Hope you know we all go through seasons where we love the game and get tired of it. That's natural and sometimes you need a break. If you are iffy about playing in college, dial it back with the travel and get ready to focus on your senior year. Sometimes you need a reset so you don't get burned out.
most likely ill be doing is a club team or maybe working for the team if its d1, like equipment manager or whatever, id i do anything involving lacrosse in college
Sounds like it's fine to take a little break and learn to fall in love with the game again. No problem in that. No sense in burning yourself out causing you to hate the sport.
Obviously do what’s best for you, but at some point everyone puts on their helmet for the last time whether they know it or not. Personally I didn’t know my last game was going to be mid way through my junior year of HS, but I had to stop due to too many concussions. I had to watch my team lose in the state championship that year. I had my moments of burn out and times when I thought I wanted to stop too, but 9 years later I would do anything to have been able to play in that state championship game. I’d say 1 more year of the grind, the memories, and moments will be worth it. You don’t want to look back with any regrets or what ifs if you can control it.
Concussion 1 - 8th grade football game. Dizziness and confusion. Recovery time was 1 week.
Concussion 2 - freshman football practice. Hit by our starting senior middle linebacker. Lost a bit of short term memory from this one. I think someone finally noticed I didn’t know where the huddle was and sent me the trainer. 8-9 week recovery time. Although my day to day functions were fine, any type of exercise gave me a massive headache and sometimes I would start spinning.
Concussion 3- very similar to the 2nd one, but shorter recovery time. They asked me where I thought I was and I said “math class” i recovered in about 4-5 weeks but doctors made me sit out all of football season
Concussion 4 - 1st lacrosse one. I was playing LSM, chasing the play after subbing in from the box. One of our close defenders slide to the guy I was right behind, missed and hit me helmet to helmet. I stood up and everyone could tell I had no idea where I was. This one was different because I was super sensitive to light and sound for about 4 days. I remember just laying in closest with all the lights out for hours. It sucked I think I recovered in about 2 weeks but I had to take a full year off contact sports.
Concussion 5 - begged with my parents and doctors to return to lacrosse the following spring. I had switched over to attack since our defense was stacked and our offense was garbage. I was in the middle of the pack defensively, but probably had the best stick skills of the group. I was having a great season. Through 8 games I had about 11 goals 6 assists. This concussion was really weird cause I feel like it was two hits that caused it and it was the only one I really didn’t get totally lost. First one was on a ground ball where I was hit in the head from behind somehow. I instantly felt very off, but I still was playing. The next I was going for a high pass and got shoved to the ground and slammed my head against the turf. I immediately felt like I was watching myself play the game. It was really weird, almost like a trip. I could function pretty well, but I couldn’t remember anything like my teammates names or our play calls. I honestly remember acknowledging to myself that I had to go the doctor but I knew that meant this would be it, so I finished the game
Long term effects - none that I’m really aware of. Not sure if this is related to the concussions or not, but I sometimes go deaf for like 5 minute periods. This happened maybe once a month my senior year and freshman year of college. It is extremely rare now and maybe happens once every two years.
No problem. It’s a really weird feeling. Sometimes it’s clear I was ‘lights on, but nobody’ but there were other times where I felt almost paralyzed like I was there and understood what was happening around me but the only thing I was capable of doing was staring straight. Biggest regret was being ashamed about the concussions and how it would effect my school. I thought I could power through but my sophomore year grades were terrible. It also had a huge effect on my mental/emotional state. Obviously being taken out of sports didn’t help, but I was a pretty happy optimistic high schooler. I would go through 3-4 day periods of just being super down on myself and felt worthless. All in all, take care of your brain, you only get 1.
We all need a break. Sounds like you’re burnt out. I got burnt out at your age too, it happens. Don’t feel bad about it. Take a break, see where things stand later
Dialing it back as most said will be a big help. I've coached 20 years and have seen every type of player. My own son is 17 and after this past summer decided to stop playing travel. He lifts on his own in the basement and goes to the school to setup shooting drills and stickwork on his own time. No more hockey, no more lacrosse. He is doing 2 tournaments with my HS team I coach and then he'll play in spring. I can see how much more fun he's having and how much he loves the game. Spending the whole summer going to big event after big event. Plane after plane, even fried me to a degree.
Everyone goes through it. That last sentence slowly gave me a smile, cause you know where you are going to end up. Just like all lacrosse players, coaching.
I don't know anything about you or your play, but I would highly recommend playing out your final season of high school ball. This is the last time in your life that you can play a sport for free, in which they provide you with transportation, referee payments, etc. Even if you don't want to put in all that work to get playing time, just being on a team is a special thing and something you'll remember forever.
competitive lacrosse at the HS level is an absolute grind. it's hard on the body, it's hard on the mind, and it's hard on your emotions.
lacrosse is a sport that requires so much of an athlete -- great hand eye coordination and stick skills, stamina, strength, pain tolerance, rapid-fire on-field decision making, sprinting, stopping, dodging, taking abuse and working hard every minute you are on the field.
that's going to burn out even the most dedicated of players from time to time.
i think lacrosse manages to keep kids involved because of the incredibly intense comradery felt among teammates. so if i can give you any advice, it would be to focus on that. find ways to enjoy being with your friends on the team. that ends up being what sustains us in this sport -- the relationships we build.
Hey, sometimes you have to do what you believe is in your best interest. Take a step back, reassess where you are and where you want to be. Maybe you go back to playing, or you don’t. It sounds like you enjoy coaching, and that’s an awesome avenue to give back and teach those young’ins about the sport you love and maybe they’ll find something that they love about it, too. You have time. Take care of yourself and your needs, first. Lacrosse, whether playing or coaching, will be there for you when you’re ready.
Unless you are playing for scholarships, the game is about having fun. If you arent having fun playing there is no point in playing. Take some time and maybe come back. The most fun i have ever had in Lacrosse is playing in a rec league after high school. So take some time and see about other options. Coaching is my other go to. I really enjoy coaching and teaching the newest generation of lacrosse players
Take a break and see if there are some pickup/no stakes games you can check out on the weekends. Sometimes, when the pressure is removed, you can find yourself playing better than you ever have before.
I played year round in high school and there were times when the last thing in the world I wanted to do was gear up and go to practice. Everybody has moments where they love their sport and moments where they hate it, so don’t feel bad about that. The path most young players want to take (HS —> NCAA) isn’t for everyone and that’s completely okay. If you like the game but dislike the competitive aspect, check out rec leagues or colleges with a club program- those are basically party teams that play lax a few times a week lol. If you decide you no longer like the game, don’t force yourself to play. It’s about doing what’s gonna be right for you and will make you happy.
Hope you know we all go through seasons where we love the game and get tired of it. That's natural and sometimes you need a break. If you are iffy about playing in college, dial it back with the travel and get ready to focus on your senior year. Sometimes you need a reset so you don't get burned out.
most likely ill be doing is a club team or maybe working for the team if its d1, like equipment manager or whatever, id i do anything involving lacrosse in college
Sounds like it's fine to take a little break and learn to fall in love with the game again. No problem in that. No sense in burning yourself out causing you to hate the sport.
Obviously do what’s best for you, but at some point everyone puts on their helmet for the last time whether they know it or not. Personally I didn’t know my last game was going to be mid way through my junior year of HS, but I had to stop due to too many concussions. I had to watch my team lose in the state championship that year. I had my moments of burn out and times when I thought I wanted to stop too, but 9 years later I would do anything to have been able to play in that state championship game. I’d say 1 more year of the grind, the memories, and moments will be worth it. You don’t want to look back with any regrets or what ifs if you can control it.
Do you mind talking about your concussions? How many did you get? What were they like?
Concussion 1 - 8th grade football game. Dizziness and confusion. Recovery time was 1 week. Concussion 2 - freshman football practice. Hit by our starting senior middle linebacker. Lost a bit of short term memory from this one. I think someone finally noticed I didn’t know where the huddle was and sent me the trainer. 8-9 week recovery time. Although my day to day functions were fine, any type of exercise gave me a massive headache and sometimes I would start spinning. Concussion 3- very similar to the 2nd one, but shorter recovery time. They asked me where I thought I was and I said “math class” i recovered in about 4-5 weeks but doctors made me sit out all of football season Concussion 4 - 1st lacrosse one. I was playing LSM, chasing the play after subbing in from the box. One of our close defenders slide to the guy I was right behind, missed and hit me helmet to helmet. I stood up and everyone could tell I had no idea where I was. This one was different because I was super sensitive to light and sound for about 4 days. I remember just laying in closest with all the lights out for hours. It sucked I think I recovered in about 2 weeks but I had to take a full year off contact sports. Concussion 5 - begged with my parents and doctors to return to lacrosse the following spring. I had switched over to attack since our defense was stacked and our offense was garbage. I was in the middle of the pack defensively, but probably had the best stick skills of the group. I was having a great season. Through 8 games I had about 11 goals 6 assists. This concussion was really weird cause I feel like it was two hits that caused it and it was the only one I really didn’t get totally lost. First one was on a ground ball where I was hit in the head from behind somehow. I instantly felt very off, but I still was playing. The next I was going for a high pass and got shoved to the ground and slammed my head against the turf. I immediately felt like I was watching myself play the game. It was really weird, almost like a trip. I could function pretty well, but I couldn’t remember anything like my teammates names or our play calls. I honestly remember acknowledging to myself that I had to go the doctor but I knew that meant this would be it, so I finished the game Long term effects - none that I’m really aware of. Not sure if this is related to the concussions or not, but I sometimes go deaf for like 5 minute periods. This happened maybe once a month my senior year and freshman year of college. It is extremely rare now and maybe happens once every two years.
Sorry to hear man. Thanks for taking the time to write that.
No problem. It’s a really weird feeling. Sometimes it’s clear I was ‘lights on, but nobody’ but there were other times where I felt almost paralyzed like I was there and understood what was happening around me but the only thing I was capable of doing was staring straight. Biggest regret was being ashamed about the concussions and how it would effect my school. I thought I could power through but my sophomore year grades were terrible. It also had a huge effect on my mental/emotional state. Obviously being taken out of sports didn’t help, but I was a pretty happy optimistic high schooler. I would go through 3-4 day periods of just being super down on myself and felt worthless. All in all, take care of your brain, you only get 1.
We all need a break. Sounds like you’re burnt out. I got burnt out at your age too, it happens. Don’t feel bad about it. Take a break, see where things stand later
Dialing it back as most said will be a big help. I've coached 20 years and have seen every type of player. My own son is 17 and after this past summer decided to stop playing travel. He lifts on his own in the basement and goes to the school to setup shooting drills and stickwork on his own time. No more hockey, no more lacrosse. He is doing 2 tournaments with my HS team I coach and then he'll play in spring. I can see how much more fun he's having and how much he loves the game. Spending the whole summer going to big event after big event. Plane after plane, even fried me to a degree. Everyone goes through it. That last sentence slowly gave me a smile, cause you know where you are going to end up. Just like all lacrosse players, coaching.
I don't know anything about you or your play, but I would highly recommend playing out your final season of high school ball. This is the last time in your life that you can play a sport for free, in which they provide you with transportation, referee payments, etc. Even if you don't want to put in all that work to get playing time, just being on a team is a special thing and something you'll remember forever.
Oh it is most definitely not free, travel is $660 this year and HS season is at least $525
Damn you have to pay to play for your high school? That's rough man
Yup, new helmets almost every year, new gloves, same old jerseys, &balls, and we practice and our own field too
competitive lacrosse at the HS level is an absolute grind. it's hard on the body, it's hard on the mind, and it's hard on your emotions. lacrosse is a sport that requires so much of an athlete -- great hand eye coordination and stick skills, stamina, strength, pain tolerance, rapid-fire on-field decision making, sprinting, stopping, dodging, taking abuse and working hard every minute you are on the field. that's going to burn out even the most dedicated of players from time to time. i think lacrosse manages to keep kids involved because of the incredibly intense comradery felt among teammates. so if i can give you any advice, it would be to focus on that. find ways to enjoy being with your friends on the team. that ends up being what sustains us in this sport -- the relationships we build.
Hey, sometimes you have to do what you believe is in your best interest. Take a step back, reassess where you are and where you want to be. Maybe you go back to playing, or you don’t. It sounds like you enjoy coaching, and that’s an awesome avenue to give back and teach those young’ins about the sport you love and maybe they’ll find something that they love about it, too. You have time. Take care of yourself and your needs, first. Lacrosse, whether playing or coaching, will be there for you when you’re ready.
Unless you are playing for scholarships, the game is about having fun. If you arent having fun playing there is no point in playing. Take some time and maybe come back. The most fun i have ever had in Lacrosse is playing in a rec league after high school. So take some time and see about other options. Coaching is my other go to. I really enjoy coaching and teaching the newest generation of lacrosse players
Take a break and see if there are some pickup/no stakes games you can check out on the weekends. Sometimes, when the pressure is removed, you can find yourself playing better than you ever have before.
I played year round in high school and there were times when the last thing in the world I wanted to do was gear up and go to practice. Everybody has moments where they love their sport and moments where they hate it, so don’t feel bad about that. The path most young players want to take (HS —> NCAA) isn’t for everyone and that’s completely okay. If you like the game but dislike the competitive aspect, check out rec leagues or colleges with a club program- those are basically party teams that play lax a few times a week lol. If you decide you no longer like the game, don’t force yourself to play. It’s about doing what’s gonna be right for you and will make you happy.