If you’re not getting the playing time you want, be honest with yourself. It’s not politics. It’s trust. Coaches trust players who: - Take the right shots - Win 50–50 ground balls - Make smart decisions under pressure They don’t guess.They trust what they’ve seen every single day. I’ll give you my own example. I grew up in California — a non-traditional lacrosse area at the time. There weren’t elite programs everywhere. There wasn’t a system feeding me opportunities. I wasn’t surrounded by a machine that churned out high-level players. Everything I’ve built in lacrosse was self-taught. I trained relentlessly. I studied film obsessively. I learned by watching, asking questions, and taking advantage of every chance I got to be around great coaches — because there was no roadmap for me. My playing and coaching career was filled with adversity. And I didn’t survive it by hoping things changed. I outworked it. I put in an unrelenting amount of volume — reps, film, learning, failure, adjustment — until trust followed. That same principle applies to you. Playing time is earned through habits. Trust is earned through consistency. And both are built when no one is watching. If you want more minutes…If you want the last shift…If you want the ball late… Stop asking. Start stacking volume. That’s how trust is built.

I talk a lot about development — not just skill, but mindset. And for me, that DAWG mentality didn’t show up early. It had to be built. I was always the little guy. Younger than everyone. Graduated high school at 17. Went away to college at 17. And honestly… a lot of my development didn’t come until much later. I didn’t grow up playing a ton of sports. I wasn’t this freak athlete. I wasn’t the toughest kid. In fact — I was soft. Especially around 6th grade. Not because I was weak… but because I just hadn’t been in the fire yet. I didn’t understand contact. Competition. Grit. I was happy-go-lucky, smiling, floating through games. And I’ll never forget this one weekend. Doubleheader. Home games. We went back to the house between games and I crawled into the back of the Suburban — not even bothered that we lost. Meanwhile my dad was watching all of this… and he was disappointed. Not in me as a person — but in my effort. And my dad wasn’t just some guy yelling from the stands. He was a professional drummer. A black belt in Taekwondo. A guy who KNEW what discipline, effort, and mastery looked like. And that day he told me straight: “If I ever see effort like that again, I won’t come to another game.” Not because he didn’t love me.But because he refused to support half-speed effort. So I made it my mission the next game to play as hard as I possibly could. To be aggressive. To compete. And right off the faceoff… I got crushed.Laid out. Flattened. Because I was still little. But this time…I popped right back up. Didn’t whine. Didn’t stay down. Didn’t feel sorry for myself. And when I looked up I saw my dad with this look like: “Yes. That. That’s it.” It wasn’t about winning. It wasn’t about scoring. It was about refusing to stay down. That’s DAWG Mentality. Disciplined. Aggressive. Winners

Hey everyone! 👋 Thanks for signing up for my Skool community — I’m fired up to have you here. I created a Box Finishing Fundamentals course that breaks down everything you need to know about scoring inside the box. Inside, you’ll get: - 24 total workouts - Nearly 2 hours of on-film instruction with me walking you through finishing techniques, wall ball reps, and game-scenario drills - The same progressions I use with my athletes to build elite touch and confidence around the net This is normally a $97 course, but I’m giving it to you for free as a thank-you for joining. Think of it as 24 private lessons at your fingertips — anytime, anywhere. If you’d like access, please fill out the short form below, and I’ll send you the link directly. Let’s get to work — time to start finishing like a box player. 🥍🔥 — Coach Elliott https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhbphYta6Th8Zmb2K4CFJ1ffA2772sCrPDhP8CVxSGz5ZLng/viewform?usp=publish-editor

💥 Mindset Monday: “Yeah, that boy’ll get back up… he’ll come up swinging.” I like to picture God saying that about me. “Yeah, that boy — he fell. But he’ll get back up. He’ll come up swinging. Watch him.” That one always hits me deep. Because that’s truly my mentality. When I got hurt or hit on the floor, I never stayed down. I’ve torn every ligament in my ankle and still hobbled off the field because I didn’t want to be carried. When I broke my ankle, I went back out for a shift — no tape — and scored a goal. That’s who I am. It’s not about toughness for show — it’s about something inside you that refuses to quit. It’s saying, “You can’t keep me down.” And I think young people today need to hear that it’s okay to fight for what you want. Stop waiting for the perfect plan, stop scrolling for the perfect routine — just get gritty and attack your goals. When I’m 70, I want to sit back surrounded by family and friends and say: “I failed again and again… and I got back up every single time. I swung back harder at every problem. I never backed down — and that’s how I got here.” Because at the end of the day, it’s not talent or luck — it’s grit, consistency, discipline, and attack. All of us have that inside. You just need to find your why — the thing that fuels your fight. 🧠 Visualization Journaling Prompt Lyle Thompson once said: “Lacrosse is medicine. It gives back to you what you put into it.” That applies to everything in life. Without vision, effort drifts. 📝 Prompt: Take 5 minutes and write this out: • What is your why? • What are you putting into your goals right now? • What would it look like if you gave 10% more — not in perfection, but in grit? When you define your why, every practice, workout, and effort becomes purposeful. Because the moment you have vision — your effort finds direction.

Most people have heard the quote, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” But what happens when you’re talented enough to get by without preparation? When you can rely on your athleticism, your instincts, and still find some success? For a lot of young athletes, that’s where the trap begins. You can go through the motions, roll the ball out, and still compete — until the game catches up to you. The truth? When you don’t have a plan, you leave massive gaps for error. Wayne Gretzky’s dad taught him this at nine years old: every game should be played like Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. That mindset — preparation, discipline, and consistency — is what separated the Great One from everyone else. When you train with a plan, when you know where you’re trying to go and how to get there, your growth compounds. You don’t just get better — you get smarter, more aware, more confident. The athletes who stand out are the ones who: - Have a system they follow daily. - Understand their strengths and weaknesses. - Have mentors guiding them toward better habits. - Commit to the process long before the results come. By middle school, you start to see the gap — and by high school, the athletes who have stayed consistent are too far ahead to be caught. That’s what true preparation looks like. It’s why I built this program — to give athletes what I didn’t have growing up: mentorship, structure, and a clear path forward. Whether it’s journaling your goals, following the daily training, or working through your weaknesses — it’s all part of preparing to win. Start with these three questions each day: 1. What are my goals? 2. What do I need to do today to move closer to them? 3. Did I actually do those things? If you can answer those honestly every day, your growth is guaranteed. The work works — if you work it. 💪