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Recruits – Check Your Body Language

Editor’s note: Please welcome Dave Madeira to Lax All Stars. Dave is an athletic adviser with Empower the Athlete, which provides college counseling for high school lacrosse players.
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One of the things that you rarely hear a coach address in lacrosse is body language, and lately in athletics it has become my biggest pet peeve.  Since we have been in the midst of Fallball Recruiting Tourneys, all of you recruits should be reminded to Check Your Body Language, because coaches are watching, and they are critiquing everything you do on the field, especially the way you carry yourself.

I was psyched when I saw that the Jets have implemented a fining system for their QB, Mark Sanchez, whenever he shows Bad Body Language  in practice drills.  Forget the fact that I’m a Pats fan, I think this is awesome because the Jets administration is forcing their team leader to be…. wait for it… a leader.

Palms up. Not a good sign!

In team sports leadership is much more about what you do, and not as much about what you say.  Leading by example is not just about having the right work ethic, but having the right attitude.  It’s about how you approach and handle pressure situations.  If you are the leading scorer on your team, what kind of body language should you be displaying when you are down by a goal and within the 2 minute warning, and every underclassman is looking at you?

Case in point: check the response of Jay Cutler vs. Tom Brady after an interception.  You know by the way he carries himself that Brady’s got the situation under control.  Cutler is hard to watch; his mopey body language does not inspire confidence.

[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=HlaPjSJubSk?fs=1″]
My attack coach in college called guys like this “dirty diapers”, and to this day I haven’t heard a better way to describe an athlete who sulks or whines on the field of play.

If you want to know how coaches analyze players at recruiting events check out this piece The New Yorker did on coaches recruiting at 205.

One of the main things coaches look for is coach-ability – that means work ethic and character on the field.  They want guys they know will be good teammates, even if they don’t bloom into All-Americans.

Body Language falls under this category.  If you are spending time on the field sulking, then you are taking away time that you could be hustling.  If you are kicking the dirt, mad at yourself because you missed the net wide, you may have just missed your opportunity to ride the ball back and the goalie will already have 3 steps on you by the time you pick your head up.

Even JHU’s Coach Petro told ESPN Rise that he is “always amazed when [he goes] to these camps and there’s a number of coaches watching and here’s the players, some who are not playing as hard as they’re capable of.”

A lot of the time younger players show bad body language and don’t even know they are doing it.  Fortunately, it’s one of the easiest things in athletics to work on, and it requires zero athletic ability.  I guess you could say bad body language is the opposite of “swagger”.  So, if you’re working on your game this off-season (which you should be) think about how you are going to carry yourself on the field  this spring and in the future.

Follow Empower the Athlete’s recruiting news and pointers on Facebook.