Global Players- Coaching and Leadership Program

The one piece of advice I’d give future students traveling with Global Players, is to be open and outgoing. While traveling abroad, you’re going to run into people and opportunities that will require you to step out of your comfort zone. Growing up I was a shy kid and it usually took me a while to become outgoing to people I wasn’t comfortable with. The lacrosse clubs and hosts are going to ask a million questions about going to college and playing sports in the states, open up and share you’re experiences, they are going to do the same.

The people you meet overseas have an opportunity to become great friends. I still talk to some of the players I interacted with to this day and have had them come visit me, here in the states. By being open and outgoing, you are going to make some of the greatest memories that will last you the rest of your life.

Traveling abroad has been one of the biggest influences on my life. In every interview I’ve been on, it is always a huge conversation starter. Being a part of the Global Players not only allowed me to see Europe, but it allowed me to share my knowledge of lacrosse to people that truly love the game and want to learn everything about it.

Running clinics in Graz, Vienna, and Munich strengthened my teaching skills which I still use today. Whether it is running group lacrosse lessons on the weekend, or training the interns at work, the things I learned with the Global Players will always stay with me.

One of my favorite stories (because there are many) is the story of Meaghan Ross, our FIRST ever student-athlete to apply for a Global Players program. Meag had not even eaten ketchup, much less left the US, before going abroad with GP. She said she used to have Oreos for breakfast!

But she was FEARLESS in trying everything out of her comfort zone while she was abroad - from food to flying (i.e. bungee jumping in Innsbruk). Since studying abroad in Prague in 2009 Maeg has lived in Holland as an au pair, traveled to Cambodia and SE Asia as a photographer, come back to do her Masters (in Dutch), and is now traveling the world with her Dutch wife and documenting their journey through the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and more.

RIO! I am so excited to go to Brazil on our Rio program - for the food, the people, the culture, the dancing! I dance salsa, bachata, kizomba, and Brazilian Zouk in Amsterdam, so to dance with Brazilians will be another level. I don't think I will come back!

Global Players is unique because all participants self identify as either varsity or intramural/club student-ATHLETES. There is a beauty to seeing people transcend language and cultural barriers through the vehicle of sport.

There is something humbling about being a DI field hockey player getting crushed by 14-year-old Dutch boys but LEARNING every step of the way - technically, athletically, personally, and culturally. The same happens across the globe. Or maybe you are the one crushing it in your sport but then you are also TEACHING and growing the game.

I am especially proud of our team every time they encourage our participants to challenge the status quo. For example, one summer we were having a small-sided women's lacrosse training on a tennis court in the middle of a park in Vienna, Austria.

On the court next to us was a game of pick-up soccer with all guys from Morocco, Turkey, and Pakistan. We took the female athletes over and asked if we could join. The girls brought their A game. They were unfazed by playing with and against the men; they played hard, smart, fast, and fierce. The guys were surprised and impressed, but more importantly, Moroccan, Turkish, and Pakistani girls and women from all over the park came to watch the competition.

It was inspiring to know how many people would be subtly effected by this afternoon. This is the true essence of Global Players, which always makes me proud.

A focus on MAKING MEANING first, not money.