Moment you're proud to be a coach.

[Dadabhoy_Muzzi]

What is the most amazing thing you love to see as a coach?

For me it was:

I was coaching a bantam team in box. We had a goalie who had never played box goalie before and had played attack/middie in field. Me being a natural goalie decided to help him out. I tought him the positioning and everyhting he needed to know. First game he played and he lost that game by a pretty close score. I congratulated him. For the rest of the games, I was not able to help him because I had to stop coaching due to school work. Today at our finals, bantams were playing and I was able to see him play. He played an amazing game and helped his team. After the game I asked if he liked it and he said he loved it. I felt so good to be his coach and help love the position of box goalie.

What are some of your moments that you felt good that you were a coach?

[KnightsLAXDad]

I have to say that I was truly impressed with my novice kids this year in house league box. As you probably know, house league, especially at the younger ages tends to be about individual effort, with the odd pass here or there, usually out of desperation because two or three guys are beating on them. My team was no different.

Well we just finished HL playoffs and I think aliens abducted my entire team and replaced them with clones. They executed a perfect breakout, with three or four clean, crisp passes, took the ball deep and started cutting instead of the usual standing with with their sticks up expecting a magic pass. A quick pass out from the corner and a goal. Couldn't believe my eyes. It looked like lacrosse.

[Hawkeye]

Any time a past player sees me in the grocery store or a restaurant and comes up to me and still calls me coach, gives me a hug and tells me about how his life has been, maybe he is with a girlfriend or wife and introduces me as his coach.

[WHEELAX2]

I actually had several moments from a camp I worked at last week, but the thing that makes me the most proud is when kids "get it." when you can turn their frustration of not getting it, into the excitement of understanding the game, and wanting to learn more.

[Canadian Lax]

When you teach a kid to shoot and, when that kid works so hard practicing his shots and then in a game scores his first ever goal and you see that HUGE smile on his face because he is so proud of himself.

[jimd619]

My favorite moment was actually when I was assisting in youth baseball, as wonderful as some of my lacrosse and soccer coaching memories are. You know the story, runt of the team. No athletic ability (sound like Rudy?). At bat we are talking about an entire season without even making contact with the ball. Well we are losing last game of the season. Would be in the play-offs if we won, but game was reasonably out of reach. But into the last inning, two outs and guess who steps up to plate. Everyone in the stands were cheering him on, and like a bad script he hits the ball through the infield for a single. The look of absolute rapture on his face, the enormous cheers from the parents was something I'll never forget. Other team could figure out what the heck everyone was cheering about. But to see that moment when a child succeeds at something he had been working so hard for and did not fully believe was within his grasp, that is what I love about coaching.

[KnightsLAXDad]

When you teach a kid to shoot and, when that kid works so hard practicing his shots and then in a game scores his first ever goal and you see that HUGE smile on his face because he is so proud of himself.


Actually, my son scored his first "competitive" goal this season on a nice outside shot to the top corner, and oh yeah was he beaming.

[laxliveit]

It wasn't really coaching (I'm only going to be a sophmore next year), but I played down to JV for one game this season, because the opponent was supposed to be pretty good. I didn't have trouble with the defenders or anything, but I was working hard not to show off or get too flashy. We ended up winning the game, and the best feeling I've ever had (even better than my first varsity goal) was when one of my friends on the team, who had been kinda wary about lacrosse (he was a hockey jock by nature) walked up and told me how watching me had been an inspiration, and made him want to try harder. I'm not really good at all, but I just have a lot of fun on the field, and the fact that that had influenced someone was amazing. It made me sure that I'm going to coach a team when I'm older, because those moments are so good.

[petejobu22]

Coaching a "lil" kid who wanted to play pole (he is 10) and letting him go agaisnt one of the kids on the "big kid team" who was at the time 15....and having my kid play shut down D. The older kid got sooo frustrated that he started yelling at the newest pole to my lineup. lol

[Irishlax22]

When you a see a kid do the thing in a game that you taught him to do. Even if its picking up a groundball. Thats when it hits you that you are the greatest coach ever. :worship:

[tall_chris]

Instead of being a more on the field thing, the best that made me proud to be a coach is when there is that one player who you can deem the "problem child", his grades was not the best in the world, family life is far from normal, attitude problem.

But then the threat of failure his senior year sinks in and you support him, dont pull him from practice as punishment for failing but just make sure he knows where is priorities are.

He was a great player, graduated, and even got a scholorship.

It seems like there is one each year that you wonder what he would be doing if he wasnt in lacrosse. We dont just teach plays, we teach life lessons wether we intend to or not. And when a player comes back two years later and thanks you for being hard on him and pushing him to success!

[goalie1215]

when i coached a new player on my little brothers team to be an amazing goalie (he will be better than me when hes my age). in his first game he had 10 saves 1 goal against. evn though it was just u11 it was still cool.

[itsthatkid]

delete post.

[d-pole01]

it was my first time coaching box lacrosse with 7th graders and me and my buddy had to go into a shootout in order to decside who would win the championship. We had our 4 guys set but we needed a 5th and everyone was saying to put this one kid in but my friend told me to put in this first year player just for fun and see how it goes. well, it was tied 2-2 and we had to use our first year player and he went down and instead of doing a move shot 5 hole and scored the game winner at the time because we needed our goalie to stop a shot in which he did and we ended up winning the whole thing. what made me proud was after the game the kid was kind of an outkast and then after the game the kid had a huge smile and was having a good time. hope to have more memories coaching.

[Canadian Lax]

Instead of being a more on the field thing, the best that made me proud to be a coach is when there is that one player who you can deem the "problem child", his grades was not the best in the world, family life is far from normal, attitude problem.

But then the threat of failure his senior year sinks in and you support him, dont pull him from practice as punishment for failing but just make sure he knows where is priorities are.

He was a great player, graduated, and even got a scholorship.

It seems like there is one each year that you wonder what he would be doing if he wasnt in lacrosse. We dont just teach plays, we teach life lessons wether we intend to or not. And when a player comes back two years later and thanks you for being hard on him and pushing him to success!


I dont think anything in the entire world can give you a better feeling then knowing that you helped a kid out through his most difficult times. All it takes is for just one person to believe in a kid and tell him that he/ she can do it. I've learned many life lessons through lacrosse that have gotten me through many hard times in life. I was the "problem child" on my team, and if wasent for lax I know I would be involved in the wrong crowd doing wrong things. My coach helped me get through tough times and was tough on me and pushed me to bring out my full potential. I didnt always agree with him, but in the long run i realized he was doing it to benefit me. I can never pay him back for what he did for me, but i can strive to be successful.

[Newt]

When players come back to help coach without being asked. Getting the "where do you need me coach" phone call is as good as it gets.

[yourtenderloins]

When my 8th grade goalie went to High School and beat out a Juinior for the starting goalie position. He was one of the hardest workers on the team, and constantly pushed himself and let me improve him as a player. A very coahcable talent that is now reaping the benefits of his own hard work.

[ELWolves]

The first, and probably most important, thing that made me proud is that almost every time we ended practice, at least one or two players would say in a very disappointed voice, "Is it over? Already? We want to play more".

My second favorite moment was the last game of the season. My team was 80% new players, so the basics were a big part of our training all season. We played an unbeaten team in that last game. We didn't just win, but we did it in a way I'll never forget. Scoring (11 goals) was spread among 6 kids. My favorite was the key goal of the game, the kid who we had to work on to pass instead of drive made a great pass to his teammate who then scored his first goal.

It doesn't get any better than that.

[stinisonfire]

I was an instructor for PEAK - Springfield this past summer. After working with several kids one-on-one, a few of them came up to me and thanked me later, saying how much of a difference in their play I made just by a few adjustments. Also just hearing the word, "Coach" directed at me does it.

Oh man, I'd have to throw out a few wrestling moments. In high school, my coach was like a second father to me. I stopped by a tournament the year after I graduated and was just hanging out in the stands, yelling the occassional comment I knew they couldn't hear on the mat. My coach saw me out in the stands and had me come down and coach because his voice was so hoarse. I only wanted to stay for a couple matches (it was an all day dual-tourny), but I wound up coaching them mostly by myself for 4 straight matches and the team went 5-0. Seeing the kids I used to beat up on (we made sure to pass on the tradition of hard work as seniors) listen to me and win made me feel like I had really accomplished something.

[SawyerLaxGirl44]

I haven't had the opportunity to actually be a coach yet, seein that I'm a freshman in college, but I helped out the club team at my high school senior year, and taught the club goalie had to play.
Seeing her progress through the season made me feel AWESOME, cuz it was me who taught her and showed her waht to do.
Also on that club team having the younger girls who ranged from 7th-9th grade, having them come up to me and asking me how to do something. And over the summer I had a few girls tell me thanks for helping them out. It just makes me feel good and want to coach even more.

[sharpshooterFTW]

i'm just getting into helping out with clincs, and coaching idividuals, but i'm most proud when someone comes up to me, and will not let me elave practice, or w/e because he wants to learn. and when they finally exacute w/e he wanted to learn in a game, or even a practice situation, i know i have done my job, which useually ends with a high 5, or a scream of congratulations

[laxjunkie]

Anytime when it all clicks together for a new player.

But most recently was yesterday, when three of my senior players showed up to my father-in-law's funeral.

[laxfreak4life]

my best moment as a coach was last season when my u-15 team played against a team that was obviously not u-15, more like u-20 (half the players drove themselves to the game). and we still owned the other team, i think it was like 15-6 final score. and that was with a brand new goalie. we didnt have to out hit them, just out perform. next season we're going to concentrate on hitting though, b/c we got destroyed by another u-15 team twice because my guys were afraid of them because they hit harder, we'll rectify that problem though, even if i have to let them beat the heck out of me to do it

[pcoop25]

im still just a player in high school, but i love to help out with the kids in the middle school after my practice with a few of the other guys. We started doing that our freshman year and i have done it every tuesday and thursday since then. because of my friends and i, the middle school now has a club team that faces other middle schools. The kids i had helped out with a few years ago, now have moved up into the high school and now they are my team mates. Some of these guys even made varsity as a freshman which is unheard of at my school. During conditioning today one of these guys came up to me and told me he was inspired a few years ago when i came to down to teach him. It truly made me feel amazing.

[Pitibear]

... I love to help out with the kids in the middle school after my practice with a few of the other guys. Some of these guys even made varsity as a freshman which is unheard of at my school. One of these guys came up to me and told me he was inspired a few years ago when i came to down to teach him. It truly made me feel amazing.

That's the best feeling, way to go! You did it right, and for the right reason: you did it for nothing, other than to help somebody else out.

I still get parents that come up to me and thank me for helping their son or daughter out years ago. It never gets old, either.

Keep up the good work, all you h.s. guys who take the time to help the younger players.

[coach b lax]

I have been coaching since 97, lax since 02. i run a 2-8 grade lax spring and fall program, coach middle school lax, and recently started a varsity summer select squad.

I live to coach. Last spring I was at a JV lacrosse game and counted 46 kids on the field that i had coached at one time or another. Nothing is more rewarding to see players you have spent time and energy with get better in lacrosse and in life.

I agree with Hawkeye that it is a great feeling when kids see you years later off the field and come up to you and call you "coach".

[Riot]

Keep up the good work, all you h.s. guys who take the time to help the younger players.
I'm going to be an assistant coach for my younger brother's middle school team. Hopefully it's going to be awesome. :thumbsup:

[faceofflax15]

I helped Assistant coach the middle school team this last year and One person on that team new how to faceoff and play somewhat Dfense, and had no knowledge of playing Middie Offense, nor wing play.
Well I got to teach everything they learned about faceoff play and wingplay..And Let me tell ya, One of those F0 players got pretty dang good at them, useing techniques I taught them, thats what made me proud, watching the people I taught winning faceoffs..

[Marcus]

My first real coach success moment was last year (my first year). I was the JV assistant/Defense coach and we were getting absolutley blasted off the face-off. The head coach, also very new to coaching, had no idea what to do. So right before the next F/O I pulled our man to the side and said "Hey we are getting bea of the whistle everytime with stick work, but there is more than one way to win a faceoff" in true defensemen fashion I told him that the moment he heard that whistle to not go for the clam/jump or w/e he was going to do, and instead knock the other guy off the ball and box him out. He went off and I watched thinking to myself "Man I am so not a faceoff coach" Whistle blew. He planted the guy, scooped the ball, ran down right at the creaseman and fired....GOAL. He came back and said "Thanks coach! That worked great" The head coach, who knew I was taking a shot in the dark leaned over and said "Better lucky than good?" It was a good laugh and my players think that I knew it was going to work all along!

[jimd619]

I have another soccer example. How many coaches got a gatorade bath after a loss? We were a throw together team, leftovers from a mediocre team and remnants of the last place team. But we managed to win a tournament that got us into the big Dallas-FtWorth regional championships. First round three games, and we were one goal away from moving on to the next level. In fact we had one shot just go wide. But we did not. Lost the game. Next thing I know I am drenched with gatorade, the guys were so happy with what we had achieved.

I do have lots of wonderful memories of individual lacrosse players discovering themselves and their abilities, and moving on to great HS careers. But that bath will always be with me. By the way, much easier to coach soccer than lacrosse.

[spenny]

i make a really big deal out of grades with my players, and this winter one of my former players came back from college and told me he had the second best GPA of the freshmen on the team. he said he's never really been too serious about grades in high school, but he'd taken my speech to heart and had really hit the books hard.

as i tell them all, id rather have you be dean's list than AA.

anyway, i'm really proud of that laxer, and that made me feel better than any other moment as a coach.

[CaptMDG]

In the early 1980's, I was the assistant coach at Palm Beach Academy in Florida. We only had fifteen boys on those teams but we were good enough to win the early Florida State championships. We went up to Virginia and played St. Anne-Bellfield (sp?) and played very well (I do not remember whether we won, but I do know we played well). St. Anne's was the previous year's Virginia State Champ. Our next game was against Norwich Academy the reigning Virginia State champion.

As I said, we only had fifteen total boys on that team. We developed our team with strength up the middle with our four best athletes in the goal, on attack and defense and at middie. It was a very successful combination for us, both the middie and the goalie were recognized as HS All-Americans. My middie NEVER came out of the game - he was that good and that much in shape! He was a superior face-off middie and both he and my stud attackman would control the offense as they saw fit.

Unfortunately, the St. Anne-Bellview game inflicted ankle injuries on my stud attackmen and my stud middie. Norwich Academy came out after us hard because they were the Virginia champs and they were going to school the Florida champs in lacrosse (as it should be). We were crushed and lost bigtime!

The reason I was most proud as a coach was because every team member and every substitute played up to their absolute potential as a player. My two injured players were cheering their hearts out and the coaches did not have to yell at any player to try harder. The spectators and parents of Norwich Academy were even screaming for our players. They recognized what they were witnessing and appreciated what they saw. Our kids played with pure guts and to their potential. We lost a lacrosse game but won our souls!

I still see those "kids" (now forty year old men) and they still tell me that was the greatest game they ever participated in.

[Lax-Umpire]

High School player run on the field, one that I worked with as a U13. Sitting near the entrance - she looks over and says hi coach!

[cololax]

My proudest moment as a coach/father was during the 2007 Jamboree tournament held just outside Denver.

It was my 2nd year coaching the same team, who were now 3rd graders. In our first game, we were matched up against a team that had defeated us 10-1 earlier that season. Leading up to the game, there were a number of comments from the other team's players about how easy the game would be for them to win.

When game-time came our players were a little sick of the obnoxious comments that had been coming from the opposing team. The last thing I told our players before the game started was to, "Respect the game! I don't want to see any shanannigans out there. Teach this team a lesson by out-hustling them on ground-balls and good defense. Let's have some fun!"

As the game progressed, it was apparent things would be different this time.
Going into the 4th quarter we were down 2-1. Within a couple of minutes we tied the game. The game remained tied for the rest of the game and throughout overtime. When it was time for Brave-Heart we sent out one of our top players. He was the biggest, strongest and fastest player we had on the team. Our main concern was making sure we had somebody who could get back on defense in the event the other team got the ball on the FO. When the two players lined up for the FO and the goalies were set, the entire crowd was on the their feet cheering. Many people had stopped to watch while walking by during the overtime and see what the fans were cheering so loud for. The entire opposite side of the field was between 5 and 10 people deep when the whistle blew.

Our player won the face off, drove down the field and got off a great shot which the goalie kept out with an amazing one-legged save.

The next player in line to face-off was my son. I remember kneeling down next to him just before he went out to face off. I was amazed at how calm he seemed to be (just other face-off for him). And although I forced myself to come across as calm, I was secretly more nervous than I had ever been for any of my own athletic events while growing up. I just told him to try his best and that I'd be proud no matter how it turned out. When he headed out to the center of the field I had a hard time watching as the whistle blew. To our fans' and sideline's delight he won the face off, got behind the D-man and drove toward the opposing goalie. Due to the fact my son and the first player that we had face-off had tied during the season for most goals, I was feeling pretty good about out chances as he took his shot (I mean- what are the chances this 3rd grade goalie could stop a second one-on-one shot?). My son took a bounce shot to the 5-hole. The ball disappeared between the goalie's legs as he sat down. The ref went to signal the winning goal but couldn't find the ball in the goal. As the goalie stood up, and what I confirmed later, was that the ball had bounced off the ground and gone up the back of the goalie's shorts as he sat down.

I greeted my son on the sideline expecting him to be quite upset. The only thing he said to me was, "Dad, did you see my shot!?!" That's what I call playing for the love of the game...

Our third player wasn't as fortunate. The other player won a hard battle over the the face-off and scored the eventual game-winning goal. After the game ended, I ran out on the field to hug and console our last face-off man and our goalie.

Although many might feel that this was an opportunity missed, what I observed was a group of 9 year-old boys starting to believe in themselves. Later that summer I continued to coach a number of our players in Chumash- style tournaments and later in an indoor league. Our team only lost 3 games during the rest of that summer and into winter. The only games they lost were while playing Chumash to teams a year or two older than they were. One loss was in the championship up in Vail. They went undefeated in their indoor league.

Many of the parents and others who had watched that special game commented that it had been the most exciting they had ever seen. What was most special about that game was that our players began to love the sport we all hold dear.

[WI_LAX_COACH]

We had a try out for a local 5/6th grade tournament. I was the new coach, and by new I mean never coached, seen, played, or other wise known much about lacrosse. I was coaching the 3/4th grade team as a 'learn to play' style squad. The coach of the team chose all of my 3rd graders over members of his team for the tourney.

Made me REALLLYY proud.

[brainddeadjock]

My son is not an athlete in any manner, but he started playind defense this winter in a 5/6th grade field B team. Any way, when we were clearing the ball, there was a turn over. My son recognized the turnover, and made a beeline from the left wing to right wing and turned aside the ball carrier, checked his stick, stripped the ball, scooped it up and Gilman'd to the offensive end.

When he came off the field during a substitution, I asked him about the play and said to me, "That's what I supposed to do, right?"

He got it. I was so proud.

[Dadabhoy_Muzzi]

Another season upon us. Let's see what great moments coaches face this year.

Last year, I was coaching tykes boxlax (7/8yr olds). After the last game, I was talking with one of the parents. They said that their little kid loved playing so much. It was his first year and cannot wait for next year. I felt so happy knowing I passed on the love of the game to another kid.

[TigerLax29]

I'm just finishing up my first season as a head coach for a first year high school team which is the first in the city, besides the college team I play for. I'm just proud to watch them play. It's easy to focus on little mistakes being made but thinking big picture and standing back and watching them scrimmage blows me away.

Still the coolest thing is talking to teachers and other people that know the kids from outside of lacrosse and hearing what the kids were like before joining the team. We seemed to draw a lot of kids that were kind of reserved and not involved in athletics before lacrosse but a couple football players etc too. Now, a lot of those reserved, non-athletic kids have turned out to be great athletes and very aggressive on the field and becoming more outgoing off the field. It's really entertaining to watch the kid dubbed a "nerd" juke a football player out of his cleats or make a great play during a home game and it cracks me up to see them walk with a little swagger afterwards. Those are the guys that I think the sport does the most for.

[moondog]

--When you see 2 kids who have never played before do a backdoor give and go, with a quickstick that picks the corner
--When a mostly unathletic goalie, who you really can't play anywhere else on the field, makes 10 saves and lets in 1 goal in a quarter against a quality team
--When the kid who NEVER used his weak hand dodges to the net and scores with it
--When even the weakest midfielder on the team scores a goal
--When a team you thought might win one or two games in a year goes on a five game winning streak, beating several quality opponents, who have had lacrosse programs WAAAAY longer

[OldPtboBoy]

Watching the kid that hasn't scored all year bury one.
Seeing a tentative kid deal out his first big hit.
Knowing a minor goalie just robbed a shooter.
Watching a creephanger finally come back and make a check.
Seeing the smallest kid on the floor deal out a check that puts the bigger kid on his ***.
Little kids making big kids cry. (nearly but not the same as above)
Seeing "Heart" at a young age.
Watching a young goalie take ten shots off the mask and not flinching.

I have great faith in the next generation of the game. And I continue to coach or train, or assist just to see what they'll do next.