2.16.25

I want to share a letter I wrote to the Marquette Lacrosse offense (The Birds), right before our month-long winter break, in my final season coaching. The letter was sent to the players, but I think I wrote it for me. I re-read the letter last week as a reminder because I think it applies to life as much as it does to sport, and I figured I’d share in My Turnpike Notebook:

Birds,

We are about to embark on a new journey together in 2024. When we come back in January, we come back to a blank canvas with an opportunity to write a story never been written before. However, this story has a preface. The preface is titled, You Will Reap What You Sow. 

What will be the difference for us this season? Why will we win? 

Character.

Character will be the cornerstone, but character is never set in stone. Character is dynamic and ever changing. Every day we sow our character. Every day we either become men of greater character or men of lesser character. What we do when no one is watching is how we sow our character. Come springtime, we will reap what we sow. The lights will come on, the whistle will blow, and the character we build over the next month will play a major role in what happens next. Both practices and games bring challenges, and challenges will reveal our character.

Character doesn’t guarantee a result. There are many variables which are out of our control, and success is never promised. What we control is our character. We control our effort, we control the way we encourage and support one another, we control our response to a bad bounce or a tough call, we control the construction of our home, and we control the way we protect that home through storms. 

Talent is a gift; character is a choice. Every player in the country is given the same amount of time. What we do with our time and the choices we make will make all the difference. The next month will bring cold days, it will bring distractions from those walking a different walk than us, it will bring quiet weight rooms, it will bring empty turf fields, and it will bring opportunities for excuses. Our chosen strain and struggle in the shadows will build our character.

Character is derived from the Greek word charaktíras, which means “to stamp or engrave”. Every time we make the hard choice or do what is right when we don’t feel like it, we stamp and engrave our heart with habits of discipline, responding, toughness, sacrifice, ect. And those habits become our character.

Individuals with high character become a team of great culture.

Write your story. Engrave into your heart what you want your character to be this Spring. We will reap what we sow.

I Believe!

Coach Lori