What is your why??

If you have ever sat in a creative writing environment, you may have heard the phrase ‘character motivation’ thrown around as being imperative to developing an engaging story. 

But what does that mean? In a writing sense, it gives your character a purpose, a direction, a reason for being involved in the story, something for your audience to empathize with. In life, it's the events of your past that have shaped your current worldview. It’s different for everyone. In sports, having the ability and curiosity to reflect on your why is critical. Why do you play? Why do you train? Why do you dedicate your free time to improving?

For me, my ‘why’ started forming at a very young age. It started in the front yard of a Bakersfield, CA home tossing a football with my dad. I can still picture a youth size football grazing off my fingertips to the chime of my dad behind me, “if you can touch it, you can catch it!” Whatever sport I played from then on out that phrase rang in my head. Ground ball? If I’m within 5 yds, It’s mine. Faceoff? It’s a 50/50 battle, I don’t lose 50/50 battles. Why? Because, if I can touch it, I can catch it.

Why do I train? Simple. In times of stress ‘you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training.’ Success is the intersection of opportunity and preparation. When I was cutting trees, I didn’t learn to lift an 8,000lbs tree off a house in 90mph winds safely the day of a storm. Likewise, you aren’t going to ping the top corner btb for a game winner if you haven’t put the time in practicing that look. 

Why dedicate the time to lacrosse in your free time? Lacrosse isn’t just a sport, its culturally significant. For the Haudenosaunee, lacrosse connects those living on earth, and those who have moved onto the sky. When you play, you not only honor your ancestors, the Haudenosaunee believe that playing the Medicine Game can provide spiritual and physical healing. We play because this sport is bigger than just us and a handful of reps here or there. We play because we dedicate ourselves to mastering this craft so we may honor those who came before us.