It's just thirty minutes...
Lacrosse start and president of the Premier Lacrosse League Paul Rabil shared a story about how a coach’s words at a summer camp changed his approach to work - and helped him build his storied athletic career.
As shared in his book, Rabil attended a summer lacrosse camp at Loyola college led by legendary coach Tony Seaman.
The coach asked the campers after one of the practices, “Who here wants to play college lacrosse?
“Who here wants to get a scholarship to the Division I school of your choice?” Every kid’s hand shot in the air. He then shares with them how they can do it.
“You have to do one thing - but you have to do that one thing every single day. Shoot 100 shots. If you do at game speed, it will take you about 30-minutes. Not that much of a commitment, huh?”
The campers are all nodding in unison in agreement, 30-minutes isn’t that much of a commitment. It’s doable.
“Here’s a caveat: You can’t miss a day. If you miss a day, the bet’s off. This bet is the form of a guarantee. If you shoot from this day forward - if you're in sixth grade, seventh grade eighth grade through the end of your high school career, I guarantee you’ll get that scholarship.”
“Keep in mind - holidays, vacations, snowstorms, terrible weather, gameday, day after a game - every day means every day.”
Rabil said this big dream (to be a fully scholarship D-I athlete) felt attainable because he could commit to 30-minutes every day.
So he did, taking this daily habit throughout high school, college, and after college during his professional career.
Anyone can practice a skill once for thirty-minutes.
Much fewer will practice a skill weekly for thirty-minutes, but doing it every day, no matter the weather, how you felt when you woke up, or where you are in the world?
That’s a choice that separates the greats from the forgotten.