What Lacrosse Taught Me About Health

There’s a strange moment that hits you in your 50s.

You look around at your peers, other parents, former teammates, old coaching buddies, and realize you’re in better shape now than you were in your 20s, 30s, maybe even your 40s.
Better energy.
Better habits.
Better health markers across the board.

And then, almost instantly, another thought hits even harder:
Why didn’t I do this sooner?

I’ve spent most of my life tied to this game.
Player. Coach. Community organizer. Board member. Volunteer.
If there was a role in lacrosse, I probably filled it at some point.

And through every one of those seasons, I preached the same things we all preach:

– “Fuel your body.”
– “Get your reps in.”
– “Take care of your sleep.”
– “Consistency matters.”
– “Do the work before the work.”

We say it to our players with confidence.
We demand it from them with urgency.

But we rarely apply it to ourselves.

Somewhere between practices, parent emails, team logistics, and the pressure to deliver for everyone else, we quietly let ourselves go. Not dramatically. Not overnight. Just slowly enough that we never treat it like a real issue.

Years go by like that.

And then one day, you wake up and realize the advice you’ve spent decades giving…
is the advice you’ve spent decades ignoring.

So I made a decision:

If I’m going to teach kids discipline, ownership, and self-care…
I need to live those values myself.

Today, in my 50s, I’m in the best health of my life, not because of some miracle routine, but because I finally started applying the fundamentals I used to preach to others.

Not for a test.
Not for a season.
Not for approval.

For myself.

And when I look back, I can’t help but think about everything I could’ve been doing during the years I was deeply involved in lacrosse:

All the nutrition knowledge I talked about but never used.
All the strength work I assigned but didn’t perform.
All the mobility drills I skipped.
All the sleep habits I ignored.
All the mental discipline I asked players to embrace while I “powered through” exhaustion and stress.

So I wrote this article for one reason:

To share the habits I wish I had practiced when I was younger,
because I’m finally practicing them now.

Not out of regret.
Out of responsibility.

Because as coaches, current or former, we’re part of a community that teaches kids how to take care of their bodies, their minds, and their futures.

But somewhere along the way, we forget that those rules still apply to us.

We matter too.
Our health matters too.
Our longevity, energy, and well-being matter just as much as the players we try to help.

It’s never too late.

Not to change habits.
Not to rebuild your health.
Not to start applying the lessons you’ve been teaching for years.

So here it is: what I’ve been doing, what’s worked, and what I wish I started decades ago.

Give it a read.
Tell me what you think.
And remember, coaches need taking care of too.
Not eventually.
Not when things slow down.
Now.

Because a healthier coach leads healthier athletes.
And a stronger you makes everything, your family, your work, your team, better.