Beyond Talent: 4X All Star Jules Heningburg’s Lacrosse Odyssey, Part III.

In this episode of 'Get the Lax Scoop,' hosts Big Dawg and Jaybird interview four-time Pro Lacrosse All-Star and founder of the LAX Lab, Jules Heningburg. Heningburg shares his journey from collegiate lacrosse player at Rutgers to becoming one of the most influential figures in modern lacrosse. The discussion touches on the importance of an individual growth mindset, particularly in professional settings where personal development is crucial. They explore Heningburg's dedication to skills training through the LAX Lab, emphasizing the importance of footwork and offensive strategies. The conversation expands to the creation of the Black Lacrosse Alliance, aiming to increase diversity within the sport, and the importance of mentorship and mindset development for young players via Mission Prime. The episode underscores the vital role of hard work, consistency, and mental resilience in achieving success in lacrosse and beyond.

00:00 Introduction to Get the Lax Scoop Podcast

00:23 Meet the Hosts and Special Guest

01:00 Welcome to the Show

01:29 Interview with Jules Heningburg Begins

01:40 The Importance of Individual Growth

02:13 Balancing Talent and Hard Work

04:41 Jules' Journey and the LAX Lab

05:16 The Evolution of LAX Lab

08:03 Impact of Skills Training

12:37 The Black Lacrosse Alliance

13:12 Challenges and Opportunities for Black Players

18:05 The Boost Camp Initiative

20:40 Lacrosse Camps in Maryland and New Jersey

21:58 Harlem Lacrosse and Community Impact

23:21 Mission Prime: Philosophy and Approach

31:10 The Importance of Mental Preparation

32:50 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

NEW BOOK!
Inside the Recruiting Game: Insights From College Lacrosse Coaches
-Available on Amazon.com as an Ebook and paperback


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

Check us out...

On YouTube @jaymcmahonlax23
On Instagram @jaymcmahonlax23
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/

Transcript

0:00

It's time for Get the Lack Scoop, a podcast bringing you all the people and stuff you should know in the game of lacrosse. We take lack seriously, but ourselves, not so much. Join host Big Dog and Jaybird and the biggest names in the game brought to you by Jay McMahon lacrosse. That's JML skills, mindset, and lacks IQ training. Ron Doglish, 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 Foundation. And Jay McMahon, the Jaybird, a three time All American midfielder at Brown. He was the captain of the U. S. Junior National Team and is the founder of JML. And Joining us in the studio, Steve Grisolfi, who's collegiate lacrosse career statistics equals one goal against Dartmouth brought to you by Jay McMahon lacrosse. That's JML skills, mindset, and lacks IQ training, helping the next generation of lacrosse players get to the next level Hello everyone, and for those who are new to the show, welcome. We're super excited to release this episode of our three-part interview series with four time Pro lacrosse. All-star and founder of the LAX Lab, Jules Henning burg. If you have not heard the prior session, we strongly encourage you to go back and check it out. It was both intriguing and insightful. You'll find this interview in progress. We hope you enjoy. Well Jules, the other thing I, I. You know, it, it was interesting. I see a couple of lines where you talked about at Rutgers, right? Needing to understand that even when you are around a team five, six days a week and have that practice, you gotta have that individual growth mindset, right? Because the reality of the, the individual development time. And so it seems like that served you well in the PLL where that's even, I don't know, it's 10 times the reality there, right? I mean, you, you just have so little time around your team that if you're not getting better on your own or you're not just ridiculously talented, it's just not gonna happen. It, it's true. And, and there are a lot of guys, don't get me wrong, and it's not just a PLL, you see this in the NBA. I don't know if you see it in the NFL as much just because of how physically demanding that that sport is. But definitely in the NBA, you got guys that are just, you know, they're on multimillion dollar contracts and, and this guy, you hear stories about this guy doesn't put any work in the gym. You know, he, he kind of just shows up. Maybe he's staying out late and he's a, he's an Allstar, he's a maybe even a all pro player. You know, you hear the stories of the James Hardens and the Paul Georges and like, right, right guys. And like, then you have the LeBron James of the world, or the Steph Currys or you know, guys that you just know are, they're in the gym working on their craft. And that's, that's, that's who they are. Kobe Bryant to the world. Yeah, that's what they do. And I always tell people there's like an axis for that. Like there's, there's talent and there's hard work, and you gotta, you gotta get real with yourself around kind of where you fall on, on this axis. And whatever your, your aspirations are, just be, you have to have some more awareness, some more self-reflection. Hey, if I'm, if I'm this guy is this talented and I'm this talented, well, he does not have to work as hard as I have to work for us to get to the same place. And that's un that's unfair, but that's just the reality. And I think, you know, Ron, to your point with, with kids, that's exacerbated by like social media and just all these things that they're dealing with. When I, I can, I can look at a kid in eighth grade and just say, Hey, look, this is your trajectory. You are this talented right now, and you work this hard. If you work this hard, this is the potential you have. But if you don't do that, there is no X, y, z or you're this talented Right? But you don't work that hard, you better start working harder. Because I like, as you get older, that talent starts to dissipate a little bit. Starts to go down. You're the big eight. People start catching up. Yeah. Like you, well you're, you're kind of slow though. So you don't wanna be the, the big eighth grader, ninth grader that could run through everyone right now. But, but then that, that eighth, ninth grader that hasn't gone through puberty yet, he starts to go through puberty, he puts on that muscle and he's developing everything. And now he's here and you're here. Right. And you didn't develop a work ethic'cause you were just, I'm the biggest, fastest, strongest. And, and now you're not gonna get to where you want to go, which again, it's not for everyone at the end of the day. Which is all good too, right? Yeah. So, I mean, Jules, it seems like you might be the busiest guy in the game of lacrosse. I mean, there, there's very little in the game you're not doing, you founded the LAX lab, you're the founding, you're a founding member of the Black Lacrosse Alliance and Mission Prime. So it's really cool to see the way that you're given back to the game. But, but let's talk about your skills training program and the LAX lab which I know your brother's currently the director of. Tell us how that came to be and how that's evolved and how you and your brother think about training the next generational lacrosse players. Yeah, no, absolutely. I, I appreciate you asking about that. I think when I graduated, it was, it was just the Duke lab, like, Hey, we're gonna work on offensives talent, offensive skill sets, shooting, dodging footwork, that I felt like were in college. Really what elevated my game, like, Hey, I need to get better at attacking my matchup. Or I get these step down shots from the point, and I really need to get better at just like hammering this shot or. I need to get better at turning the corner, like very specific offensive things that, again, in my individual opportunity and to get better, I was working on. And so when I was traveling around the country when I first graduated, and figuring out what, what this lacrosse thing looked like and, and what it would mean to be a full-time player in 2018.'cause we were only getting paid$6,000 at that time. A full-time player meant you had to find sponsorships, you had to do camps and clinics, you had to do things to make it happen. Yeah. That would make you more relevant in the game and like allow you to build a profile and you know, do something outside of just playing because playing wasn't enough. And so it started with the Juke lab and it was kind of like funny, like at the, at first when I would say it to guys, I'd be like, yeah, I started this thing called Juke Lab and then I would just take videos of the stuff we were doing and, and I realized, I was like, it's kind of catching on, but like, no one's really like focusing on footwork or like offensive development and like putting it on social media and like talking about it in, in a. Strategic way. And so I kind of just started to do that. And then I realized like, fast forward now a lot of people do it. And so it's cool. Like I'm glad that it's, it's grown. But what I also realized is I was kind of pigeonholing myself a little bit where that was good for me running around the country, but like I would go to places where, hey, you know, you guys do not need footwork, you need stick work. You need to understand this stuff. Right? Or mentally, yeah, before we start talking about your feet or this shot or that. And so I wanted to give myself the opportunity to expand, right? So that's where lax lab kind of came in. I kept a lab, like that was a, a running joke, like when we were growing up with my brothers too. We would just be like, yo, we gotta get in the lab. Like, yo, you've been in the lab, like you've been working, like when's the last, I went to the field three times this week. Like, when's the last time you hit the field? So it was kind of always this thing and I was like, why don't I just use that and, and run with it? And it's a family business now too, which is cool. And kind of how we all came up in the game. And I think the LAX lab was really, when I got to New Jersey, I realized we were doing the skills training, we're doing juke lab stuff, but the kids in New Jersey, they're, you know, not everyone has the rec experience that I had with dads that played and have the, just were instilled in them the work ethic and the, the history of the game and the determination and kind of just, I, I would say like the spark that I had. And I think that that's the, the thing we give to these guys the most is, yeah, sure we train some talented players, but like my favorite player in the world to train is a kid that like, doesn't know how good he can be and isn't otherwise getting that spark instilled in him, whether it's because he is not playing other, I played other sports. I played basketball like my basketball coach. That's the greatest athletic experience I've had to date is my middle school basketball coach. I'm actually gonna talk to. 10 year, no, not 10 years, I guess. 14, 15 year reunion. We won three championships, sixth, seventh, eighth grade, and middle school basketball. Wow. Never done that in the history of the program, even to this day. And we had a ton of great athletes on that team, guys that played D one, D two, D three in a variety of different sports, including basketball. And he was, we were 11 and 12, and it was no joke. It was, you know, we're, it was the most serious thing in the world. And I was, I was like, all right, like the, I, I'm, I'm locked in. Like this is the most serious thing for me. I was very impressionable and I had positive influences that made impressions on me. And so when I see kids, I can tell that I'm like, yo, you're just not getting that. And the lacrosse is one aspect to it, but like, I need to spark something in you. And we can use lacrosse as the avenue, but it's more just building belief and confidence in someone who is. At a crucial point in their life, like 12, 13, where they're, they're going through puberty. They're seeing social media now, which is crazy. They're, they're having all these things happen. I'm like, no, dude. Like, yo, put in work, see the results, and then like, now that's a blueprint for you. You did the work, you saw it worked. Let's keep at this, let's keep building. And then you watch it for a year and two years. And we have kids that have no business being good at lacrosse, who are now just like, good. And they're feeling themselves. I'm like, yes, that's good. Like, and that's, that's my favorite kind of kid in the world. And that's really what the LAX lab is all about is, is like we genuinely care about your kid. We know he plays club, a lot of them. Most kids play club. The club coaches don't have enough time. They, they have to worry about the tournaments through recruiting all these things. We're gonna just focus on you as a person and a player and train you and then go out to your club team and, and go perform. Like go be. You go bring that, that belief that you built working on your own, not just with us, but. Now I'm telling you, it's not just with me. You need to do it in the backyard. Go bring that to your rec program, your high school program, your club program. And we believe over time we're gonna be able to transform young men's and women's lives through that.

Jay: 10:37

How about if we transition to. J m l and let's do that.

10:43

and from what Coach Henninger just said, I would say he's absolutely 100% spot on. We've had skills trainers on the program such as Andy Towers, Rick Beardsley, Jamie Monroe, Nick Tinel and I, myself, have been a dedicated lacrosse skills trainer for over four years now. And we have all come to learn. It's a really special endeavor. Why? Well, just as Jules mentioned, it's because we're able to spend a significant amount of time with a young person on a daily basis at a pivotal point in their life. During that time together, we're able to demonstrate to them that they are better than they think they are, and that they can become far better than they ever dreamed they could be. By utilizing tested, tried, and proven techniques. It is that one-on-one or small group connection that gives a coach the opportunity to really have an impact on a player's game as well as their mindset, and that leads to better performance and far more enjoyment while playing lacrosse. On top of all that, the discipline increased self-esteem as well as their improved mindset, ripples out to enhance their approach to literally everything they're doing in life on this program. We're interested in growing the game of lacrosse for the love of the game. But also for the benefits this game can bring to the development of strong, independent, engaged young people who are ready to get to work on making the world a better place. So if this sounds like something you or your son would be interested in, check out the information on the JML program and the training programs of our guests in the show notes below. Now we will return to our interview and you will find that interview in progress. And that will help, you know, New Jersey, but we're expanding, we're in Connecticut and you know, we'll continue to, to move to different markets as well. That's great. Good stuff. And you know, looking at the other organizations you had started, you're one of the founding members of the Black Lacrosse Alliance and you know, Ron and I, and I mean everyone agrees for sure the sport can benefit from more diversity and it's just great to see you and your brother and other guys getting out there and, and building that. You know, we support it financially, but to actually be putting in the time. So tell us and the audience more about the Black Lacrosse Alliance and I, I. Looked at the webpage, it's very impressive. What are some of the things that you guys, your objectives are your goals and, and that you're working on? Yeah, so the, the Black Lacrosse Alliance started back in, in 2020. And I think it was, obviously everything was happening in the world at that time in terms of civil rights and just kind of the, I would say we were stuck in Covid and there was a lot of things going on, and I think we had to do something as players to just number one, like, hey, like we have a story, like everyone's got a story. Mm-hmm. But simply if you're, if you're a black player in lacrosse, like you probably have a story and something that happened to you and, and something that is just different than if you're someone else. Right. Like, and I think native players also share that experience too. And I'm not gonna say other minority groups don't, but like, if you're native, usually you're a growing up experience playing lacrosse. Like it's just a completely different. Experience altogether. Mm-hmm. Growing up on a reservation, maybe you're trying to, you're playing box and you're, you're playing with all your, your native teammates and you guys are gonna play different teams. And like you talk about the beef that, like how intense those matches are and what happens out there. And then if you're a black player, like oftentimes, you know, there aren't a lot of black players that, that are playing lacrosse. It's, I think it's actually, it's grown tremendously. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Which is amazing. But I think with that, like, it's really just opportunity right? At the end of the day. And I think if you talk to black players, the play, the game, the shared experience, and, and for me it's different because my black, being black, which is being black means so many different things in the world, but like, I think there's a, there's a cultural side to it. I think that there, it's your skin color. I, I think that, you know, sometimes it's people's politics. Like there's so many ways that people sort of look at that. But like, I always, I always viewed it as. My dad raised me a certain way, and the way that I approached things was like, Hey, we, he grew up in a different time during segregation, right? Mm-hmm. There was, he had to, he had to do things differently to get ahead in the world, and he wanted to make sure that I knew you want to be a black person in the world. Like you, you can't ever let anyone count, count you out, right? You have to do, you have to go above and beyond. And I think the cool thing about that too is like, it's just good lessons for you as a person. Right. I also realize as an adult, like the main separator for me is just consistency and hard work. Like, I don't do a lot of time anything special, like I'm just trying to get better on my own and, and trying to show up every day and, and be a better version of myself. But like he would say, Hey, you know, you really have to be twice as good to get half the credit I'm buying into that. I'm showing up to practice early, getting my shots up. I'm trying to be first in sprints. I'm trying to make sure that I have the grades so that anyone that looks at my progress report can't ever be like, ah, you're not gonna cut it. I'm trying to stay after practice and do more, because I never wanted anyone to say like, Jules isn't doing enough. Or, or Jules, it could, that could never be the narrative.'cause if it was my dad was gonna have my ass because he's, this is not gonna be in my household, you're, if you're a young black man, you have to do go above and beyond because some of my other black friends growing up, like they, that's not how they were being taught and disciplined. Like they and I, it shows, it showed in their work ethic, it showed in their school and it showed, it shows now in like, where am I in my life? Where are they in their lives? And I think a lot of that too is my skin color. I'm not as dark as, as some of my brothers and my dad. And so I was afforded different opportunities. Like the conversation with me as a black player was different than with some of my other black teammates. And so I could, I knew that, I could tell that that wasn't. That was a fact, first of all. And it people, I think all this is so, like, it's so crazy in the world that we're in, people talk about these things, but I think the, the most important thing is you look at people's experiences. You just talk to someone, Hey, like, what was your experience like this? My experience was, was my black teammates and my black friends had a different experience for being black than I did because I wasn't as dark as them. Hmm. So that right away is like, okay, they're having a different experience now you just ask black lacrosse players. Well, what was your experience like? Most guys are gonna say, Hey, there's something happened to me, or, or I was treated a certain way, or I was looked at, or maybe I'm not sure if the coach was really judging me differently. And that's where I think when 2020 came around, it was all of us as players were, Hey, we happen to be on the biggest like, stage in the game. Mm-hmm. Like, what can we do to share our, our message and, and also. To that point, A guy like Kyle Harrison, he, he's been sharing his experience as a black player for 20 years, and I think it was mm-hmm. That, like our generation said, Hey, like, we also have an experience, we have a message to share. And I think that's where it was born. And I think it started as like, Hey, we all wanna share this, but like, what can we do to take action? And so I think to date the most impactful thing we've done, we started the Boost Camp, which we ran for four years, and we took it off last year, but we're coming back with it this year. Which is just an opportunity for us to, to go out there as, as black players connect with the next generation. And I think really just highlight the game, like highlight players of different backgrounds and sell it to them and, and show, like, especially with the Olympics coming up, like, this is a world game. You know? Like this is national game. Basketball's an international game, soccer is an international game. There's so many people who look completely different than you. Who play a different style than you, who come from a different culture than you who wanna share in, in this game. And if you, to me, that's back to opportunity. If lacrosse is gonna get to the level we know it can get to, it's gotta be more accessible to everyone. And people have gotta be given the opportunity to fall in love with it, to develop their ies, to develop their iq. And if you do that, let let the cards fall, fall as they may. They're as gonna be players of whether you're white, you're Indian, you're, you're native American, you're Asian, you're Phil. I don't care what you are. But I always felt like my, a lot of my teammates growing up who were black, it was like, you, yo, you're playing, you're just playing that sport over there. And I'm like, what do you mean? This is a great game. I love it. Also, first of all, I'm better than you at basketball. Let's start with that. So, right. Maybe I'm doing something that you should be doing if you wanna get better. Right. I like it. I'm like, come over, come play with me. And it was always like, ah, I don't, I don't really feel comfortable and this and that. And I, I understood it. Like I understood why, because the, maybe the co, the coach wasn't in their community or thi this, that, and the third, and that if all my basketball teammates, we were playing lacrosse together, our team would've been unbelievable. Mm-hmm. Like if they were as good as me with the athleticism they had, and as high IQ I have, I would've had teammates that were way better than me at lacrosse. Yeah. So we're excited to bring the bootcamp back this year. And you know, to me, again, like I, I just think I've been afforded a lot of opportunities, whether it's because of the color of my skin, whether it's because of the, the way that my dad raised me, whether it's the, the coaches that I had when I was young, I want. Everyone to have that opportunity. And right now, the, the reality is not everyone has that opportunity and Right. You know that. So it's like a matter of giving them the exposure and then they can get a little more familiar with it and then comfortable with it seeing pros like you and, and other guys coming out and Exactly. And running the camp. Exactly. Exactly. And I, you know, I think you know, do you do the camp in New Jersey or where do, do you guys do it? We've done it in Maryland, so I think we're good work in Maryland. Again. I think it's a good hub. Obviously there, there's a ton of lacrosse in Maryland, right. Baltimore and then you have, you know, there's dog from Maryland. He's always talking about Maryland, but you know, oh, I was gonna say, thank God we go a fricking Maryland mention, as you said, one on Long Island and New Jersey. Come on. It's sort of New York New Jersey's sort of the hub. It is the hub. It is, it is the hub. I, I dunno. Thank you. Thank you Joy. Thank you. Oh, you don't have to say that. I know. Kind of like you guys have great high school across Long Island players. Those are the. To me the best lacrosse players they got. Oh, thank you. Whatcha hear it? Whatcha talking? Telling the truth, Ron. I hate to say it, but you know why it is, is that you guys have all your, your parents and aunts and uncles, everyone played, right? Everyone goes back to the of, of, oh. And then that's just what it is. So Ron, the truth comes out. Thank you Jules. I'm a New Jersey guy. Ju Jules. Jules, we were getting along. Jules. Best player in the country that we're getting along famously Jules and I. Terrible sign of your judgment. Truth, Ron. Truth he big cursed. Best player in the country. Hey, there you go. Love it. Hey also wanted, I know Jay, you mentioned. It's been really cool for us. You know, we played for Dom Staria Brown, who's been a big part of Harlem Lacrosse and you know, Mike Levin, who's another brown alum who runs that organization. And we've had Mike and some other folks involved with Harlem Lacrosse on the podcast. And it's just so cool to see that kind of community that's creating this pipeline. And now that those kids have people like you and and the alliance to look up to, you know, your peers, like absolutely. There, there, you know, as you said, we got a long way to go, but there were very few models and you know, now there are more and more role models like you and your peers and you see more and more players, whether who are just playing on their teams or the work that I. The work that Mike and the Harlem Lacrosse had doing. And it's, it's an exciting stage for the game. And you do hope, again, not to put it all on the Olympics, but that kind of exposure. Yeah.'cause it's such a fricking, I mean, you talk about basketball, it's got that same sense of flow and energy and excitement, you know? So anyway, it's it's really cool to see what you're doing and you know, we can't, you got one more organization. I mean, we, we just keep going. Right? I was really gotta get to this last organization. That's very cool too. I was really, it was really cool to see the mission prime philosophy and, and Jules, I, I, I obviously was looking at the website, not having heard you talk about your dad and the way you were raised and the values and like hearing you talk about it. And what I read on the website, it seems like there's a pretty. Clear connection there, right? That you just think that there's an approach, there's a way of going about things that forget about your footwork, forget about your step down. You know, if you are fundamentally approaching life and lacrosse in these ways that you're, you're gonna find success however you want to define that. So, so tell us. I mean, it's one thing to say those words, it's a whole other thing to take that into an organization. So, so talk to us about Mission Prime and that kind of unique approach to lacrosse in life. I think you, you hit the nail on the head there, Ron. I felt like I don't try and butter me up after that Long Island comment, Jules. All right. Look, dog, transition dog. Don't be insulted by the truth. I think when I was at Rutgers again, like I realized that all right, there's talent, right? But the, the guy Iggy do you guys know that guy Iggy? He is kind of, he, he lost his, his arm a little bit or something happened to him and he, like, does motivational speaker played like football? I literally saw him on my, on my TikTok like yesterday and he was talking about what do you do when there's two players who have the exact same talent going up against each other? We're all at the exact same talent. What's gonna win the game? Mm-hmm. It's gonna come down to character. How hard, how bad do you want it being relentless, right? Are you conditioned? Can you last at the four quarters better than anyone else? He was talking about these things and, and I think that, that when I got to Rutgers, that's what I realized. I was like, there's a lot of guys that are talented. I have guys that are more talent, literally more talented than me on this Rutgers team. But like, I know something that you don't know, which is like, I'm just gonna be more consistent than you. And I, or I'm gonna work harder than you, or I'm just gonna care more than you. I don't know if it's'cause you, maybe you just don't want it as much, which is totally fine. But we're both on the team. You have talent, I have talent, but I'm gonna figure out a way to maximize my talent. And I just always feel like that's something that I took a lot of pride in, starting with my time at Rutgers. And as did a lot of my teammates and I felt like a lot of kids go to college, specifically lacrosse players, and it's, they get there in their freshman year and it's like, oh, I'm not playing. And oh, it's, it's done. You know? I'm like, dude, you're 10 times the lacrosse player that I was, and you're telling me that you can't figure out a way to get on the field or figure out a way to maximize who you are. You just, you don't have the right approach. That's it. And you either, you're buying, we know how our college coaches are, it's division one lacrosse. These guys are. These guys are getting paid a lot of money and their families are riding on this and like, so it's gonna be tough. It, you're, you signed up for a, a big boy sport, so you're not gonna get your handheld all the time and you're not, you're gonna have to figure out on your own, what am I gonna do to, to separate myself and, and be who I want to be in the game? Don't let anyone else define your journey. And that's something that I had to come to on my own when I was at Rutgers, which I struggled with a little in my freshman year, but I came back my sophomore year. I'm like, I'm not gonna let you know. What, what does Coach Breck say on Monday versus what he says on Thursday? I don't care. He, he could tell me on the best thing. And since sliced bread on Monday and on Thursday, he's motherfucking me being like, oh, you're not doing this, I'm doing that. I'm not gonna let this dictate me. I'm not gonna let you know one bad practice dictate. I'm not, I'm not gonna let anything dictate. I gotta, I gotta be process focused. And it's a journey. And that's a big thing two people miss, is it is the journey and it goes by fast. Mm-hmm. But that's the fun in all of it. Like the journey, like what you're doing on the journey. And how you're expecting that. And so when I graduated, I was like, how can I make an impact and connect with some of the best players in the country and share that with them? Because I, I know a lot of these kids are gonna go to school and, you know, there might be better players in them that are older than them, and there might be more recruits coming in behind them. But like, whatever you want to do as a player, like set that for you. Right? And, and, and go after that and don't let anyone else define that for you. And that's where Mission Prime K kind of came about. And it's evolved from just an event that we would run with seniors going into college to mentorship off the field. And now working with our younger players too, where, you know, again, like a lot of the, their experience is they play rec, they play club and they don't have, you know, anyone else talking about these things. Like their, some of their parents are talking about it, but I. My dad played college basketball at a high level and you know, he had experiences where he knew what it would take. So he surrounded me with people and put me in spots. I was doing crazy, crazy things. At a young age, we would go to my cousin's house who played in the NFL. His name's Brian Holloway and was called Camp Holloway. And his sons were division one football players. These guys were monsters. And I'm this little sixth grader. I haven't gone through puberty yet, and we're going up there and they're benching 300 pounds, squatting it, doing that. And he's waking us up at four o'clock in the morning and being like, Hey hey, we're run. We're going, we're going for a run. Hey, five o'clock in the morning, you're gonna jump rope. Hey, six o'clock we're doing this. And I'm like, 11. And you know, I think some of these kids, they don't get these things, they don't get these experiences. They don't, they don't have anyone talking about this.'cause their dad is a doctor and it's like their dad. Maybe they're athletic and maybe the kid's athletic too, but they're, I'm like, yo guys. I don't even want to hear about this, that, and the third, you guys aren't doing half the things that I was doing when I was your age, and I'm more talented than you. So we gotta have a conversation around what are your, what do you want out of this? And no one's really having that conversation. And then no one's giving them like, tools to like navigate it after. So it's like a, it's a two part thing. It's like, let's get serious about the conversation off the field. You know, let's not talk about your shooting. You're dodging, let's talk about what do you want outta this game. Whether in terms of your, your life and what do you want out of it from, you know, on field? What do you wanna be, do you wanna go to college one day? Do you wanna just play varsity lacrosse? And then what's your approach gonna be? And that, that's kind of what Mission Prime is, is evolved into. And yeah, I'm excited for that. And it's, it's not a huge part of what we, it's not a huge part of what we do. It's kind of the philosophy of Laxs Lab and it's our event. Mm-hmm. And then it's small things, but it, it's slowly developing more and more to, people want that and I know they need it, so I'm excited for it. Yeah. That's cool. So it's developing more into the mentorship because I did see you'd have like an event. Yep. And then, you know, maybe they got some tools at the event, but now you're saying there's a little more mentorship'cause there's, there's a little more desire for that out there in the public. Yeah. That, that's growing. I think, I think more and more like you see it across the country. I think Covid kind of was a big factor in that a lot of these mm-hmm. Just, they're just wired differently mentally. And whether that that was stunted growth, whether that's just the next generation, I think there has to be just a conversation like that, that minimum, there's gotta be a conversation about where are you at mentally, what are you doing? How are you, how are you doing with that? That was not a thing for, I mean, it's definitely not a thing for you. Right. Right. It wasn't really a thing for me growing up. Started to become a thing when I got to college, and now I think that that is, you know, that pendulum's really swing. Yeah. Ju nobody, no coach ever really gave a shit about how we were feeling. Jay, our feelings. Not much about the feelings Got I got. I never got asked about my feelings very much. That's a player. No, but they should. They should. That's great. Big part of it. It's good. You know, like if you don't, I mean, you know. Yeah. You see, today you talk about what it takes to be successful, the mental preparation and things. They talk about LeBron and mindfulness, you know, just Yeah. The, the things that we would never talk about, but, you know, the, the mental preparation that has nothing to do with the athletic piece and the tools that you can give kids and, and those tools translate into so many different aspects of your life. You know, what's ironic about that is, is Michael Jordan, I think is like one of the antithesis athletes of mindfulness and. Just being more locked in mentally than anyone else. Yeah. And he talks in the last dance. And there's a, you know, a famous video of him saying, the reporter asking him like, what do you think about the shot? Like, what do you think about before you take the shot? And he is like, I'm not thinking about the shot. I'm just in the moment and I practice this and I take the shot. I don't think about if it's going in or if it's not going in. And if I miss the shot, how fast can I forget about missing that shot? Yeah. And right like that is, I mean, that's a, that's God. I think some of that's God given from Michael Jordan.'cause he's, he's literally the goat and the person that's doing it the highest level. But Tom Brady's another one. Like just their initial preparation and, and how well they can manage. They, they're just resilient mentally, right? They can manage and that can be learned.'cause I did hear Tom Brady saying how, you know, I sat down with a therapist and I was telling him all the, the problems, you know, it was all this stuff outside me. And that therapist helped to, you know, show him that, no, it's all coming from you. You're blaming everybody. Mm-hmm. And he turned his whole mindset around and, and he's like, that's, that's been my approach ever since. So it's pretty cool. That's great. Well, Jules, this has just been an amazing talk and as usual dog made it go longer than we, we asked for, but we really appreciate your patience. No, it seems like you enjoyed every minute of it, despite Jay's bumbling and stumbling around over his dreaded script, Jules, I tried to keep things real. No, that's, that's okay. I appreciate you guys. I love, like I said, I love talking about lacrosse and you know, anything, like I said, if, if it helps anyone out there, my journey and. And talking about it. That, that's great. So, well, Jay, I, I wanna go back to a moment earlier in the interview that I let go where he go. He, he was talking about a, a coach. He's like, you know, I think he was like an 80 to nineties guy, you know, I think he played back then. Like, that was ancient times. Check. That's us. I was like, oh, that's, that's when we played J Oh, geez. Yeah. But I will say that I think Jules is way more mature than us. Oh, now. Much less than we were when we were 28, 29, 30 years old. 21 going on 50. That's what I, yeah, I've always That's awesome. That's great. Jules. You know what the game is in awesome hands, man. It's really, really fun to see someone who cares as much about all the different dimensions. First of all, just what it is to be a good person. But the way from, from the way you think about skills development to the way you think about the growth and diversity of the game. To the way you're just thinking about helping young people develop the kind of mindsets that are gonna help'em be the best they can be. I mean, you you got it going on, man. Great. That's great. That's awesome. I appreciate that. That means a lot coming from you guys and I, I'm thankful that you, you know, you reached out and, and wanted me to have you on your podcast, so thank you guys so much. Hey, awesome. Well, thanks a million and we'll sign off here Until we meet again. Here's to hoping you find the twine. We're signing off here at the get the lax scoop. Thanks again so much. We will see you the next time.