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Youth Inc. with Greg Olsen
How Northwestern Became a Lacrosse Dynasty | Kelly Amonte Hiller Full Interview
00:42:16
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- [00:00]
A
What's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode here on you think. Really fun one for any of you who over Memorial day weekend that were like us, you were stuck inside watching the women's national championship. Women's lacrosse national championship. Northwestern defeated North Carolina. We are going to be joined by Kelly Amonte Hiller, one of the greatest figures in all of lacrosse. Nine time national champ at Northwestern University. We talk culture building. We take taking a club program to the height of the sport. We talk about the changes in recruiting. We talk about the change in the landscape both regionally and nationally. Just an unbelievable conversation here on youthink. Youth sports in America are at a crossroads and I'm here to help lead the conversation forward. I'm Greg Olson. Each week we're sitting down with top athletes, coaches and more to talk about what's working, what's broken and what's next. Welcome to youthink. Kelly Amonte Hiller, fresh off Northwesterns ninth national championship. We actually were down in Florida over the weekend and our entire family down in Orlando have the game on watching it. New to the lacrosse world. I live here in North Carolina, so lacrosse is a big deal. I'm learning it. But, coach, I can't thank you enough for joining us. Congrats on all the success. I can't wait to dive into this dynasty, the dynasty that you've built there at Northwestern.
- [01:25]
B
Thank you so much. Thanks so much for having me.
- [01:27]
A
All right, so I live in North Carolina. I grew up in North Jersey. Lot of lacrosse, lacrosse, kind of those markets. You have turned the Midwest into arguably the greatest dynasty in women's lacrosse. I want to start from the beginning. So you take over the program 2002. Do I have it right that you guys were coming off club status like it wasn't even like a ncaa. Like, give us the origin story of how you took north. The Northwestern we see now is not Northwestern. You took over over 20 years ago.
- [02:00]
B
Northwestern had a program a while back in the 80s, and it's kind of ironic. My college coach, Cindy Timshaw was the head coach of the team and she would share athletes. She was a head coach of lacrosse and an assistant coach with field hockey. So they shared athletes with the fell huggy team. And they thought that when they added lacrosse that a lot of the, you know, midwestern big ten schools would follow suit, and they didn't. So Cindy ended up leaving and they ended up deciding to drop the program, which was really sad. And then they hired Rick Taylor, who was very pro women sports and he added five women's sports in 10 years, and the last to be added was women's lacrosse. I was in the Boston area, where I'm from. I had, you know, graduated from college, was working. I was actually, at the time, getting my MBA at Boston University and being a volunteer assistant there. And the athletics director, he was originally from Boston, worked at Boston University, as did many of the senior athletics people. So I think they went around and tried to get an experienced head coach, and maybe they weren't paying that much money. So someone suggested me, and. And I really didn't have any head coaching experience or any recruiting experience, nothing. I was only 25. So they called me up, and I honestly initially was like, I don't. I don't want to do this. I'm from the Boston area. I'm back here. This is my dream to, you know, live my life out here in this area with my family. And at the time, my brother was the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, so. And then my other brother, Rocco, lived in Chicago, too, so I had a lot of ties in this area. And I called Tony the hockey player, and he said, yeah, I've been up to Northwestern. It's amazing place. You know, you should go on the interview. My husband, who was a college coach at the time at Harvard University as an assistant, he just really encouraged me to go on the interview. He's like, just go see it. So I decided to go on the interview, and I was just like, this. This place is amazing. Right on the water. Beautiful place, amazing academic institution. And it felt like home to me because there was so many Boston people here, and everyone was just so nice and. And. And welcoming. And so I came back home. I still was, like, on the fence, really leaning towards just staying in Boston. And my husband kind of gave me a nudge. He's like, I've never gotten an opportunity to be a head coach. You should take it. This is a really cool thing. And he's like, we can always come back if you don't like it.
- [05:32]
A
Right.
- [05:33]
B
So I decided to take the job and moved to Chicago. I had to live separate from Scott for a year because he was finishing law school. And that first year, I coached the club team to give myself some head coaching experience and just recruited. So that was kind of how it started. And that following year, we were a varsity program, and we just built it up and built it up and built it up. And then in our fourth year, we won our first national champion championship. Yeah.
- [06:08]
A
So it's easy. So what you're saying is it was just easy you mentioned how beautiful the campus is and, and hopefully other people, like, like we did over Memorial Day weekend. Watch that title game, the drone footage of the field on the lakefront. I, I played for the Bears, so, like, I have an affinity of Chicago and all things Chicago, but, like, there is not a nicer lacrosse setup, maybe not a nicer, just athletics complex on the water than what the whole country got to watch as you guys won that national title. So I, our whole family coming out of every single commercial break was like, how beautiful is that campus? You talk about recruiting, I mean, it's gorgeous.
- [06:50]
B
It really truly is. Like, we, we are so lucky to be right here on the lake. And back to my origin story. That was one of the first things I'd always said. I'm never going to move away from the water because I grew up in Hingham, right on the water. And you know, I think when I first saw it, I was like, this campus is beautiful. And I think with the football team playing on that field, it got a lot of publicity over the last two years. And then for us to open it up to the lacrosse community and beyond, it's just been such a cool thing. And you see what a gem and Northwestern is, it really is a special, special place. And you know, I never looked back once I got here because the people here just what we represent, such high academics, high standards on the athletic fields as well. It's, it's really. I feel very privileged to be the head coach here.
- [07:56]
A
Yeah, well, the results speak for themselves. And, and I want to dive into a little bit of that. All right, so nine national championships, you got back to back national player of the year award winners. Like, talk to us about, we all see the results on the field and talk to us about, like, what was your first priority? Like, how do you go from taking a program that for the most part didn't even really exist, let alone at this national level? Like, what were the points of emphasis, culture? Who are you looking to bring onto your roster? Who are you recruiting? Like, give us a sense of what you hope is always the foundation of your program. Now what, whether you win or lose the national championship, like, what are the non negotiables to play lacrosse for you and to play at Northwestern?
- [08:39]
B
I think when I first got the job, it was pretty late in the recruiting process that I got the job. And so I can remember calling some of the top recruits and, you know, they had already settled on, you know, where they were going to go visit or where they were actually going to go. So I had been in the scene for camps and things like that. So I knew some of the young players, particularly in the Boston area. And then I had some teammates from college that were coaching at that level too. So I just called people and asked, you know, about their athleticism, speed, athleticism. At that time, Maryland was the dominant program and they had a lot of really tall girls. That was like, the trend is, you know how it trends in different sports. If someone has success, then they just kind of copy that program and everybody that was tall, that had speed was taken. So my choice was tall and slow or short and fast. And I went with short and fast. And you know, I think at the time I, I was, I was looking at the families, I would have to go and do home visits and, and really just sell myself. Because when I said Northwestern, people thought it was in the Boston area. And I'm like, nope, that's Northeastern. This is different, this is in the Midwest. And, and once I got people on campus, you saw the views on the broadcast, it was an easy sell for me. But the hardest part was getting them on campus. So I just sold, like, who I was. My ability to inspire young women to believe in themselves. That was probably like my biggest selling point. And that we were going to build something special. And I got a bunch of no name recruits to buy into me. And then once I got, I got 16 girls to commit to me in that first class. Once I got them to campus, I always just kept my eyes open to find new talent. I said, maybe there's some talent on campus. And I had seen these two twins on this long field, which is right on Sheridan Road, playing intramural sports, flag football, that type of thing. And I was like, these girls are unreal athletes. So I saw them maybe a week and a half later running by my office. They were crushing their run really fast. So I'm like, wow, I gotta find these girls. So then the next time I found them running, walking across the street, and I just ran after them and said, hey, do you know what lacrosse is? I'd love to talk to you about it. I'm starting a new program. And they said, oh, we've seen you guys on the field, but we're from Indiana. We don't really know it. And one of them said, Courtney said that she played basketball in her first year at Northwestern. And she said, varsity sports really, really aren't for me. I said, okay, thank you so much. It was nice to meet you. So I did not want to let this thing go. I was like this is too big of an opportunity. My husband's like, you're legit crazy. So I called the basketball coach, June Olkowski at the time and I said, who is this girl who has a twin sister that played for you last year and walked onto the team? And she told me it was Courtney Custer and her sister Ashley. And so I got their email address from the Northwestern system and I wrote them an email about my philosophy and I just said, you know, I am a really positive coach. My charge is to get people to really love the game, love the game that they play and really find a way to believe in themselves no matter what the situation is. And I work really hard at that. And I'm a great tactical coach as well, so I'd love to talk to you guys about it. So they came into my office and I think they thought I was a little bit crazy. But I said, take these two sticks home. Lacrosse is a game that like once you pick up the sticks, you're hooked. So I said, take these two sticks and a couple balls home and for Thanksgiving and just tell me what you think. So they took them home and their parents, their dad was a veterinarian, great people, Mom's teacher in Indiana. And I think they just said, you know, maybe this is happening for a reason. Why don't you guys try it? So they came back and they said, we'll try it. And these two young women changed the trajectory of our program. They were the highest of quality of people, just incredible people. Never would say a negative word, Just were so, so extremely good, positive, hard working girls. And I took them in the gym for the first time. When they came back and said they would do it and they could not catch the ball when we were doing wall ball, but they were running after that ball so hard, I was like, these girls are amazing. I'm onto something here. And they decided to join the team. They became critical defensive players on our team, critical leaders by the way that they carried themselves with the other 16 young women that started with me. And you know, my biggest charge was like the first day we had a meeting, I was like, we're going to win the national championship. And I think the girls thought I was a little crazy and laughed at me. And I said, I'm not kidding, we are going to win a national championship here. All you guys have to do is just buy in to what we're about and be all about this group, love each other and love this game and we're going to do this together. And little by little, I Got the group to believe. And that class was in their fourth year. They won. They won the national championship when an undefeated upset Virginia in the championship game. And Courtney and Ashley Custer were both all Americans. Courtney was the national player of the year in that particular year, having never played the sport before.
- [15:39]
A
That journey you just described, right, like turning great athletes into lacrosse players and learning the game, I have to imagine is vastly different from today, both the status of the sport and its popularity nationwide. And we're going to get into some of the more regional elements because I find it fascinating in a second, but just primarily focusing on you guys here for a second, your ability to take that approach, build that culture, build that fabric, and now be able to, I'm assuming, walk into any home, to any camp, to any tournament in the country. And when you walk in representing yourself and obviously the Northwestern brand, nine, nine time national champs, I imagine the recruiting scene looks a little bit different for you, right? Like, I would imagine you're not convincing girls who've never played the sport to come give it a shot. So, like, give us a sense of how do you recruit? What does that. We have a lot of parents and coaches that follow our show. What is the recruiting scene like both for the sport of women's lacrosse, but then also specifically for you at Northwestern?
- [16:40]
B
Obviously, with our success, it opens a lot of doors, but I try to stay to my roots with my philosophy. And you know, I have taken players over the years that have had limited experience and maybe come to the game a little bit later, but have played other sports. And really that's the biggest thing that I look with recruiting. You know, what, what is your character? How much do you love the game? How hard do you work? And really, what is your upside? I think that's, that's the biggest thing. I think Madison Taylor is the biggest example of upside. She really, I mean, obviously she's achieved every honor that is possible in the sport, but she wasn't an all American in high school. She was just a tremendous athlete with a great family and a lot of upside. And so I really think we, with our coaching, you know, tactical abilities and how we really feel like we can develop people from, you know, a mindset perspective, but also a tactical perspective. We don't get caught up in like the high school rankings and things of that sort. We just try to take the people that we feel are right for us and then develop them. And I think it can be very hard in today's day and age for parents and kids because of social media. There's so much comparison that goes on. And I would just like encourage people to just really trust, trust the process, trust themselves and just trust that things will work out the way that they are supposed to. And you know, don't overstress, don't over. You know, you see a lot of over training or over playing that causes then causes in major injuries. I would just say like you're only a kid once and be a kid, love the game and work hard at it. And I think when you do those things it really can set you on an amazing trajectory as long as you're not trying to compare yourself with a person next to you. Because everyone has a different timeline, everyone has a different path. We have a player on our team who was a really a huge standout for us this year in her sophomore season. Her name's Aditi Foster and she didn't really get the looks that she wanted initially in her recruiting process and she just said I'm not going to commit, I'm going to, I'm just gonna go buckle down and work really hard in my senior season and bet on myself. And she did that and she became a top prospect in her senior year and we ended up getting her. And I just think it's a great story like have the motto of bet on yourself and believe that they're your opportunity will find you. And you know, you, you can, you can make your own destiny.
- [20:10]
A
I love that. And I think it's such a fitting conversation especially like you mentioned given today's world where it feels like it's a race to 13. It feels like we're trying to, you know, crown, you know, who are the top recruits, what sports should my son or daughter play by the time they even reach high school? And, and there's a lot of different layers. In fact we have a motto around here that we try to implement as long as we can, like just get better forever, right? Just get better forever. And whatever that timeline is, who knows. Is it your junior year in high school? Is it freshman year in high school? Is it freshman year in college? You don't know. But that like never ending pursuit of getting better. I think one of the cooler stories that we all got to witness watching that national championship game. So you got a senior attacker, Lucy Monroe, she goes down first quarter, you bring in a freshman, Gabriella McAllister, like she has four goals as a freshman. My understanding, so pardon my, correct me if I'm wrong with the story. Listening to the broadcast describe what's going on, maybe didn't have a Ton of action, maybe in and out of the lineup throughout the course of the year in the national championship game. In a lot of ways, an unproven freshman comes in for a senior in the biggest moment of their life, not only contributes to a national championship, but scores four goals. Like, how critical are those stories to what you're talking about? You never know when your moment comes. You never know when it's going to come. But, man, if you just focus on being ready, it's incredible how powerful that can be. Like, just talk about, like, those kind of stories and how critical not only for your success last weekend, but just in general with your program.
- [21:45]
B
Absolutely. You know, we. We have the motto of always be ready, because you never know. You never know what's going to happen. You never know when your moment will come. And I think, you know, Gabby is a phenomenal talent, but I think the hardest thing sometimes in the college athletic scenes is just sort of the focal point on games, your practice every day. I mean, you hear Tom Brady talk about it like, you know, he wanted to make the most of every. Every rep that he got in practice and try to gain more reps. And I think in the beginning, Gabby was really struggling with the mentality of, you know, trying to find herself in the practice setting and not get frustrated with the limited minutes that she got in the game. And I think as the season wore on, Gabby has a tremendous love for the game. And I think at times when she was focusing in on playing time, that love would go away. And I think that she kind of surrendered to, I'm just going to love this game, and I'm just going to try to help my team out as much as possible. I can remember the week before the national championship. She also does draws for us, and she really took very, very limited amount of draws the whole entire season, but she trained with us every single day. And I said the last. You know, on one of the last days of practice, I said, do you want to go shoot? I think we're okay here on the Josh. He's like, no, can I stay? Like, I love this. I love training with these guys. It's. It's so fun. I'm getting so much better, even though I'm not getting those reps in the game. And I think she just flipped her mentality to that as the season wore on, and I think that's why she was so, so ready for that moment when it came. And she had so much joy when she went into that game. I mean, just to rewatch it and to See her celebrations, it was like she was overwhelmed by emotion after she scored a goal, and. But she also knew she was ready. She was on that scout team. She was simulating the best players from other teams all season long, and she knew she was playing against the bestie every day, and. And she could do it.
- [24:18]
A
That's awesome. I mean, what a great story, though, and so fitting. Just everything that you've described, just building that culture of improvement, development. I think a lot of ways, especially a lot of the youth sports stuff that we cover here on Youth, Inc. The idea of development and improvement and just continue to just perpetually move forward, like, has really become a lost start in a lot of ways. Right. If I don't play now, I leave. If I'm not the starter, I leave. If it's not the right team, I can go to any high school I want, any travel club I want, any college I want. And I just think it's so cool to see someone like yourself who's at the top of the. Top of the game, dynasty, program, success in abundance. And here you are talking about practice habits and the idea of just continuing to earn time and earn roles and continue to develop. And I just think it's such a powerful message that people can use in all different sports. Right. This isn't a lacrosse conversation. This is a life conversation. And I think it's so credible for someone with the voice that you have in the world of athletics to share it. So I love that. I. I do want to talk about Madison Taylor, the Toroton Award. She just got named within the last day or two. Like, everyone sees the skill, right? You don't win those. Those national player of the year awards if you're not incredibly talented and athletic. And those things seem to be a given. Like, what could you tell us about her behind the scenes? What did we not see in those nationally televised moments? Like, that makes her the best player in the country.
- [25:48]
B
Yeah, she just. I mean, her teammates love her and. And really played for her in that moment. I think that she. She just. She works so hard every single day in the practice setting. Like, when your best practice player is your hardest worker, you know, you're in a good space. And she. She would talk to her teammates about, you know, different things that they would do offensively or. Or on the ride or scoring goals. And there just was a lot of love, love for each other, love for this game. And I think that's indicative of her and her classmates and the other leaders on this squad that, you know, they were able to Create an environment where there was an incredible will for success for each other. And we knew there was a chance that we don't win that game. But we were just so grateful to be on that field in those stands where there was so many people cheering us on and cheering the sport on and on the big stage where everyone gets to see it. It's a really cool moment and, you know, you're inspiring the next generation. So I think Maddie really embraced that mentality. I don't think it's easy. I mean, she came onto the stage in her freshman year and, and crushed it. I mean, she was a superstar in our first championship game. And I think as her, her career wore on, she needed more support from myself and Scott and our staff to just make sure she had that correct mentality of continuing to just like, love the game, love her teammates, and do it for the right reasons. I do think again, back to social media. There's a lot of pressure on athletes today to look the right way, to perform the right way. And, you know, you can never go away from why you play the game, why you started the game when you were little. And I think that that's just so important at every stage of the game. It shouldn't be about earning the scholarship or, you know, which school you go to. If you can keep your eyes on loving the game and remembering why you play makes your days so much more joyful. And even those hard days, you know, because there's always the, there's always so many ups and downs. It's never, you know, a straight road, it's always windy. And you have to really learn how to embrace that. And I think Maddie and her teammates did an amazing job at really doing that this season. And that's how we were able to start off with three losses in the season and then snap our, snap our wrists and get back to our core principles and run the table from there.
- [29:06]
A
I thought your postgame interview was pretty cool. When the reporter was talking to you fresh, the game literally had just ended and you're giving your postgame from the field, the celebrations going on, you were like, we won the national championship and there was a time in the season I didn't even know if we were going to make the tournament. I, I thought that was such a fit. You know, you talk about getting off to the, you know, the three game skid to start. It's just, I think there's so many incredible, valuable lessons to be taken out of this story. That's why we were so pumped to get you On. I do want to zoom out real quick before I let you go, because it did feel like that was a moment, right? The setting, the environment, you guys playing at your home field. I think there was, like, over 8,000 people. I think the broadcast said 8,000, maybe 9,000 people. It felt like a big moment for the game, for the sport. Talk a little bit about the landscape. So zoom out. Like, you hear so much about. You guys made lacrosse a Midwest sport. It's very coastal, right? Growing up in the Northeast, being here in the Carolinas, tell us why. For those. For those people that don't maybe follow the game of lacrosse, women's lacrosse specifically, what about it has led it to be a coastal game? And then what have you seen now, both in the Midwest, since you guys have rose to prominence, and also just the current state of the sport across the country.
- [30:23]
B
You know, lacrosse is a Native American game, and it started heavily in the tribes up in northern New York and Canada. And I think that then it really spread into the main hotbeds, which probably are Maryland, Philadelphia, Long Island. Since. Since then, the game has spread up and down the east coast. But on the high school level and youth level, you see the game spreading all the way to the West Coast. And so there's been just this surge over, you know, the last 20 years where lacrosse grown in popularity, and no matter where you are, you can drive down the street and see lacrosse nets, you know, And I think in Illinois when I first got here, there was a lot of people that had done an amazing job of getting lacrosse established, but it was very based close to Northwestern, on the north shore of Chicago, and it really hadn't spread all across Illinois. And I think now it really, really has. And, you know, since I got the job, you've seen other programs add the sport to colleges on the west coast and down south to Florida and South Carolina and beyond. So it's been a pretty cool trajectory to see, but there still is, like, a dominance of those three states of, like, New York, Long Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland. That's really still the hub. Our headquarters of USA Lacrosse is based in Maryland, and a lot of the tournaments that are run for high school and youth kids in the summer are in those states. So we always take a lot of pride in spreading that game. A few years back, they had the Final Four in North Carolina, and it was a little bit light. University of North Carolina didn't, or Duke did not make it. So that was probably a little bit tough. But I think even in those states, it's still Emerging where Illinois is probably a little bit ahead of them. So I think for people the, you know, in the lacrosse community, I think it was disappointing to have the smaller crowds and I think it was just like a little bit hard to get there. And so there was a lot of talk of, like, we need to have lacrosse in the lacrosse centric areas. So to me, I was like, oh, gosh, I hope they can consider us as a lacrosse centric area at some point. And so last year we were at Gillette Stadium in the Boston area. And that was an amazing event. The Boston area. I'm from there and it's grown so much since I played in high school and just really has become a hotbed. And it was supposed to be there this year as well, and the World cup bumped us out. So we had the opportunity to bid for it. And we have a new athletic director in, Mark Jackson, and he pitched it to the university and they got behind it and we put in a bid and it was kind of a short notice type thing, and we put in a really strong bid. And I think the NCAA said, let's give them a shot, you know, so to see how it all matriculated and end up, I'm just so proud of how we were able to draw the fans. We. Earlier in the year, we actually played a double header with Notre Dame men's lacrosse, which, you know, they've won a national. A couple national championships as well at our fields, and as kind of like a prelude of like, we can bring the fans in. And we drew really well for that too. So we've been trying to build this momentum, but this was just. This was just on another level. And really, truly, I said it after the game, but this is a moment that I've dreamed of where, you know, the fans come, you know, the rockets are going off, off the build, the roof of the building.
- [35:18]
A
It was incredible.
- [35:19]
B
It was really special.
- [35:20]
A
Yeah, you can't write a script. And then for you guys to end up winning it against North Carolina, who is another national power with one of the top players in the country in their own right. So, like, it felt like a pivotal moment. It felt like, okay, women's lacrosse is here. People are going to tune in. It's fun to watch. It's entertaining as hell. I need you to help me settle a bet, though, with my nieces. So I'm watching the game. I have a seventh grade daughter and two nieces. One's a freshman in high school and my younger niece is in sixth grade. So we're all Watching it. And I'm like, girls, like, you should be doing this. Like, you're all athletic, you're big. Like, this is so fun to watch. And we're watching and we're learning and the rules, the. The commentators are doing a great job. I need to know, though, why do the girls spike their stick on the ground after they score? My nieces were telling me it's a celebration, but I. There has. There's a rule element to it. No.
- [36:21]
B
Yes, there is a rule element. So you're supposed to put your stick down so that the referee can check it. And that rule went in, like, a number of years ago. So after every goal, the official will check the stick. But obviously, like, these moments when you play the game are so big, especially in a championship environment. And the girls have really taken it to a new level. Each of them has their own celebration. And, yeah, it really adds a lot of drama to the moment, for sure.
- [36:58]
A
What are they checking the, like, the depth of the pocket? Is that what it is?
- [37:02]
B
Yes. To make sure it's legal.
- [37:04]
A
I don't know if you've seen it, though, there. You know, obviously, because the women's. You know, your game was on and it went like, everything on the Internet, it explodes. There were some really funny. And we'll share it on our. On our pages. There's some really funny, like, social content of people out there. And it's like girls, after they score a goal and, like, they throw, they're just, like, out in their park, like, just making funny content. And the girls are, like, throwing the stick up into the stick and they make it like, it was very amusing and funny. But I remember watching the game and after every goal, I feel like it just kept getting more and more pronounced. And my. My nieces and my daughter, like, no, they're just doing it to celebrate. I'm like, that might be true, but my gut says there's some rooted rule here, so I needed you to settle that.
- [37:52]
B
Right. You were right.
- [37:55]
A
I love it. I hope they let the girls continue to spike them. Throw it. I. I think it's so cool to just see the emotion and the excitement. Last thing, coach, and I'm going to let you go. You've mentioned Scott, your husband. I need to know what it's like coaching with each other. Like, is this something you guys are t. Is this a 247 thing? Are you guys good at setting boundaries of, like, when we're talking about private, when we're talking about work? Like, I. I need to know what that landscape looks like when I, I don't coach with my wife, but when I come home and I want to talk about the teams I'm coaching of the kids, she's like, enough. What is it like in your house?
- [38:33]
B
You know, being a college coach is, is. It's a lot. You know, you, you're constantly on and, and doing different things. So I can't say that, like, when we walk in the house, we don't talk about lacrosse. That's, that's definitely not the case. But I think there's times where, you know, we do say, you know, it's enough. And, and if we are talking about something, it's it. We usually try to make it quick and, and also make it times that's appropriate. Like if our kids are, have gone to bed and we, you know, we can talk about it then. We try to make our family time, our family time as much as possible, but sometimes those lines get a little blurred. And I think it probably only works because of Scott's personality. He's very, he's very laid back and he's also, like, extremely respectful of me and, you know, just the person that I have and the personality, the person that I am and the per. The personality that I have. And I think over the years, like, we've had some ups and downs in terms of, like, how we've been able to communicate and make it work. And I feel like our biggest charge is to have fun, right? If we're not having fun with. Makes it really difficult. And so no matter what happens or if we disagree on something, we can always bring it back to that of having fun and really just enjoying the ability to spend time together and then also have our family around it. Our older daughter, she's at college now, she's an athlete. So that's been like a really, really cool thing for us to be able to go to her matches and watch her mature in her own way. And then our younger daughter is, is just an eighth grade.
- [40:46]
A
That's awesome. So you got, you still have, you still have a little Runway there to let it all play out. But that's so fun. I, I just, I can't thank you enough. I could ask you 5,000 more things. I'm fascinated by the whole story. I'm fascinated by the growth of the game. I want my daughter, I'm going to buy her a stick. I want her to grow up. I don't want her to figure this out because she's a big, good athlete. I think she'd take to it, but I have to say, coach, the dynasty that you've built, the manner in which you've done it, getting to learn about you during the broadcast and now on this conversation, just so much respect, so much appreciation for, for the job you've done. I think your voice, both to our lacrosse fans and lacrosse followers, but also just all parents and coaches across this landscape. There's so many great things that they can learn from the manner in which you've handled yourself, the way you've built that culture, the way you've coached and managed your teams. Can't thank you enough for taking the time out of your busy, busy post championship week. I can only imagine what it's been like. But nine time national champion, I'm sure that doesn't get hard to keep hearing. But coach, I can't thank you enough for joining us and we'll be following and hope to have you back here soon.
- [41:55]
B
It's never too late to start the sport of lacrosse. If you're a great athlete, you're going to fall in love with bit just like the custards did. So thank you guys for having me on. And go Cats.