Going Deeper Then Goals, Assists, and Shutouts Part 1
1985 Syracuse is lacrosse team, Courtesy of Syracuse University
Former Syracuse players from the 1983 team and coach from right to left: John Schimoler, Derek Maltz, unknown, Tim Nelson, Coach Roy Simmons Jr, Fred Cambria, Randy Lumblad.
Last month I had the opportunity to address the Men’s US U-19 national team before they headed to Europe to compete in the 2012 world championships. What I said to them on that day on the turf at Bryant College in Rhode Island brings me full circle to themes I've been writing about the past couple of days—the importance of boys and men developing authentic and honest relationships with other boys and men. I recently wrote about how difficult it is for young boys to establish meaningful friendships and relationships with their peers and how lacrosse if used correctly can help that process along. Yesterday I spent most of my day researching the career of my Syracuse teammate John Schimoler who died unexpectedly this past Sunday. In my interviews with Syracuse teammates who knew John at the center of what they said about him was not is athletic attributes and stats but the importance he put on relationships. Long before the news of John passing, I told the U-19 team, “what I learned when I played on the Men’s 1990 US National Team, is that what you will remember about this experience is the relationships that you will develop, I still have and maintain them. I told them to cherish and nurture them in the years to come because when the competition is over it will be the most important and lasting memory they take away from the experience.”
