“I’ll do anything to make the team this year Dad…”

Last season Micheal had been cut from the nearby elite club team. 

He was a good player and loved lacrosse – but it was more about having fun with his buddies than it was competing or becoming the best. 

His dad had seen moments when he’d dominate a game – but admittedly knew he wasn’t ready to make the jump to an elite club or travel team. He had lots of potential, but lacrosse wasn’t a priority, it was just a fun summer activity. 

But this past off-season it was as if a flip had switched. 

It started with more wallball against the house. Then creating drills in the backyard with a rebounder. Then hopping the fence at the local field so he could shoot on nets. 

Suddenly he wasn’t just interested in lacrosse but passionate about being the best player he could be. 

He started going on runs and doing speed drills and workouts that he found on the internet – he wanted to make the club team next year. 

At tryouts his dad saw it all come together. He was miles ahead of where he was last season. With the work he put it in – he had earned a spot on the team. 

“Mikey, you looked great out there buddy.. But we just don’t have a spot for you this year. We’ll keep you in mind if we need an extra player for a travel tournament or something.. But keep up the work for next season!

It was the conversation that all parents and athletes dread – he got cut. 

He had never really wanted it before – so this one cut him deep. The wallball stopped. The backyard drills had ended. He seemed crushed. 

Then conversation came. 

“Dad, I wanna know exactly what I have to do to make the team next year. I need a plan that I can follow exactly 100%. If I make it next summer I know I’ll be able to be a starter for JV when I go to high school in the fall.”

He had the ambition, he just needed the guidance to make it count.

So his Dad reached out to the elite club Coach who broke down his game. Told him a handful of areas he needed to improve to really break out as a player and encouraged him to reach out to Coach Kyle at Relentless. 

“I know it might seem young for “strength & conditioning” If you get him training properly at this age it’ll be like pouring rocket fuel on his development. Developing true lacrosse strength and explosiveness would be a gamechanger for him.”

He was right. 

So we met with Micheal & his dad to talk about training and what he had been doing. 

He heard other kids had personal trainers multiple times a week, but the truth was – Micheal  didn’t need this. 

He didn’t need a trainer to push him harder, he had the motivation to put in the work.‍

He needed a game plan to make sure his work counted.

So that’s what we did.

 We created a 12 week plan that he could follow that would develop not only the foundational strength and power he needed to thrive as an athlete, but also develop the exact attributes that translate most to the field. 

• We focused on movement quality and exercises that would help him increase movement fluency and become an elite mover. 
• We emphasized developing foundational strength that would let him play stronger, get strong on the ball, and also build power on for years to come.  
• We challenged speed & athleticism with speed drills that would help him refine his movement mechanics and unlock faster feet – along with plyo exercises to help him generate more explosiveness
• We used functional mobility exercises that would help them to stay healthy, address the imbalances that lacrosse players have, and start to build a bulletproof body.
• We utilized conditioning that specifically challenged the energy systems that lacrosse players use on-field so that he could play at top speed even when other players were slowing down. 

With the right guidance, Micheal’s work started to pay off. 

He started to look like an elite player. He was more explosive, agile, and dynamic. He was strong on the ball. He never seemed to run out of gas. He went from occasional goal scorer to being the goal scorer. 

It started with coaches and other parents joking with the classic “what are you feeding that kid!” 

But the jokes quickly became serious conversations about what he was doing, what camp had he been going to, what coach he worked with – where did he find the edge?

That next season Micheal not only made that elite club, but was an impact player all season that finished 3rd on the team in points. He also was a starter on his JV team in his freshman season, and even played varsity games.  

The truth is, there was no secret sauce. No coach that was going to turn him into an elite lacrosse player. No workout program or secret supplement that magically got him stronger. 

It was Micheal’s hard work applied to the right game plan. 

While we had online programs that had been used by hundreds of hundreds of pros and college players, we decided we needed to create a program like Micheal’s that cut through the fluff and gave youth players exactly what they need to grow. 

They have the ambition, they just need the game plan. 

The Relentless Youth Lacrosse Program was born. 

Since then we’ve had hundreds of ambitious youth players translate their hard work and hustle into true development that gives them not only the advantage over players now, but for the long game.