The PLL kicked off their 2022 season in Albany on June 4 and 5. I will be working a handful of games this summer for ESPN. The family of networks has extensive coverage of the league which includes 47 games available on ESPN+, three games on ESPN, three on ABC, and six on ESPN2. The shows are distributed globally in more than 170 countries worldwide. This relationship represents a mammoth step forward for the sport.
Coverage resumes this weekend from Charlotte, NC. I encourage you to watch. The play on the field is awe-inspiring. This weekend I was down on the field, an eye-opening vantage point. The pro game has come so far. The athletes have never been bigger, stronger, faster, and honed for peak performance. The coaching has been upgraded significantly since the MLL debuted in 2001. The players come in all shapes and sizes from a diverse geographical footprint. Their expertise evolves the sport.
I love this photo. I took it. After the the handshakes following the Redwoods vs Atlas match in Albany these PLL players came together organically. I was lucky enough to be milling around. I have enormous respect for these men. (From left to right) – Jules Heningburg, Myles Jones, Romar Dennis, Isaiah Davis-Allen, Trevor Baptiste, Nakeie Montgomery, and Koby Smith. There are many reasons to be captivated by them; their incredible abilities on the field, their journeys, but most of all for strength of their character and willingness to be heroes for the next generation of players.
I find it odd to see a higher proportion of black players in the PLL then in college lacrosse. Why is that? Why are some college rosters lacking diversity? What can be done to make the sport look more like America? We will keep pushing to change this equation. Remember the origins of the creators game began with a game amongst the animals. The winged animals against the four-legged animals. The bat wasn’t originally invited to play, and he became the MVP because nobody could match his quick dodging ability. Lacrosse welcomes everybody. It always has. Regardless of your size, speed, athletic traits, or color of your skin, lacrosse must always be a safe place for everybody.
This photo represents a lot of different thoughts for me. My friend Craigssportsphotos took it unsolicited. I met Nakeie back when he was a high school senior and member of the Under Armour senior game. The first practice on a brutally hot day in Timonium, he showed up with his feet blistered from playing in a high school football All-Star game down in Dallas. He stood out for a lot of reasons, although the vibrant nature of Nakeie set a hook in me. I knew he was on the path of success and that he could be a difference maker at Duke, on and off the field.
Fast forward to last fall, I was lucky to get added to a Duke vs. Louisville football game and watch him as a running back the Duke football team. I ended up covering a zillion Duke games during his career, and learned about his passion for music, his ability to lead, his joy for competition and his humble yet positive personality. To be at this game in Albany, his first as a PLL pro, I found myself slightly nervous for him. I was proud, thrilled, and hoping he would play well and cement a spot in the Redwoods lineup. Along with Chris Gray, Logan Wisnauskas, Brendan Nichtern, Brendan Curry, Jonathan Donville, Koby Smith, Colin Kirst, and Asher Nolting, he represents the next generation of college stars to turn pro. I felt like a parent sending your kid off to college after shepherding him through adolescence. We have a shared history. His next chapter starts now and I’m eager to watch him perform and impact others.
No matter how many years, months or days pass, the bond between former teammates is strong and comforting. On a personal level, seeing Matt, Scott, and Seth made this weekend heartwarming. Matt and I can trace our relationship back to the epic rivalry between Lynbrook and Elmont High School. Matt is now an assistant coach with the Chaos for coach Andy Towers. Matt was a tremendous player, a fierce competitor and always can turn on a smile. Scott Marr is the head lacrosse coach at Albany. He’s a Yorktown native, former assistant at Delaware and Maryland who’s taken the Great Dane program to new heights. His success and promotion of the sport in the Capital region was on full display Saturday with the sellout PLL crowd in Albany.
Scott and I were classmates at Johns Hopkins and shared endless moments together. I love seeing Scott, he was always an amazing teammate, and that’s what makes him an elite coach. Seth, the head coach at Hofstra, works for the PLL during the summer weekends, in a variety of important roles, supporting Paul Rabil. After a few days with Seth, I joked that his title should be President of Solutions. He’s always had an uncommon energy level, an ability to manage people, to make decisions, and he has a wicked sense of humor. “T” is really sharp, quick witted, not afraid to say what’s on his mind. A native Logan Islander from MacAurthur High School and a lefty who’s shots rarely found the net behind me (Haha, I had to). Seth was a great captain at Hopkins, a role that he’s taken into the real world.
To see these former teammates, to give them hugs, to check in on their lives as fathers and coaches, to laugh, to talk, to share and to listen, gave this PLL weekend in Albany greater meaning and substance. Let the game be a pathway to building relationships for life.
There is no shortage of characters on our ESPN crew. Anish is well read. Katie played volleyball at Louisville. Kettering is an English professor masquerading as a producer. His words are sage. Cotter lives and works out in Atlanta. Boyle lives in New York City with his young family and loves to cook. Amongst many assorted talents, Carc can eat. They guy is never short changed. He backs it up with workouts, as we burnt off his gigantic meal the next morning in the Hampton Inn gym. He’s our barber when we need a trim.
This time of summer usually has meant saying goodbye and fading into our summer routines with our families. Not this summer. Chemistry is one element that we’ve established. Chemistry comes not from sharing wings and a drink on a Friday night, but from having honest and open conversations about challenges that we face in our real lives. Chemistry is shared adversity. My teammates have been enormously supportive of me during this past month, an awful stretch in my life, that saw me lose my older brother Wes on May 17 in a tragic bike accident. These teammates have been an essential part of my recovery. They are a real world example of true friendship. I can’t thank them enough. In their own way, they all add value to our shows and our team dynamic. Just like lacrosse teams I played on. I draw strength from them and I look forward to seeing them on June 18 on Long Island for my next PLL assignment following a great weekend in Albany.
