Go All In: A Call of the Human Drama

You become who you are through your actions. Not merely through your intentions, your talents, or your dreams, but literally through the concrete decisions you make each day and in your community.

So what is the ideal, and how can we begin reflecting this through our actions? 

“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself… unless he encounters love, unless he makes it his own, unless he participates intimately in it.”

LOVE. I think our best lesson with this comes by truly making an unconditional commitment. 

The value of players seeing first hand that feelings can come and go, the good and bad days certainly do, BUT, your love means YOU never do. You remain committed until the end. For us at the Academy this where we believe the true magic resides.

Seeing players show up before the sun rises, choosing effort over ease, sacrifice over applause, consistency over comfort. After a bad day at school, before a big test... facing fear, uncertainty, excitement, name an emotion... AND staying committed. In the final analysis it will be seen as the gift greater than anything lacrosse could give. Knowing LOVE.

One of my favorite teachers shares that you realize who you are through a sincere gift of self. When a player goes "ALL IN," it’s not just a motivational slogan, but it’s a deeply transformational act. It is the intentional movement of the will toward pursuing the good, which is how freedom is fulfilled.  

This is what separates the great from the casual. Not talent. Not hype. But sacrifice, responsibility, and love, which is all expressed in the arena of action.

“Don’t expect your desires for greatness to be enough, prove them by your deeds.” 

— St. Josemaría Escrivá

Additionally, and this is not to overburden the conscious, your actions ripple beyond you. Man does not act in isolation. Every sacrifice echoes in the moral structure of the world. When one player chooses the harder path, she opens the way for others. When one team breaks through, a new culture becomes possible. The standard has risen for every generation that can keep it. 

This is what we mean when we tell players, "Those who can, must." 

Some people are able to elevate the standard in a way that ripples across time, and choosing JV soccer, Cross Country, or even Field Hockey over being a leader, being the best… Has huge opportunity costs that affect more than just one individual. 

What else in your life right now is demanding your full self? What else forms your habits, invites you into brotherhood or sisterhood, teaches you to suffer well, and gives you the thrill of measurable growth? 

Lacrosse is a vehicle, but human formation is obviously the mission. It is to help players encounter what John Paul II called the drama of freedom: the task to become someone excellent through love, work, and responsibility, and yes, for the youth we would consider lacrosse work. 

This is not about winning a game or breaking a couple records. It’s about becoming a person who can say: “I gave everything. I did not waste the one life I was given.”

This summer, we attempted to begin something that is rare. A culture not of entitlement, but of excellence. And starting August 14th we will kick off the school year with a group who chose to make a sacrifice. A sacrifice to be a part of a community of professionals in a world of hobbyists.

This will be a group of players who wake up with purpose and go to sleep with the peace of having chosen the harder road. Regardless of outcome, at least they will know they went ALL IN. 

All it takes is one.

One player. One team. One summer of full commitment. And suddenly, younger players start to believe, “this is what we do here.” Culture is not changed by theory. It's changed by imitation…. by action. 

So again we say:

Go all in.

Because in doing so, you won’t just play great lacrosse.

You’ll become who YOU were made to be.

Persevere,

Henry Schertzinger 

“God provides the wind, but man must raise the sail.” - St. Augustine

*The Academy is a strong gust, but 5 months of the year will not take you to where you want to go.

*There is someone out there who wants exactly what you want and is willing to give up what you won't.

*The best way to get good at a thing is to do the thing.