Happy New Year from the NLL! May 2025 be a year filled with more memorable lacrosse moments.
We all have goals, but we’re not always great at following through with what we hope to accomplish. So, the new year is the perfect time to reset, re-evaluate those goals and come up with a plan to stick to them. Whether it be related to health, family or work, there are many ways we can improve our lives in small, yet significant ways.
NLL players have goals too, both personal and professional. Back at media day in November, I asked a few of the guys to make their New Year’s Resolutions early. It was certainly tough to come up with something on the spot, but the players were good sports and created realistic and attainable goals pretty quickly. As predicted, the goals fell into the health, family and work-related categories.
Read on to see what your favorite players want to achieve in 2025. Do you think they’ll be able to keep these resolutions?
We asked this question back in early November, so boys, if you’re reading this, it’s time to get started!
Physical Health
- Mark Matthews, Toronto Rock – Lay off the candy.
- Challen Rogers, Toronto Rock – Eat fewer pretzels.
- Phil Caputo, Philadelphia Wings – Eat more vegetables. A classic.
- Tye Kurtz, Albany FireWolves – Start running more.
- Brayden Mayea, Calgary Roughnecks – Run one mile every other day — at LEAST one mile.
- Brennan O’Neill, Philadelphia Wings – Get more jacked!!!
- Connor Kearnan, Ottawa Black Bears – More yoga. Does that count? I need more mobility in my hips.
- Latrell Harris, Toronto Rock – Stop eating candy past midnight. I’m a really bad sweets guy. I love Skittles. I found a new obsession, they’re called Hi-Chews, and they’re money. Strawberry and mango. So I’m going to try and eat less candy. No promises.
Family & Friends
- Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds – Find a balance between working out and being a father.
- Isaiah Davis-Allen, Philadelphia Wings – Try to be home before 6 p.m. My wife and kid are at the house and we have a second one coming, so I want to try to be home at a better hour.
- Jeff Teat, Ottawa Black Bears – Respond to people’s texts quicker. (note: so far this has not happened)
Work (but let’s be real, it’s also play)
- Brett Dobson, Georgia Swarm – Win a championship.
- Ryan Smith, Rochester Knighthawks – Win the NLL championship.
- Tehoka Nanticoke, Buffalo Bandits – Chase the 3-peat. That’s the goal.
- Zach Higgins, Ottawa Black Bears – I don’t like New Year’s Resolutions, but I’ll go with hopefully win the NLL Cup.
- Mitch de Snoo, Toronto Rock – Try to write more of my thesis!
And then there are the miscellaneous resolutions, which didn’t really fall into any of the three other categories, but these resolutions are pretty good, too. I could argue that reading more books and being more organized falls into the health category, although they focus more on the mental health side. I highly recommend reading more books!
- Cam MacLeod, Calgary Roughnecks – Stop going on my phone in the morning before I get out of bed. (we all need to do this to be honest)
- Jack Follows, Calgary Roughnecks – Read one book a month.
- Riley Hutchcraft, Rochester Knighthawks – Read more books.
- Blaze Riorden, Philadelphia Wings – Be more logistically sound and fill out a calendar for future weeks.
- Mitch Jones, Philadelphia Wings – Be more organized overall. Keep things organized and not live like I’m flying by the seat of my pants.
- Nick Rose, Toronto Rock – Don’t sweat the small stuff. (well said!)
So, as we charge into 2025, let’s take a page from the NLL players’ playbook—set goals, stay committed, and make every moment count. Here’s to a year of growth, grit, and great lacrosse! Happy New Year!
