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S1 E19. Like Father, Like Son. USA Lacrosse HOFers: Alan & Darren Lowe, Part III

• Jay McMahon, Ron Dalgliesh, Steve Gresalfi/Alan & Darren Lowe • Season 1 • Episode 19

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In this third and final episode with the Team USA & USA Lacrosse HOF, father/son duo, Alan and Darren Lowe, we hear the part Alan played in helping initiate what would eventually become USA Lacrosse. Alan also takes us through his experience playing in the World Championships in Australia back in the early 1970s. Alan also played a major administrative role when the 1992 U19 USA Team hosted the junior world games at Hofstra University. 
Later on in the interview Darren describes what it was like for him to play against his dad’s high school team, perennial Long Island and New York State powerhouse, Manhasset. 
Finally, Alan and Darren give their advice on what they consider essential skills for today’s up and coming lacrosse players. 

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Donate to Harlem Lacrosse Summer Camp:

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Links to training videos:
Master The 5 Best Dodges From the Wing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_7LDOcQQ6Q&t=88s

Blazing Shots... on the Run!
https://youtu.be/XiptPlM63oQ

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On Facebook @: facebook.com/jmcmahonlax23. Page name: Jay McMahon Lacrosse

Jules Heningburg: https://thelaxlab.com/

Check out!... Coach Tintle's Lacrosse Barn:

https://g.co/kgs/eXedCXf

SuccessHotline with Dr. Rob Gilbert on Ironclad & Apple Podcasts

Brian Cain Daily Dominator on Apple Podcasts



Lacrosse Charities Mentioned in S2 E36:
https://www.4thefuturefoundation.org/

https://www.harlemlacrosse.org/

https://15forlife.org/



Jay:

it's time for get the La Scoop, a podcast bringing you all the people and stuff you should know. In the game of lacrosse, we take LAX seriously, but ourselves, not so much. Join hosts, big Dog and Jaybird, and the biggest names in the game. Ron Doish, the big dog, was a collegiate football and lacrosse player at Brown. He was also an assistant lacrosse coach and the executive director of the sports found. and Jay McMahon, the Jaybird, a three time All-American Midfielder Brown. He was a captain of the US Junior National team and is the founder of J M L. And joining us in the studio, Steve gfi, who's collegiate lacrosse career statistics equals one goal against Dartmouth.

Ron:

This podcast is brought to you by j McMahon Lacrosse. Now that's a mouthful, so let's go with j m l lacrosse

Jay:

skills. Oh, Ron. J m l has lacrosse in there, so just

Ron:

jml friends get used to. Jay interrupting me all the time. it's maddening. Fine, Jay, it's Jml skills. Mindset and LAX IQ training, helping the next generation cross players. Get to the next level.

Hello everyone. And welcome to part three of our interview series with USA lacrosse hall of Famers, Alan and Darren Lowe. As I mentioned, this is part three. So if you have not listened to parts one and two, we highly recommend you go back and do so before listening to this final portion. You will find our interview in progress.

Ron:

So Alan I've heard a story that I need to corroborate that. Okay. You were, you were involved in an early lacrosse organization that some say was the precursor to what now as u s a lacrosse, and that there were meetings of this group in the basement, and it may or may not have involved the cooler,

but can you, can you, no. No. Your leadership in the game? Christian.

Alan:

Okay. That's when when I came back to Long Island. We started the long L I M L F, long Island Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation, a chapter of the US lacrosse, and basically we lived out of our trunks. We didn't ha a trunk of our car, we didn't have money to purchase a building or a room, any place.

Hastra eventually gave us a room meeting room, but we couldn't keep anything, you know, plaques on the wall or anything like that. So we never really got, but we were actually I became the president and we had the under 19 team in 90, I think it was 92, and we had like three or$4,000 in our treasurer. And the bill was gonna be slight, like a hundred thousand. We didn't know how we were gonna get it, but we went out and ran. We finally had to hire some guy who was a fundraiser. He, you know, he'd got the money from us, but we had it. That was great Long Island. We had a lot of people working for us and We had the under 19 games at Hof University. That was really, that was really nice. It was something that was given back to these kids. The kids had a great opportunity and now they go overseas to play at different countries every, every four years. We had a lot of, a lot of effort to start that Long Island Metropolitan Cross Foundation. Yeah. But it wasn't in my basement But we had stuff all over the place and we kinda, it was kind of hard, hard doing things, but we got it.

Ron:

That's great. And we're, I think Mr. Lo yeah, I was just gonna say Jay, like you look at where the game is today, right? And even on Long Island, right? Where everybody thinks that every school was playing, and that, I mean, the hard work that it took from people like you Alan, to build the game and grow the game, and, and you see where it is today.

Jay:

And to lots people, you know, like your mom and then everybody else on Long Island, that it's a worthwhile sport. I mean, we're super grateful for all you've done. No doubt. Now, Darren, you know, from your dad's early beginnings to you being on the executive committee of the Board of USA Lacrosse, tell us what are some of the, projects that are going on, some things that you're working on currently.

Darren:

Well, I will tell you, I think that, you know, getting buy-in, I, I think USA Lacrosse is in the, in Newport spot. Mark Ricchio is the new ceo. I believe, you know, in the room, in the boardroom, I hear more of. The national governing body is support of the sport. So the support of the club coaches, support of the college coaches, support of the rec programs, support of new initiatives for sport society.

Whereas maybe in the past it was a, these are the rules, this is how you do it, this is what it is where it's an insurance problem. Mm-hmm. And so I think that what's happened, and what I'm really excited about at being front footed in this process is that, you know, trying to get ourselves in the Olympics in 2028 in LA and I am really in deep in the process of being a part of every committee or being on the committee of the the national team program. So men's and women. So the nine under 19 team that my dad started, you know, with a group of gentlemen now rolled in, they had to buy in to go into US lacrosse at the time and now USA lacrosse. And so, you know, the 14 teams we run. As a, as a national governing body. The women's box, the women's sixes, the men's sixes, the nat the women's senior team, you know, the under 16 teams. All those groups, like I find it's phenomenal. And the buy-in from the coaches and the club coaches that we've seen come into pools that want to be involved in coaching and selecting players is it's at a new level today than it was five or six years ago.

Jay:

Now, any, is there any current resistance as far as like, competition from other sports that are trying to come into this? Is there any, obstacles that need to be overcome?

Yeah. Sixes were part of the, the, the World Games down in Birmingham, al in Alabama last summer. Right to that process. But the other sports that are out there that are growing, the reason why sixes is likely to be an Olympic sport or box could be in the winter sport at some point, is cuz you don't need 23 members of the team. You, you need 12 or 13. And so that means less rooms for people to dorm in, in the Olympic Village. And it also means that the barrier for entry for new countries is no longer 30 player pool. It's a 12 player pool. And so you could, it's easier to get to that national level if you have fewer players needed at an elite level getting into it. And so it also takes less money and then the fields are smaller. It takes less camera looking at the field. And I just think six is, is a way that if you go back to the beginning of our conversation about the process of getting better on the field, six is an up, up, and down game where you play offense and defense. There's also a new priority to it if you miss the goal in outside lacrosse. And you're closest to the end line. When the ball goes out, you get it back in sixes. If you miss the goal, you don't get it back. The other team gets the ball back. So the ball has to hit the goal, right? So there's gonna be a premium on being more disciplined about getting your shot off. That's more accurate, which looks more like Canadian Box, which I think an advantage that Canadian Box players have because their six skills are better inside and tight quarters and they hit the goal more frequently cuz they plan up four by four rather than a six by six. Right? So US Lacrosse is gonna be investing in Growing Box and you know, women for Women and men. And six is as we go through getting more members, the goal is get more members.

Darren:

That's great. Now, what would you say to young people and parents like who are just starting out and let's say their kids, you know, showed good progress early on. Let's say they play rec and then they start playing travel and they're at this intermediate level and they're showing some promise. What would be your advice to them? My advice to them is, my brother and I talk about this all the time with our children. Do not be seen until you're ready to be seen. You only get one chance to be seen first. Mm-hmm. So don't jump around from club to club. Spend the time on the basic fundamentals to get that right and then play in your area with kids you're familiar with before you travel to go play with all star teams in certain venues. I just think that coaches find a reason to knock you off a list before they actually. Put you on. If you're exceptional, they're gonna find you. Right Dad? They're exceptional. They're gonna, yeah, we've always said that in our, like, you're really good. Someone's gonna find, doesn't matter where you play. That's great. Alan, what would you add to that?

Alan:

Yeah, well that's right. If you're good, they're gonna find out. But it's the marginal kid that you want to get into a school. They're recruiting, I think so, so much earlier than they should. And that's the NCAA's for they, you know, and I just tell'em, just keep, keep going. And they have to be aware of when they're applying, let's say Cornell, if you, Cornell, if you're a midfielder and they don't need midfielders, you're gonna find out soon. So don't, don't be discouraged because you might be brown wa wants midfielders or Princeton might need midfielders. And so one time I had a kid, three kids get Ivy League go, went to Ivy League schools that they didn't want to go to. But they, I mean, they did go on to go, but they, that wasn't their first choice, but by position. And you, they gotta just keep, keep telling'em, I, I don't like the way they're recruiting now. Because these kids, it used to be the college coaches would come to the high schools and they would talk to the kids and, you know, I, I could talk to them and I I could understand how they felt about'em just by listening. But you get an email from some of these guys, it's flowery, it sounds nice and everything, but you really don't get the total picture right. It's kind of hard, you know, because these kids are, they only have one chance in life and you know, and you, you want'em to do the best you can, but the all American, you don't really have to do anything for him. He's gonna get where he is, where he wants to go and see. Marginal kid is, where is he gonna go? That's a kid you gotta help the most, you know, the kid's down the ladder.

Darren:

I'll tell you about what goes back to the question, you know? The college coach is responsible for those individuals. The women and men that come to their campuses for four years, they're responsible. They're also their job's on the line. Yeah. And so one of the first questions that a coach usually asks me about a kid they're thinking about is, what are their parents like? Yeah. you know, and sometimes you, you'd be surprised who pays attention. You know, there's an alum on the sideline watching a rec game, and you don't behave correctly. You know, someone might ask. And so, well, that's a great point. Now for our viewers, some of them they may, you know, tell us what you think the right attitude is. Let's hear that and, and what the right way to go about things is for parents. Positive. Lay off the refs, you know? Yeah. Oh. Doish. Yeah, that's, it's kinda tough as an look.

Ron:

Lemme be clear, as a parent, I never said a word as a long as an alum. Different story. Different, yeah.

Alan:

That happens that way. But you know, you just have to, you have to tell'em, Hey, you can't be, you can't be like that cause they don't want to live with you for four years through years child, you know, give him every chance he, he can get because but I think they, it's getting outta hand, I'll be honest with you.

Darren:

It's getting outta hand. Cuz you see some of these parents, even at the at the showcase games, they scream and they yell and then they're, you know, scream encouragement. Good job. Good job. Good. I mean, that's fine, but what are you, You don't want to get into that rat race type thing. Right, right. Absolutely. Yeah.

Ron:

Hey Darren, I'm interested getting back to You know, your thoughts on the development of the game. Obviously one of the big developments in the last era has been the shot clock at the college game. What, what do you think would be some interesting next developments for the field game?

Darren:

What, what, where would you like to see the game go? You know, limiting substitutions so you see a more two-way play would be great for the game. You know, I don't know how that will be. I think that there's been a lot in lacrosse where I've seen riding really dominate the sport. I don't think, I think riding's important, but the trap of not being able to go back over the other side of the field once you go across over and back, if you eliminated that, you create more opportunities for advancement of fast breaks, in my opinion. Like, that would be one thing that I would look at changing, you know, face offs. I, you know, I kind, I like the face offs, but I think there's something to be said about, you know, what the sticks look like or. Or what you're allowed to do around the face off X and you know, evening it out, you know, no game really should be 17 to, to two on face offs. You know, we should try to figure something out that way. That that would be the other. And you know, my dad and I talk about this all the time, like, we're always shocked how little goalies were, you know, right. Don't think, and I wanna speak for your dad. We both think that goalies should be required more equipment to protect themselves, probably keep more kids in the game. Right. I think there are a lot of times in youth lacrosse in particular, and high school lacrosse, high level, high level high school lacrosse. And my father will say, it's in college lacrosse, the goalie gets out of the way. Right. Right. It does.

Alan:

And it's obvious when you watch a game and these guys, they go here, the stick is above the goal, has nothing to do with any shots, and I feel sorry for them and, and. I wouldn't want to be in the goal with something like that. I think serious should take something from the indoor box goalie and cut it down a little bit, you know? Right. These guys, they, first of all, they don't wear sweatpants, most of'em, and that stings, that ball stings and it hurts They should have some thigh pads. They should have thigh pads and Shin pads. Right. You know, maybe more padding up in here, in the chest and the shoulders. But that ball comes in so fast that if you watch a game, it looks like they're diving outta the way. They're all good at it too. And I don't blame'em. You know, I, I would do the same thing cuz a ball comes out there pretty fast. Well, Alan and Darren, this has been awesome, and I think it's time Jaybird to bring in our Rover reporter Steve gfi, who brings us absolutely some, questions from our viewers. All right guys. It is time for viewer mail. Coach Lowe, I just want to give you a heads up that while the first question is usually serious any subsequent questions no promises, So the first, the first writing question comes from Rich t in West Palm Beach, Florida. And he writes, Darren, I know you were involved in the lacrosse team down here in Florida. Can you tell us about the state of lacrosse in sports not traditionally known as hotbeds? Yeah, I mean, like here, down here in Florida, the athletic talent is, is off the charts. And we just have to get better at shooting and catching and throwing and. You know, having deeper teams and playing better games and, you know, some of that will be traveling or teams traveling to us, but from an athletic standpoint here, it's incredible. And I'm really fortunate. We spent our summers in Northern California and I watch club out there and it's very similar. To me, Florida looks like New Jersey looked like 15 years ago in the development or, or even Connecticut, you know, where, where there were like three or four good teams at one point. Now there's multiple teams. So yeah, I just think it's it's just a matter of exposure. Using resources of stick skills through multimedia platforms programming that kids can watch where they don't have to go somewhere and they can watch it on their phone. I think it's just gonna make us better.

What a perfect time to discuss the J McMahon lacrosse app. As Darren said, what player is really will benefit from in so many locations. Is an app on their phone or a routine that they can do at home. So they can improve their skills. They're catching, they're passing, they're shooting. And if we put on top of that, some more knowledge of the game, as well as what the proper mindset of the game. Then you've really got a winning combination. So the James McMahon lacrosse app is available on at the app store. For people who have apple phones and for people who have Android it's on Google play, you simply type in J a Y M C M a H O N. And the word lacrosse and download the free app. There is free. Training on there. For step-down shots for shooting on the run for shooting on the crease. So there's good information right there. And then if you'd like, you can go onto the paid programming. Where we have different courses. That can help your son or daughter become a better lacrosse player. One of our courses is called, go from good to great. That is designed for intermediate players. To take their game to the next level. Following that we have a course called go from advanced to elite. So that's for players who are ready to take their game to the very highest level. And again, It's great that Darren Lowe mentioned that and, you know, this is coming from a player who was not only on team USA twice and made the all tournament team twice, but he was the club MVP three times. And back in the day, there was no professional lacrosse. All the players who were trying out for team USA. And involved in lacrosse we're in that club. League and Darren was the MVP of it three times. So great to have someone like him thinking the same way we're thinking here., where players really need to get the skills they need to improve and move on to the college ranks. Now we'll get back to our programming.

Steve:

All right, this next viewer writing question comes in from Kevin l from Princeton, New Jersey. And he writes. He writes, Alan, can you tell us once and for all, which one of your sons was better at lacrosse?

Alan:

Oh, geez. That's a tough one. That's a tough one. I think they were pretty even Good answer. I think Alan was better.

Steve:

Perfect answer. Perfect answer. So noted for the record. This next writing question comes in from Steve g from Linbrook, New York, and he writes, Darren, back in 1987, your Minola high school team lost to Linbrook 87 in a playoff game. There's nothing else. So I guess that's more of a writing statement, Oh, okay.

Ron:

There's no question there, Steve, that was just no footnote that Darren lost to your high school team, is that nothing else came in from the writer. So I guess we'll just move on to the next question. And who is that from Larry G?

Steve:

Yeah. All right. Now this one comes in from Jim s from Ridgefield, Connecticut, and he writes Darren, in 1988, your upstart high school team at Minola played the powerhouse Manhasset team coached by your father. Is it true that your grandmother was watching the game and rooted for man Hassett and against you subject dad?

Alan:

I dunno. I dunno.

Darren:

My grandmother never rooted for me against my father. the truth comes out, probably explains the complex I have.

Alan:

I don't know. I don't know about that I dunno. How did that game work out, father? That's a tough, that's a tough game though. As I said before, when, when my kids played against each other, Darren and Kevin played against each other. Oh. The two worst games I've ever went to.

Jay:

But then when you played against Aaron, would you take like your worst defenseman and put'em on Darren so you know

Alan:

No. You tempted No, no. We double teamed. Triple. No. You wanted to win. Actually they beat us once. They beat us once and after the game and after the game, Bob Rule goes, ow He goes, ow. They just beat us. He was a defensive coordinator. No, that was funny. And I think the year before. Next question. Oh, I'm sorry. Hey, let'em finish up there. The year before what? The year before we beat'em, like, you know, you get in one of these games, it was over a mini and we beat'em like 20 to one. But my goalie scored a goal. I put'em on a pack. You know, you're trying to get everybody in the game and you're trying to keep the score down. You can't, it's hard to tell kids not to shoot, but the kids who never play, you know, you have to get'em in the game cause you want'em to practice hard.

Ron:

You know, Darren, I, I like how Alan stuck it in there. Yeah. And then there was that game. We beat him 20 to one, my goalie score. I mean, James, but then Beat, beat Us. It was on Long Island Sports Network. Barry, Barry Flanders was right. The announcer Barry Landers did Barry. Oh yeah. And he asked my father at the end of the game, like, what are you gonna do with your son now? You beat him 20 to four today. He goes, I'm gonna have him cook me some steaks in the grill. Oh, that's great.

Darren:

There's our relationship in a nutshell,

Steve:

Alright, our last viewer, male is from JM from Richmond, Virginia writes in Darren and Allen in the game of lacrosse. It is widely accepted that point, gobbling attack. Men are despised by their teammates. No matter how altruistic their many assists may appear to be, their teammates know it's all a plot to grab headlines and steal the postseason honors, while the more gritty and hardworking midfielders and defensemen languish out of the spotlight. what can you say to, to improve the reputation of attack men across this country from such a des a despicable public image? go ahead.

Darren:

Darren. Question. Don't give him the don't give, don't give him the ball. Just don't give him the ball. You know, like in the fraternity, if you're gonna paddle me, I'm not passing you but you know, I always say like, That's, that's kind of what the role was, so yeah.

Alan:

That's your role. They're doing their job.

Darren:

Someone else to do it better. Yeah. Got the chance. Where do they get the, where do they get the ball from? That's my question. Don't give it to'em. You No, I will tell you like that, that's always interesting because like, I had this amazing conversation with Dom Stasia when I was a freshman at Brown. We had lost to Yale and he walked me around campus for, he, he came to my dorm room after we lost to Yale on a Tuesday afternoon. I think we lost an overtime and he knocked on the door and I was about to go down to the ratty to eat. And we walked all around campus probably for, for about two and a half hours. And in that two and a half hour time period, you said there's always people that are gonna say something like this, don't listen. It's their team, just feed them. And we talked about a lot of things about life. It was like the only time, like Dom and I really had one of those moments cuz he was great with all of us, you know, in the huddle. And there was a lot of us to manage. But you know, for literally two and a half hours we walked around campus and he said, don't ever, don't worry about Dogless and McMahon was that it? Don't let her let it bother you. Are you know, demanding success themselves, like if you actually let it bother you, they won't be successful. And so I kind of feel like, I hope in my play at school, at, on Team Long Island with the New York Saints, with Team usa, those things always continued because, that competitive nature in me was to put up as many as I possibly could for our team to win.

Jay:

Right. Well, absolutely, and I think players like Darren, maybe someone like Tim Goldstein back in the day and now kind of shellenberger, but it, and grant. Amen. But it's kind of few and far between. When I was growing up at high school, Paul Bae was just a pass, first kind of attack, but like Darren always was, and these other players I mentioned always were, and it's better for the team. I mean, when Penn State had Grand a met, I mean, they were nearly unbeatable. So it's interesting how you just don't see as many past first attack men. I mean, it's kind of rare, which is, it's too bad cuz people who have that, they do tend to be the most valuable player out there. They're always looking to feed, they get their feeds and then their defensemen usually doesn't even play'em as hard. They can turn the corner on them cuz they're worried about them passing. They can get underneath, let's say in score a goal. So, I think players, like Darren plays, it could be this whole showcase thing that we see less and less of these past first attack men. But the teams that have'em usually are top teams. Yeah. And I think that if you're past first you have to be on good teams, right? So I got to play with Jay McMahon. I got to play with all, got to play with Andy Towers. I got to play with Devin Besim in high school. I got to play with Matt Panetta and Kevin Lowe. Ryan Boyle, like Bobby Benson guys said it would put the ball in the goal. Vinny Sobrato, like if I threw them the ball and it was a bad pass, they would still catch it. So in a lot of ways, like those chances that you take. Where people think you're a good pastor, the pass is perfect all the time. Like, well, it isn't, you know? And so somebody has to be really talented because putting the ball in the goal is really hard. It's really hard. Now tell me Darren, too, with your stick, I remember I was amazed looking at your sticks, you would have, you're very particular, I mean, everyone's particular about their stick, but you were more particular than most. And you would have about a half a dozen sticks. And I'm looking at these and I, for me, I would've been better off if I did things the way I did as a senior. I had a smaller pocket. I kind of shot overhand primarily before that. I'd have a lot of whip the stick would bag out, and you really couldn't pass very well with that. You could take great underhand shots, but that was about it. But you, you came there, I mean, it was like the smallest pocket I'd ever seen outside of say like a, a woman's stick type of thing. How, like, tell us a little bit about that. It's interesting.

Darren:

Well, I mean, like I said, we used to play in the backyard with a tennis ball, so, ah, when you play with a tennis ball, you gotta have soft hands. So I think our soft hands were always created by, Catching and not having the ball bounce and a short pocket allowed the ball to come out quicker.

Jay:

I actually think practice with one and have a, like, almost a practice like stick for drills and then if they want to use a bag, cuz they're gonna get touched. But my dad used to tell us all the time, like, if you're fast enough and your change the direction is good enough and your stick's guarding your stick with your body is good enough. Like you don't need a big pocket cuz no one's gonna check you. So if you're not gonna check, use something that the ball comes out quicker. And yeah, I would tell you like, I think that we describe, I described my shooting is more like BB guns than, than, you know, howitzers because it's really hard to shoot the ball super hard with a shallow stick. It allowed it to be more accurate, but the ball right, it makes, it adds accuracy and the ball does come out much more quickly. Like the goalie, you know, I know Connor Shellenberger has a very shallow pocket and so does Peter Lasal and when he shoots it takes the goalie by surprise cuz the, the ball just comes out a lot quicker than you'd expect. And as you said, that gives you a lot more accurate pass. So for listeners out there, definitely something to consider. You wanna have a short throwing motion with a smaller pocket and that is what college coaches are looking for a fast release. And as Darren's been talking about fundamentals, you know, executing the fundamentals of the game at a faster and faster pace, that's the difference. So. Great

Darren:

And I mean Steve, I, I feel like there's like a detant here between Darren and Jay. I mean, it's an amazing the love fest between these two guys. Now, you know where you and I were having to get between these two. Have we finally reconciled sharing the ball?

Alan:

Oh my God. Not enough balls on that too.

Darren:

Never knew there was a problem cuz I didn't listen. There wasn't right

Jay:

Once I started cutting, there was less of a problem. I got the ball up more but Darren coming up left-handed me cutting left-handed. We had some great connections.

Ron:

No, I think, you know, it's funny, Darren, I love what you said,

Alan:

it meant you played with great players who wanted the ball when it mattered. Right. And when you have that level of competitiveness and confidence and the guys on the offensive side of the field, that's a great problem to have. You know, I mean, a little tiring for Steve and I, but a great problem to have for the team Right.

Darren:

I can't remember what everybody's stick looked like that I played with, I know Jay had the brown head died, you know, with white mesh, you know, I know Matt Panetta had a blackhead all the time with white mesh. I know Oliver had white with giant tape on it. Annie Tower switched to stick a lot, so I had to get used to it. Right. That's funny. But I, I knew what everybody's stick was. I knew Jim Strub used the super light too later than it was ever made, you know, That's great. I think that I knew their sticks more than I knew where they were. Yeah, that's great. Had an eye for the stick. You, you pick it out of a crowd. Well, you only. My father will tell you, you only throw to somebody who's open, who's ready to catch it, who can catch it, right Dad? Yeah. Don't talk to them if they can't catch it.

Alan:

So, well, so many guys, so many guys off the ball don't get in the passing lane. So how can you feed him? You know, I, you know, that's a hard thing. So it's, tell the kid, say, were you open? He goes, yeah. He says, he says no. He says, no, I'll stand there. I said, we'll, move up. Maybe move a step one, one way or the other. We'll get you the ball. Kids don't do that. It's so easy to be open without the ball. You learn that as you get older, because when you have the ball, you have a guy hitting you and the two guys adjacent ready to hit you. When you don't have the ball, you have a guy guarding you, but he is only half guarding you. Cause he's looking at the ball. He's looking at the ball, he's looking he looks at the bulbs you take off. That's so easy. And you know.

Jay:

Well that's a great point. And we're gonna have, we've got a little training video that's a good segue that goes over the four keys to play in the crease. So I'm glad you mentioned that. We'll, we'll link that one to this podcast. We add a little video training video to each one of these podcasts so that'll be the one for this session. Awesome.

Darren:

Bet they don't have a step on your foot to get open. Let's, that's step two. Shoot, edit. Only step on a guy.

Alan:

When a guy crouch you gets into your area, you gotta get rid of him. Just cross over. You step on his foot and you lean, you watch him fall and you keep going.

Ron:

But that talk about, I mean, we laughed. There is such a lost art of those crafty attack men inside and the stuff they do to just get that little space that they needed, you know, listen, most defensemen get even with you freshman.

Darren:

Yeah. Oh, I they get even with you. Listen, my 10 year old in a game like three weeks ago started stepping on a kid's foot on the crease and I'm like, ah, you're not allowed to talk to spend time anymore. Yeah.

Alan:

Yeah. I shouldn't say that to the kids yet.

Jay:

That's great. Awesome.

Ron:

I think this has been awesome. It's just it's super fun to have both of you guys reflecting on your careers and your life in the game of lacrosse. It's been really fun to have you both with us.

Jay:

Super special guys. Thanks so much.

Alan:

Great to be here. Thank you.

Darren:

Thanks, dad. Hi Darren. You can me. Send me an email. Darren

Jay:

And until we meet again, here to, hoping you find the twine.

Ron:

We're signing off here at the Get the LAX coop. Thanks again so much. We will see you the next time.