The Importance of Effort
Hockey was my favorite sport growing up. I didn’t start playing until first or second grade and was typically not the most skilled player on the ice. I started playing Varsity Hockey when I was a freshman in high school and made the team by effort alone. I got a couple lucky goals when I got my chance and managed to dress the second half of the year. My athleticism started to kick in around my Junior year, but it was that fore-checking/back-checking grinder mentality I learned in hockey that I took into lacrosse.
I don’t know why but often it’s the attackmen or offensive players that develop a lazy style of play. I have done it too so I know first-hand, but it is almost as if it is not cool to hustle. Luckily, I got past that mentality and over the course of my career tried to find new ways to push myself and show how much I cared through my effort. It’s one of those things that when you get it … it just makes sense.
Give everything you have to help your team win. Sprint on the floor. Sprint off the floor. Fly into the corners to battle for a loose ball. When you get tired and feel fatigued use that as a sign to push on harder, not to ease up and take a break. You get used to working so hard that it becomes second nature. I guess the laziness and apathy become second nature for some as well.
















