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Paul Rabil New York Lizards MLL Lacrosse vs Ohio Machine 2015 MLL week 6
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A Conversation With Paul Rabil

I had a conversation with Paul Rabil about a number of interesting topics, and you can find our talk below. Paul will be joining LaxAllStars.com for the next six weeks as a writer to help promote his new Paul Rabil Experience platform, and he will be sharing some awesome sponsored posts with our audience. We’ve seen the content already, it’s from the heart, a great read, and sure to help you realize your goals in this sport.

With the launch of the Paul Rabil Experience this past January, Paul has created something new and different in our sport, and we’re excited to learn more about what makes Rabil tick, and how he was influenced growing up, in the coming weeks! I have also included all 4 episodes of Paul’s new self-funded mini-documentary The Move to help put a spotlight on the Paul Rabil of 2015 and the life of a pro lacrosse player. Check out my conversation with Paul Rabil below!

A Conversation With Paul Rabil

Over the next six weeks, you will be writing a weekly post on LaxAllStars.com where you talk about how you became the lacrosse player that you are today. What do you want people to take away from this series of posts? What should kids out there be looking for?

Since launching the Paul Rabil Experience in January, I’ve been challenged with effectively telling the story as to why. The truth is two-fold. First, I think it’s a great way to provide consistent, high quality instruction, fitness workouts, and nutritional advice. Second, I have obligations and time commitments all over the country, all year long — limiting my ability to work with anyone who’s anywhere, that wants to improve.

Likewise, a dedicated player like you who wants to improve, learn new techniques and curriculum, also has school, other sports, and other obligations. The PRE is accessible anytime, anywhere, bridging the gap in communication, and allowing us to connect with unlimited access.

With this LaxAllStars series, I’m going to tell you some of my first-hand experiences growing up in the sport. What worked for me, and what didn’t. It’ll start with my favorite camp I ever attended.

Ok, I’m interested… So how did some of your experiences growing up shape the Paul Rabil Experience? What makes the PRE different from other training programs?

The PRE is an online platform — accessible from your computer, phone or tablet — whenever you want, with unlimited access. As a kid, my best learning practice was writing drills down from camp, recording reps, and seeing results. The biggest challenge was not knowing which drills to do, or how to correct bad form, simply because camps were so few and far between, and the ones I attended lasted between 1 and 5 days of the 365/year.

For those like me, I’m giving you the drills to practice, unique ways to learn, with video evidence and workouts, plus nutrition to supplement your gains.

Has youth level club lacrosse gone too far? How can the PRE help non-club players level the playing field? How can it help club players get even better?

I didn’t create the PRE based on the proliferation of club lacrosse. Rather, by seeing a ton of requests on social media, emails, and missed camps and clinics for me to attend. I wanted to discover a way for my instruction to be accessible at an affordable cost, anytime, anywhere.

For those who are not on a club team, but are dedicated and vested in improving, the PRE can provide you with the guidelines, and unique conversation to get you there. For those on a club team, I commend you and your parents for the efforts and desire to play more to achieve your goals. In doing that, you can reference the PRE as a video text book for additional improvement and insight. Also, more than instruction, I put an emphasis on fitness routines and nutritional advice — both of which are integral to athletic growth, energy, explosion and endurance.

If you think this will be a pre-planned platform, I’ll tell you that every month I’ve designated a time to connect with all PRE users via a live video chat. It’s here where we make the tangible “camp connection”, discuss the platform, and answer any questions you have about practice.

Why not just start up a club team? What led you to believe that the PRE was the way to go?

I want to be an accessible source to anyone that plays lacrosse, anywhere…as often as needed. If I started a club team, I would have equal energy and focus with that set of players, but those players only.

My dreams and ambitions are to grow the game, lower the barriers in the sport, all by reaching lacrosse players everywhere.

Where is this sport headed in the future? What will the kids of today be doing when they are the stars of tomorrow?

I hope in the direction where from the time a kid picks up a stick, if he or she has an immense passion for the game, they can make their life’s goal about pursuing excellence around lacrosse. We don’t need million dollar pro player contracts to chase, but if there’s attainable extended life in lacrosse, then we’ll continue to see the game grow and become more widely played across the globe.

Can lacrosse break in to the American mainstream sporting consciousness? Will we ever see all 10 of the SportsCenter Top Plays be lacrosse clips, like sometimes happens with baseball?

Will we see 10 of 10 Top Plays on SportsCenter? Maybe. It’ll likely require a weekend with 5 crease dives, a BTB 2-point shot, and 4 other tic-tac-toe plays…but why not dream it?

In our lifetime, like our sport is growing, cable and digital media are also changing. In 10 years we may no longer have cable, and there may be a 24-hour lacrosse channel. Let’s shoot for the stars.

If you had to compare pro lacrosse to another, more established sport, which pro league would it be and why?

What makes lacrosse so great is the combination of skill and athleticism it takes to succeed in the “other” sports. With that, I think lacrosse is an accurate combination of soccer, hockey, basketball and football. Boom.

What are your thoughts on specialization vs being a multi-sport athlete?

If you specialize in lacrosse, you might become a better lacrosse player, but by not playing other sports, I think your limiting your growth in becoming a better overall athlete.

What do you hope to accomplish in lacrosse in the next five years? How does PRE figure in to that plan?

I want to continue to grow as a player and entrepreneur. Playing at a high level requires dedication and resources to skill, movement, mind, nutrition, and recovery — all take time. By entrepreneur, it’s no secret that lacrosse is in a growth cycle, and there are thought leaders that can help push forward the visibility and innovation. Lacrosse’s governing body, pro leagues, youth leagues, media, and players can all make a commitment to doing that.

I want to go long in lacrosse, break down the sports barriers, and provide leadership in ways to grow the next generation of lacrosse athletes. The Paul Rabil Experience is my first swing at doing this.

Paul Rabil Experience Free in May