
19
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Las Vegas
12
San Diego
15
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Rochester
8
Toronto
9
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL/OT
Georgia
9
Albany
8
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Saskatchewan
10
Panther City
16
Mon, Mar 6
FINAL
Toronto
10
Philadelphia
11
WK
15
Fri, Mar 10
FINAL/OT
Halifax
9
Buffalo
10
Fri, Mar 10
FINAL
Calgary
16
Colorado
10
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Albany
6
Toronto
12
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Philadelphia
10
New York
13
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
San Diego
12
Saskatchewan
11
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Vancouver
14
Las Vegas
5
Sun, Mar 12
FINAL
Rochester
19
Georgia
18
WK
16
Fri, Mar 17
FINAL
Saskatchewan
6
Calgary
11
Fri, Mar 17
FINAL
San Diego
16
Vancouver
9
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Georgia
13
Philadelphia
12
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Toronto
12
Halifax
14
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Albany
10
New York
13
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Colorado
13
Buffalo
8
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Las Vegas
8
Panther City
11
Sun, Mar 19
FINAL/OT
Philadelphia
9
Rochester
8
WK
17
Fri, Mar 24
FINAL
San Diego
17
Panther City
9
Sat, Mar 25
19:00:00
Toronto
Albany
Sat, Mar 25
19:00:00
Halifax
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 25
19:30:00
Georgia
New York
Sat, Mar 25
21:30:00
Calgary
Saskatchewan
Sat, Mar 25
22:00:00
Buffalo
San Diego
Sat, Mar 25
22:00:00
Colorado
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 25
22:30:00
Rochester
Las Vegas
WK
18
Fri, Mar 31
19:00:00
New York
Georgia
Fri, Mar 31
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Colorado
Fri, Mar 31
22:00:00
Calgary
San Diego
Sat, Apr 1
19:00:00
Buffalo
Toronto
Sat, Apr 1
20:00:00
Albany
Panther City
Sat, Apr 1
21:30:00
Vancouver
Saskatchewan
Sun, Apr 2
13:00:00
Georgia
Halifax
Sun, Apr 2
18:00:00
Rochester
Philadelphia
WK
19
Sat, Apr 8
19:00:00
Albany
Rochester
Sat, Apr 8
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Georgia
Sat, Apr 8
21:00:00
Panther City
Calgary
Sat, Apr 8
21:00:00
Vancouver
Colorado
Sat, Apr 8
22:30:00
San Diego
Las Vegas
WK
20
Fri, Apr 14
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Calgary
Fri, Apr 14
21:00:00
San Diego
Colorado
Sat, Apr 15
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Toronto
Sat, Apr 15
19:00:00
Georgia
Albany
Sat, Apr 15
19:30:00
New York
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 15
21:30:00
Halifax
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 15
22:00:00
Panther City
Vancouver
WK
21
Fri, Apr 21
20:30:00
Calgary
Panther City
Sat, Apr 22
18:00:00
New York
Halifax
Sat, Apr 22
19:00:00
Georgia
Rochester
Sat, Apr 22
20:00:00
Toronto
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 22
21:30:00
Colorado
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 22
22:00:00
Las Vegas
San Diego
Sun, Apr 23
15:00:00
Philadelphia
Albany
WK
22
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Rochester
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Buffalo
Albany
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Halifax
Georgia
Sat, Apr 29
22:00:00
Colorado
San Diego
Sat, Apr 29
22:00:00
New York
Vancouver
Sat, Apr 29
22:30:00
Saskatchewan
Las Vegas
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Stories/Op-Ed

Becoming a Professional Lacrosse Player

What young athlete hasn’t seen highlights of the NLL on social media or watched a game and thought “I want to do that.” I remember traveling with my dad, his best friend from college, my Uncle Rage, and my brother to watch the Rochester Knighthawks take on the Buffalo Bandits when I was in high school, seeing Hall of Fame Nominee Billy Dee Smith punish offensive players as they cut the middle or set picks. I remember Mark Steenhuis’ flowing blonde hair as he scored goals and Rochester fans booed, while Bandits’ fans chanted “Whose House? Steenhuis!” 

I was in awe as I watched the legendary John Tavares, Mike Accursi and Shawn Williams do what they do best: scoring extremely dynamic goals. A fight broke out mid-game, and I remember looking at my brother and saying – “I want to do this, this is AWESOME!” Little did I know my athletic career would take me down a different path, pursuing a dream of playing in the NFL. While in high school I was offered a scholarship to play Division 1 football in Fairfield, CT as a Sacred Heart Pioneer. My dream of playing professional sports didn’t waver, it just shifted. Fast forward ten years and I’d have the opportunity to play against my childhood idols Billy Dee Smith Mark Steenhuis. 

Having the chance to play professional sports is a rare opportunity, and all athletes will spend a large portion of their lives trying to attain this goal. Becoming a professional athlete is no easy task, and the path is through years of dedication to your craft, sacrifices, and consistency. Anything worth doing is typically challenging, or the road to success would be constant bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

Becoming a professional lacrosse player will test your mental fortitude, push your body to the limits and create an insatiable hunger for more. If your hard work is met with an opportunity to play in the NLL, you will reap the rewards. Playing professional lacrosse in the NLL will come with ample benefits: being compensated to play the game you love, competing on the biggest stage of lacrosse in front of thousands of passionate fans, and the chance to do what very few people are able to do. To the victor goes the spoils, and if you’re willing to be disciplined, face and overcome adversity and be mentally tough, you have a chance.

To play in the National Lacrosse League you must have superior skills, physical attributes, or an extremely high lacrosse IQ. Having one or more of these attributes will only help your case while NLL scouts and coaches watch you play. Any combination of these three attributes will work, but you will need to be above average or “expert” level in at least one of the aforementioned attributes, with the other two attributes being slightly above average. 

Becoming an expert in any field is extremely arduous. Malcolm Gladwell has famously claimed that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at any skill. Accumulating 10,000 hours in anything can seem like an insurmountable task, by now you’re likely asking yourself how many 2-hour practices will I need to become a professional? I’d argue the 10,000-hour mark is a fairly arbitrary number and for all intents and purposes essentially tells us that becoming an expert isn’t going to be easy. With that being said I’ve outlined some best practices as you prepare for your journey to the NLL. 

 

  1. Control what you can: mind and body.

Far too often young athletes get caught up on things they cannot control, for instance: “How do I get a tryout for an NLL team?” “How will I get a scholarship to my favorite school?” “I wanted to play attack but Coach put me at mid-field.” All of these questions do not matter if you do not control what you can. Oren Lyons, the faith keeper for Onondaga and legendary goalie for Syracuse University, once told me “Conditioning is the most important skill for box lacrosse. I’d take the guy who can run over the guy who can shoot any day.” I often reflect on this and realize if you’re dedicated and take control of your physical preparedness, that when it comes to the skill you’re more likely to do the same. 

Conditioning is an element of lacrosse each and every athlete can control. Finding a strength and conditioning program, coach or personal trainer who can get your body ready to perform is imperative. Having a “large engine” or “good conditioning” will allow you to perform at your best, and longer than the next player when it gets to the later stages of a game or in season. Being stronger and faster will allow you to outperform the competition, set harder picks, play better defense, and begin to positively impact games. 

There are so many resources out now for young athletes to follow strength and conditioning programs, ranging from those at home without weights, to more advanced training that simply requires a subscription. You can follow my daily functional training specific to box lacrosse training on my YouTube channel. Having excellent size, strength and conditioning are what opened the door for me to play in the National Lacrosse League.

Not only can a strength and conditioning program allow you to get bigger, stronger, and faster, but a training regimen will build discipline, mental toughness, and a small source of daily adversity to overcome. Challenge yourself to become better on a daily basis, and through your physical training program you will also be honing your mind. It is important to remember we control our energy and attitude, which in turn determines our future successes and failures. Having a positive mindset, being resilient, and determined will help you on your journey to the National Lacrosse League. The greatest athletes’ mental attributes far outweigh their physical. 

 

 2. Learn from the best.

Once you’re controlling what you can, you’ve developed your strength and conditioning, you’ve begun honing your mental toughness and you’ve remained disciplined, you must learn from the best. Everything you want to accomplish in life has most likely been done before by another human being. In today’s world, we can access almost anything from the comfort of our own homes with our smartphones and computers. Finding a mentor is much easier than it was before the age of the internet. When looking for a mentor, you’ll look to someone who achieved what define as success or is further along a similar path than you. In sport, finding a mentor or learning from the best is as simple as watching your favorite player play. In the lacrosse world, you can subscribe to your favorite players’ YouTube channel, follow them on Instagram or TikTok, and watch the tips they’ve created for you, practice them and even study how they play games. 

When I first entered the NLL with the New England Black Wolves, I was a big, physical Division 1 football player with one year of Can-Am box lacrosse under my belt. My learning curve was tremendous, so studying game films of great current players like Kyle Rubisch, Billy Dee Smith, and Steve Priolo helped me develop faster. Having the opportunity to work with Tracey Kelusky, Jim Veltman and Glenn Clark greatly elevated my game and molded me into the player I became. If you’re a physical defender and want a first-person perspective of what it is like playing in the NLL and various other leagues be sure to check out Thrilla Vision

If you ask any great player of any sport, they were inspired to play like an athlete that came before them. You can find small pieces of their inspirations’ playing style in the way they take the field. There is a reason the game is ever-changing and evolving. Every time a professional player takes the floor, there is a kid in the stands inspired by his move, and they make it their own, and they make it better. Find a mentor, a favorite player and study them. Watch how they carry themselves in the game between whistles, during play, how they train and eat, and find out what drives them. This will expedite your process of becoming a professional lacrosse player. 

 

3. Hone your skills.

You’ll get several benefits both physically and mentally from training your body and mind. You’ll learn a lot about box lacrosse by studying your favorite players, but if you’re not battle-tested you will not know where you stand. You must play box lacrosse, play the best competition available, and see how you stack up. The best way to learn is through experience. If you’re unsure where you can play or what leagues are available to you, take a look at the Lay of The Land. Box lacrosse is exploding in popularity nationwide, and more and more opportunities are available for athletes to test their skills against other players in live game action. This is where the real growth, exposure, and experience come from. 

Each practice, game, and tournament allows you to close the gap on that 10,000-hour benchmark Malcolm Gladwell famously created. And, more importantly, it gives you an opportunity to try something new, fail and learn something to add to your arsenal. Experience is what makes great athletes great, but experience does not always need to be live-action. After each game, take time to reflect on what you did well and where you could use improvement. Prior to games and throughout the week, take time to visualize yourself finding success in certain game situations, how you will react, and how you will move. As athletes, our bodies can only play so many games before our bruises catch up with us. Visualization is a great way to work towards those 10,000 hours honing your gameplay. 

In order to find success in any endeavor, you must control the factors that you can. Adversity will present itself and when it does you will be ready. Learn from the people who are successful and doing what you aspire to do. This will expedite the process and help shorten the learning curve. Lastly, you must visualize your success, execute your plan and take steps toward achieving your goals. Obstacles will be placed in your way, but with the right mindset and attitude you will overcome them. Remember if the road was easy everyone would walk it. 

NLL