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This final, regular season email was supposed to be another long,

boring 2,000 word treatise on the lax landscape our boys will travel

in the coming years. Snoozefest. Even I’m weary of me! Ha ha. Instead,

lets live a little more in the present. What do wise men say?

Yesterday is history and tomorrows a mystery?

Courtesy of Maureen Silverman and approved by Connor and his Dad,

Brent, I have been given permission to share something much more

meaningful. Below is the email Connors Mom sent earlier this week. Dig

a little bit deeper, and the gifts of this great sport will reveal

themselves.

We have seen some special things this season. One very special truth

we came away with is this: Moms and Dads, each of you have raised fine

young sons. From the first day of practice to Sundays last game and

everyday in between, your boys have consistently displayed remarkable

character and compassion. As I mentioned in an earlier email, the

coaches have never seen a group of boys who care so much about each

other. By the end of this email the who, what, why, where, when and

how will manifest themselves. Even then, I find it tough to figure out

exactly who’s gift this is.

Thank you Maureen and Brent. And thank you Connor for your smile, your

willingness to share and your depth of character to take ownership of

the fact that you have overcome so many obstacles. You are an amazing

person, you are an inspiration and we are blessed that you have come

into our lives.

One Love, Rastamon!

Coach DC

The 1st time I emailed John, explaining Connor’s auditory processing

issue, the response has been amazing and accepting. The last 8 weeks

have been some of the most important and defining of Connor’s life. He

is a kid that was born so early he wasn’t suppose to live. After 5

months in the NICU, he came home and hasn’t stopped amazing us, or

smiling, since. As his 2nd grade teacher said, “Connor has never had a

bad day.” Of course I like to say it’s his Irish feistiness!

Our attitude with Connor has always been to treat him as normally as

possible, and make no exceptions. I never wanted to baby him, or

coddle him. Ok, I did-but that’s not the right thing for him.

Fast forward 12 years and he says he wants to play Lacrosse. My

brother is a LAX Coach in Chicago and says, “I don’t know-sometimes

it’s too physical, he may not like it.” My husband doesn’t know

either. But I sign him up and we go up to All Star, I buy all the

gear, and then some-and off he goes.

The 1st practice I watch with my heart in my throat. He’s last during

drills. Way last. My eyes start to water. But he gets in the car, and

says, “that was great!” “my Coaches are awesome.”  His sisters tell

him he looks like a Gladiator in his equipment. Suddenly it’s Lacrosse

talk in this house ALL Spring. He starts showing his sisters the

things he is learning. (they play too) ONLY Lacrosse shorts are worn

to school. The backyard now has a bounce back net. At some point

during those weeks, when I looked for him during drills, it took

awhile to find him. Why? Because he was mixed in with the pack. He was

doing it!

I drop him a bit early to a practice a few weeks ago, and as he gets

out of the car, there are 6 boys standing there. I’m thinking to

myself, “Are they nice to him?” and then I hear “hey Connor/Hi Connor,

hey Connor let’s pass”. Little do these boys, or their parents know, I

drove away with tears again, and the biggest smile you have ever seen.

It’s those things that mean so much when you spend ALOT of time

worried about your son, both academically and socially. And the game

with the Goal, I will remember FOREVER. Even my daughters “got” why I

was so happy.

To hear him rave about the coaches and the kids on his team has been

so great. I have a daughter in 5th and last week Blake Lori yells down

the hall, “hey Caroline-your brother Connor is awesome!” How amazing

is that?

You all have given him an unbelievable confidence. An unbelievable

sense of team and belonging. I know you guys are going to go on and

coach kids with some great talent. Maybe their parents will be

obsessed with fair playing time, going to the Columbus tournament,

etc. But not us. We know our son is a gift, and the fact he was on

YOUR team was also a gift. And through the years we have met some

people who shock us with their character and compassion. People we

will never forget. You are all now on that list. Please forward this

to the other Coaches and tell them how much they changed a kids life,

and how grateful we are. Thank you SO much for more than just a great

season of LAX.  Maureen

and other lessons learned by a dad, husband, brother, son, lacrosse coach and entrepreneur

But your teammmates and you will be tested together, fight together and meet challenges head on together in settings few friends ever encounter. It is conceivable to have an even deeper and stronger bond with a teammate than your circle of friends as you lead your charmed life off the field.

First, traveling with my dad was always a blast. Take advantage of the great food ( zingerman’s deli, There are so many great restaurants, but Zingerman’s Deli is a great organic deli. One of a kind. Although the town is riddled with diamonds in the rough. Take advantage of the time, environment, people and food.  Switch up “DJ” responsibility with the music on the road trip, good fun.

Second, those are all great questions for admissions, tour guides, coaches and students you meet there. Brainstorm everything you want to know, write some things down. You want to have a go to line or sentence that lets people know what your looking for. Mine was; “I’m looking for a school that fits me academically, socially and athletically.” Have goals to help get you to where you want to go.

Third. Emails, emails, emails! Even of you don’t get a response, send emails! Coaches get over 1000s of them a week. Michigan never responded to any of my emails, but when I met coach Broschart for the first time he said he appreciated all of them! Can you send me link to highlight and website? GRADES ARE KEY, MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OFRECRUITING.

Third continued: Yes, AJ is right, you want to communicate directly. Multiple reasons: Chans personality is his biggest attribute! He’s a great kid and thats what they are looking for, recruiting for character. Talking to the coach moves you up on the radar, regardless if you are a player or not. It allows Chan to ask questions and get to know the coach. A two way interview. You don’t want to spend four years playing for someone you don’t respect, look up to or get along with. Ask questions, laugh, have fun with it and start to build a relationship. Even if the school isn’t for you, you’ve made a contact and they are sure to tell other coaches about you. ( They all talk about everyone! What you say to one coach, guarantee twenty others hear it ). Not to scare you/him but Now and “down the road” are quite similar. It moves fast, so make it a habit of checking emails, making calls and staying positive. Also, make sure Chan is in charge here. You’re great dad and love your kid but you don’t want to be “that parent” who tries to hard. Teamwork on this, but he has to be the one sending emails and making calls.

Who are Chan’s top school? Make a list of fall back schools, fit schools and reach schools. Add 3-5 schools in each category and go from there. Be honest with it and do the research, it is about the feel of the ALL AROUND school, not just the honeys and the lax field.

Kodak Man 1: ‘So have you figured out a way to work the wheel in? Kodak Man 2: ‘We know it’s hard, because wheels aren’t really seen as excit­ing tech­no­logy, even though they are the original’. Don Draper: ‘Well, tech­no­logy is a glit­ter­ing lure, but there’s the rare occa­sion when the pub­lic can be engaged on a level bey­ond flash. If they have a sen­ti­mental bond with the product. My first job, I was in-house at a fur com­pany. This old-pro copy­writer, Greek, named Teddy. And Teddy told me the most import­ant idea in advert­ising is ‘new’. Cre­ates an itch. Put your product in there as a kind of calam­ine lotion. We also talked about a deeper bond with the product. Nos­tal­gia. It’s del­ic­ate, but potent…

… Teddy told me that in Greek, nos­tal­gia lit­er­ally means the pain from an old wound. It’s a twinge in your heart far more power­ful than memory alone. This device isn’t a space ship, it’s a time machine. It goes back­wards and for­wards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the wheel. It’s called the carou­sel. It lets us travel the way a child travels. Round and round and back home again. To a place where we know we are loved.’

A family feels like an archipelago, separate but part of a whole, and always drifting slowly apart

Single most importsnt way people discover new…..social feature to really transform purchasing behavior

Hill Lacrosse “Non-Negotiables” On the field: -Hill attackmen ride through the mid-line. -Hill wings box out on face-offs. -Hill attackmen run out shots! -Hill midfielders do not pressure the ball in defensive transition; get into the paint. -Hill players sprint off the field on substitutions. -Hill players look at the ref and plant your feet off of change of possessions. -Hill defensemen do not get beat off a stick-check. -Hill players do not get beat off ball when a pole is on the ball. -Hill players do not question the ref. Let the coaches inquire about calls. -Hill players do not “talk trash” to their opponent. -Hill players do not make a flat-footed pass. -Hill players do not slam their stick or swear after a mistake. -Hill players do not question Hill coaches during a game or practice. -Hill players care about team success. -Hill players are players not coaches. -Hill players know the playbook and terminology. -Hill players are “whistle ready” on change of possessions. -Hill players focus on the ball in loose ball scrums. -Hill players do not commit “push from behind” possession calls. -Hill players echo calls! -Hill players lead by example. -Hill players like assisted goals. -Hill players do not point the finger. -Hill players know the difference between being hurt and injured. No self diagnosis. -Hill players do not complain; we embrace adversity. -Hill players look out for one another. -Hill players are continuously trying to improve. Off the field: -Hill players are polite and respectful. -Hill players are committed to being great students. -Hill players dress in full uniform, equipment. -Hill players look professional. -Hill jerseys never touch the ground. -Hill players do not drink pop, or eat junk on the road or at school. -Hill players do not eat fast food and are committed to eating healthy. -Hill players are clean-shaven for road trips. -Hill players play appropriate movies on the road. -Hill players respect their parents. -Hill players are committed to continuous improvement in the weightroom. -Hill players leave visiting locker rooms spotless. -Hill players put the nets away and collect the ball after every practice. -Hill players open the door for other people. -Hill players clean the bus, no matter how late we get home! -Hill players are committed to academics and act professionally in the classroom. “Success is Uncommon, therefore not to be enjoyed by the Common man”