IRISH LACROSSE 2012- Ready or not, here we come!

So here we are...31 days since the first post and another day stronger than the last one. I wanted to save my blog for last and I wanted to share with you my vision and anticipation for this season that is before us. I have enjoyed getting a sneak peak in each of your lives over the last 4 months, but I look forward to getting to the roots of each individual over the course of this lifetime we have in front of us.

I have been fortunate to work with a team of individuals for over 16 years. What I have found is that each season is not just a numbered amount of days equaling a few months, 16 games, post season competition and a touchy, feely banquet that sums it all up. To me each season is a lifetime; a journey that we take together, where we give ourselves to one another to achieve something greater than we could ever do alone. It starts with each person trusting themselves and making a commitment to step outside their comfort zone, to bring something special and unique to the group so that we are just that... UNIQUE, SPECIAL and UNFORGETTABLE. No matter how small your contribution on a given day might be, it is valuable to the TEAM.

I look forward to all of the challenges that await us beginning tomorrow morning. I get excited to see each of you face these challenges and make them fun. Why? Why not. For 7 individuals this is it and I have heard each of them say it is scary, sad and daunting. I challenge each of us to make this journey enthusiastic, full of energy and purposeful.  I challenge each of you to hold on to your goals, keep your vision in your mind daily, and to savor and celebrate each moment that we are given.

I see a strong, powerful, enthusiastic team that is indivisible. I see a team that always turns a negative into a positive. I see a team that works hard each day to be better than the day before. I see a team that understands it might not be about being perfect, but it is about giving your best effort all the time. I see a prepared team that plays passionate and inspiring lacrosse every day.

TOGETHER we will bring the FIGHTING IRISH great pride, dignity and unity as ONE.
IRISH LACROSSE 2012- ready or not- here we come!
ALL IRISH,
Chris

see you today at 3pm with your tickets!

hello from the greatest place on earth... South Bend!!!

Hey girlsssss,

I know most of you are settled in South Bend and some of you are still traveling, but I can't tell you how ready I am to get back to seeing you all and doing what we do best, lacrosse! I am so excited to be with all of you and Kelly and I arrived in South Bend on Friday and were welcomed by the substantial snow that awaited us,  we were surprised our flight to South Bend even took off. However, I am so happy United Airlines came through and so happy to be back at this glorious place and am more than thrilled that I got to spend time with the early arrivals. Brosco and Shauna, I am using you as an example. As Kelly and I drove you to our house and listened to you catch up, I realized how close our team is and how grateful I am to be apart of it and how much I don't want to leave this wonderful place.

As the rest of you may know, senior year is most definitely scary. While I have my future plans already set up, it is so scary to believe that I am going into to the real world. I can't believe that it is second semester senior year and more then ever I am living by the quote "cherish every moment." To be honest I have all the faith in the world in this team and believe that we can accomplish anything that we put our mind to. This quote by Mia Hamm reminds me of our team

"I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion." 

That is truly what I believe this team is what I play for and what I strive for. To me this team means the world and I am willing to do whatever it takes to be apart of it and do what ever it takes to succeed.

I am so excited to see everyone back here and ready to get into the full grind to get back into season. We have all worked so hard, and I have talked to some of you about how hard we have worked, but now is the time to prove it. See you all tomorrow 

it is time to make "her-story" not "history"

love you all and see you tomorrow

-Kristin

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Hey all.

So my break has been less than eventful. Besides literally getting anxiety over picking a goal song (it is a decision that I treated as life or death) my typical day consisted of waking up..enjoying a nice cup (or 3) of coffee as my dad and I watched either animal planet, the food network, any show that consisted of gangs or felons (Sarge loves him some crime), or Say Yes to the Dress, where my Dad had more input than one would think. Then after I worked out, I would make my return to the same chair to continue to watch animal planet, food network, or shows like "gangland" or "lockdown". The highlight show however was the HBO series 24/7. There is no way anyone could not be an avid hockey fan after watching the amazingly well done series (GO RANGERS!). The last episode, at the very end was the height of inspiration. I found myself sitting on the edge of my chair with my foot shaking and my heart racing and a geeky smile on my face. I have to admit I do get really invested in shows and movies (did I cry in 2012? NO!) but I do not think I would be alone in this emotion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=26yoP8Nc56Q

The clip talks about how hockey is more than a "game" to these players, it is who they are. I think if lacrosse wasn't who we were, we wouldn't be here at the best university in the world. We work our asses off day in and day out, when no one is watching and when everyone is watching because of that pit in our stomach we get when we get that moment of perfection on the field. We feel that pain that the clip describes as "why it hurts so much when skill falls short of what the will desires." I always got butterflies in my stomach as I got ready for a game because it is more than just a game, it's those thrilling 60 minutes where you can do things many cannot and have the opportunity to be great. Unfortunately I lost that for a bit over the past few years. This year, I'm starting to feel those butterflies again. That picture of Stony Brook was very inspiring Boo. I want to be there. I want to feel those butterflies THERE.

There's a quote that some of the Alabama Softball team showed us when we went down there, as good people. It goes: "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”  There is no greater name than the Fighting Irish, and no greater team than ours. I love our team. We are ND.




See you in 2 days!
jmo (shoutout to Joel for the nickname) 

Obviously its friday the 13th

Goooodmorning!

            It is yet another awesome day on Strong Island. This picture was taken at 7 am this morning at the one and only Ward Melville high school: living proof that yes, I got off my couch this break. You know that pit in your stomach you get before morning conditioning? Well yea, I got that almost everyday running with these girls. The taller of the two in the picture is a mixture of Craig and Hunter, in girl form: this morning she was timing the runs and at one point got onto the track and starting chasing me…then started physically pushing me once she caught me, because, apparently, I wasn’t moving fast enough…the lucky girl in the blue doesn’t head back to school for 2 more weeks, it seems she knows how lucky she is.   

So, after 2 years of the whole “during winter break it snows, so figure it out” workout mentality I have so successfully not perfected, I decided to be proactive this break, I figured it out: cue xbox kinect. I don’t care what anyone says, dance central and zumba kinect could have got me in shape had it snowed, but of course this winter it doesn’t snow….so I learned a valuable lesson this break- you can never be too prepared, so you might as well do everything you can: which is why I will be returning with some new moves thanks to the b-boys and b-girls on the video games. In case you don’t believe my video game theory would of worked, just watch Billy Granger play football:

Sooo, I have to drive past Stony Brook University about everytime I get into my car, so after tomorrow I'll be expecting that the next time I’m near Stony Brook I’ll be on a bus with all of you on our way to play for a natty champ….Strong Island's not a bad place to end up.

 Enjoy your last few days at home, and safe travels back....ill see some of you tomorrow!

-Jenny

1/12/12

Hello friends!!
I was planning on writing this earlier this morning, BUT while letting my dogs out I managed to lock myself out of my house... Thankfully this global warming made the weather nice and warm today, so my lockout was rather pleasant. Yesterday it was frigid with rain so I consider myself lucky? After practically trick or treating around my neighborhood for a house key for 2 hours, I am saved!
I have missed you all. I've been bopping around the east coast for break in Baltimore, DC, and Richmond, so I've been able to catch up with friends and family, which has been very enjoyable. This last week rather torturous because all my siblings are gone and parents working so my dogs have been smothered in my love.
I saw Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last night and was extremely disturbed. I will not be engaging in those books any time soon.
Working out without you girls pushing me has of course been challenging, but I like to picture out running a girl on another team in a game and it helps me push myself. I can't wait to get out on the field with you guys and start taking teams down. I can't wait to put on our uniforms and listen to the Irish songs during warm-up. And I can't wait to get back to train so hard that we're able to enjoy those two moments to the max.
I hope you all enjoy your final few days and home- I'm psyched to see you all!!
Love,
Betsy

Coming At You Again From The Only City of Champions!

What's up my friends?

I know in talking with all of you and reading these blogs that everyone is enjoying their break so far! You can ask any of my roommates, since I came back home from Georgia I have been so anxious to get back to school it's not even funny. If I was flying Southwest I'm pretty sure I'd change my flight to tomorrow, but unfortunately I have to wait until Friday to get back. Freshmen, when I was in your shoes I wanted to stay at home as long as possible and you guys can ask Meg and Jordy--I'm pretty sure the three of us cried in the airport that Friday morning when we had to go back. My point in telling you that is to make you realize this year is COMPLETELY different. Not just the freshmen, but everyone should be anxious to get back to school. Sure it means classes and work starts again...but it also means that our season starts!!! We're reunited with our 29 other best friends, spending a lot of time together, and making memories that will legitimately last a lifetime. I can promise you that my class as a whole is determined to make this semester one you will never ever forget.

Before I get to the good stuff, my break can be summed up by the following four pictures:

I've been spending quality time with this guy, my main man, Lucky, after workouts and at night watching movies and catching up on sleep with him. He's an absolute gem and is easily the world's best cat. I love him more than most things.

As most of you know, I also spent a week in Georgia with Matt this break. Fortunately it was 75 degrees and sunny so we spent one whole day on his boat. It was an awesome, awesome week...especially when this guy decided to join us and was definitely ten times better at catching fish than I will ever be. For my Finding Nemo lovers out there..."Fish gotta swim, birds gotta eat."

By the time I came home it was time for one of my friends to head back to school so a bunch of us went out to breakfast at this restaurant that a family friend owns. Being that I have a severe obsession with Mickey Mouse and Disney World and that my first screen name ever was "Mickiemouse16" (still better than Jordy's sillybear02 at age 6), I obviously ordered the kids meal of Mickey Mouse pancakes and was overjoyed when this masterpiece came to the table. (Don't worry nutrition team, I was not able to finish it all by any means.) For obvious reasons, I had a massive smile on my face the rest of the day.

Finally, I've used my agility and nimble speed from our 100s, 40s, and 300s to fight crime in Andover over the past few weeks. The local police are so happy to have me back in town and love when I come home so I can really help them out with some of our town's more heinous crimes such as the one from our local police report below:

Yes, this is a real live Andover, Massachusetts police report. Sorry, America, but this is a definite sign of struggle.

Okay, all joking aside, as I said earlier, I cannot wait to get back to Notre Dame and start up practice again with this team. There's a camaraderie amongst this team that is unlike any that has existed in my previous three years here. There is no doubt in my mind that each and every one of us has what it takes to accomplish our goals this season. We have what it takes to make it to the end of May. But as many before me have said, its not just talking and believing and knowing that we have what it takes to get there, its actually going out there on that field whether it be practice, our exhibition game against Johns Hopkins, or any of our regular season games, and getting it done--walking off that field having gotten better and having beaten the other team. 

One of my favorite role models in the world of professional sports, and okay it has a lot to do with the fact that he plays for my favorite team to ever walk the Earth, is Tom Brady. He was recently featured on the regional cover of Sports Illustrated and the story of his college career was a main article in the magazine. Tom Brady is undoubtedly one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game of football and will for sure be in the NFL hall of fame one day. His road to greatness, though, was not a cakewalk as many may believe. He was at odds with his coach at Michigan from day one and struggled each and every day to prove himself. He wasn't even drafted until pick #199, an event which he details in the ESPN feature "The Brady 6" that I have watched numerous times. In the end of this film there are many lines by other professional football coaches, Brady's father, and Brady himself that I think resonate perfectly with this current team. I've attached the video below, and as you're watching it I want you to think about this: Maybe from top to bottom there are teams out there that we'll be playing this year that are more talented than us. Maybe there's a team out there that has slightly better stick skills than we do. Regardless of any of that, no one will be able to stop us if we are the team that has the most heart, every day, every practice, every game, every time we step on the field. His part at the end of the video where he talks about what motivates him can prove as real inspiration for all of us. If we show up to practice and outwork every other team in the country, regardless of outright talent, there is no doubt in my mind that we will be where we want come that last weekend in May. Tom Brady is the perfect example of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJBM-WMZ5_s

Can't wait to see you all in a few short days! Enjoy the last bit of break with your friends and families!

Kelly

it's the FINAL COUNTDOWN

Hello pretty ladies, Nick, Christian.

This Philly girl has had an uneventfully awesome break hanging out with her mum, dad, sisters, and even brother who took off from his naval shenanigans to spend time with his little sis. Tons of family time.... tons.

I got back from the Urban Plunge service trip last Thursday with Al and Mol and immediately felt the impact that the experience had on me. Adele's blog spelled it out exactly--we see opportunities daily that many will NEVER see. We saw girls 19-22 years old with 3 kids, homeless, and struggling to find a job while I complain about the food at training table. Really, Leah?

As Meg said, there isn't much left to be covered for us here at the caboose of this blog.

After all the inspiration given by all my teammates working their butts off, I wanted to share my appreciation and show how I'm using their hardwork to generate my own.

"Talk doesn't cook rice."

I realized that reading this blog and all that my teammates have to say does nothing unless I actually use it. Talk doesn't cook rice and talk won't make me hangclean more weight, run a faster 300, or win another game. Let's not just talk to talk, let's talk to work hard.

-Over and out-

Leah #10

Greetings from Chicago!

Hello Team!!! Happy New Years!
Wow all of these blogs have been unbelievable! Like most of you my break hasn't been super eventful. I have been just living it up in Chicago with my family and friends. My days consist of waking up, working out, sleeping, reading, watching movies, and pretty much sleeping. Also I have been experimenting with sushi and I have grown a profound love for it.  LUCKILY for New Years I spent the weekend in South Bend to watch Anders play Boston University which was awesome! It snowed in South Bend that weekend and that was the first time I saw snow all year, it was so pretty. I know this makes you super anxious to get back hehe.

                      

Similar to Jordy I work out at a gym that I work at when I'm home. Often my trainers will make comments like "Wow you can squat more than some of these boys" or "that looks too easy lets just add another 45 to the sled". I laugh it off keeping in mind that there are 28 (i think??) other girls experiencing the same thing. Unfortunately the weather here has been bipolar so I have gone from running on treadmills, football fields, and a 25 yard turf field. Anywho I can't wait to get back and get this upcoming season started with my girls! 

As some of you may have heard through the news, a high school Minnesota hockey player named Jack Jablonski was paralyzed during a game last week. He was chasing a puck into a corner and was hit from behind leaving him motionless on the ice. Later that night Jack was pronounced paralyzed from the triceps and down. Jack was a normal high school boy with similar aspirations and goals that we all had when we were his age. Relating to Flan's blog, you really don't realize how lucky you are until you have lost something. Jack didn't just lose his season, he lost his freedom to run, skate, walk, bike, the ability to do anything on his own. He will never be able to play the sport that he loves so much ever again. Here we are are ONE week left, everything that we have been doing has been on our own and by choice. How lucky are we?? So the next time you run this week or when we get back just keep in mind that we have control of our season, it is in the palm of our hands and everything that we do in preseason will determine the rest. This week Jack's mother announced that Jack raised one of his arms, and was able to move the other. The doctor had told them the week earlier that he would never be able to raise his arm again. So screw those rankings and whoever else has anything to say because the only people who can tell us how far we go and how much we can do is each and every girl or coach on this team. I believe in all of you as individuals and collectively we have the ability to be invincible!

ONE last thing to keep in mind during this last week and especially throughout preseason. Work your butt off, if something feels too easy or painless, then you aren't working hard enough!!! This is difficult to live by, trust me I battle with it all the time, but if we can all achieve this collectively we will become the team that we all described in the locker room during our goal meeting. Please Please enjoy these last couple days with family, friends, and mommy's home cooked meals because you probably won't see them again until the end of May! Love you all!!

P.S. I hope Kayla doesn't mind that I packed on a few pounds during the Holidays! (this ones for you Molls)

-Grace^^^^^^ (hard to recognize, i know)

    

o-H-I-o

Hi guys! Greetings from Cincinnati!

My break has been good so far, lots of lounging on the couch and spending time with my family. I am a new member to Pinterest, and have quickly become addicted. So far my addiction has lead me to create an appetizer version of caprese salad (on toothpicks so it's super cute) and it's absolutely delicious. Other than that I don't have much to report back on, but I am out of the boot and was cleared on Thursday so I can now run! With excitement and ambition I got a little ahead of myself and the next day I decided to test drive the foot and go for a nice run through lovely Mariemont. To my disappointment I barely made it to the end of my street before I was already exhausted, but my foot didn't hurt so that's a good sign. And not to worry I powered through the run, and will be doing that for the rest of break so that hopefully by the time I get back to school I can at least keep up with some of you guys.

Onto my inspiration:

As I'm about to embark on my Urban Plunge, which is where I will be living and being immersed into the inner city for 48 hours to learn about the lifestyles of the homeless and the many different services they are provided with, I'm stuck on the idea of privilege when I begin to think of what I should be writing about in this blog. As with life, when we get into routines, we are not always able to notice all of the blessings that are in disguise in our lives, but if we take a step back, and take a slightly different perspective on the day we can see all of the amazing things that we are fortunate to have in our lives. I feel that doing the Urban Plunge last year really helped me to appreciate all that I have, and realize the many privileges in my life.

At school we are constantly going a mile a minute, because that is what is demanded of us, and in doing so I feel that I often lose sight of the privilege. But we go to the best school in the country, which I believe is an unarguable point. And one better, we not only get to play the sport that we love, but get to represent the university in doing so. How awesome is that? I mean seriously, what a privilege we have! Because going to class, rushing to practice, shoving food in our mouths at training table, doing hours of homework, and sleeping for a limited amount of time quickly becomes our routine when we arrive back in South Bend, it's easy to get caught up in everything we are doing, and not realize the privilege behind the lives that we live.

Though it can be hard at times, and we do face many challenges that correspond with the privilege we are given, it is all worth it in the end. One night while I was doing homework for my theology class last semester, I was forced to read an encyclical (how boring), and while skimming I assumed I was going to get near nothing out of the reading, but instead I stumbled across the most amazing quote that I now keep as a sticky note on my laptop at all times. It said "embrace the struggle", and I feel like this is a great quote for our team to live by. In using this phrase I am not assuming we are going to fail, in fact the opposite. I believe that with privilege, especially the privilege we have been given as members of the Notre Dame women's lacrosse team, there are challenges that make the privilege worth while, and I view particular challenges such as a 50/50 ball that we lose or a garbage goal as little struggles we may face along our path to success (let me just say Natty Champs 2012!), and for this reason we must embrace the struggle and keep powering on.

I wholeheartedly believe in this team and am so excited to be a part of it. Just remember what we get to represent by putting on our jerseys every game day, and our pinnies every day at practice. We have worked so hard to earn this privilege, so now it's time to prove why we deserve to keep it.

Peace, love, lax, and saving the world (shout out to mags and jaim),
Adele

Heyy Friends!!!

Love this blog!! It’s nice to know what everyone is up to. I hope everyone is having a great break and enjoying being home for a little bit. I have certainly enjoyed spending time with the rents and my brothers. I haven’t done anything too exciting just running errands and watching every criminal minds episode that’s on TV.  Also no offense to our nutritionists, but training table definitely doesn’t compare to my mom’s cooking. Sue has consistently been bringing her A-game to dinner each night. I am truly spoiled! But really I have loved being home. It is actually scary to think that this could be my last time home for extended amount of time.

I would be disowned as Sue Nangle’s daughter if I posted a blog with no pictures. So here is a little pic of my mom and me from sunset last night. Yes it was a selfie and we did take numerous pictures because it looked like I had a lazy eye in each one. But, as you can see the sunset was a beut. It definitely does not feel like winter here. Ellie already mentioned it, but global warming is definitely occurring.  I don’t think I have ever before been able to run outside with just a t-shirt on in January, which I did yesterday for those wonderful 300s. Hopefully, South Bend isn’t the winter wonderland that I fondly remember from my last three years either. I am not ready for the tundra on South quad!!

As much as I love my number 7, following Meg Sully’s inspirational blog really isn’t easy. I completely agree with her comments. If we bring more energy, more drive, and more confidence to each practice and game this spring, then we will be extremely successful. However, saying it and doing it are very different, and it is hard to show up each day. So to help you push through your remaining workouts and any practices and games during this season, think about what makes you really want to succeed.

For me it is easy. A year ago, I was planted on my couch with my game ready machine recovering from surgery.  I wanted more than anything to be running and playing lax. Sometimes you don’t appreciate something until it is taken away from you. Finally being healthy, I want to show up each day with everything I have solely to take advantage of the opportunity to play for Notre Dame with my best friends. As we begin this season, find some reason to motivate yourself- whatever it may be so we can talk the talk and walk the walk.  And then we will achieve every goal we set to have great 2012 season!

Can’t wait to see you all in one short week!!!

Flannery

Hello hello from the (one and only) City of Champions!

I am happy to say that after 24 hours of traveling, we finally arrived home in Beantown last night. Australia and New Zealand were truly amazing, and as expected I have many Sullivan family stories to share with you guys when we get back (you can't make this stuff up!). 

I have really enjoyed reading everyone's blog entries, and they have helped keep me inspired and focused from half a world away! It wasn't always easy to wake up at 7 to run 300's on a tennis court, or do "socials" on the beach during happy hour, and I definitely dreaded the daily fight with the cricket teams for space on the local field. But all I had to do was think of you guys and the opportunities we have ahead of us this season, and I was quickly determined to do whatever necessary to complete my workout and push myself (to the liiiimiiiiiit!"). 

Being on the latter end of the blog posts, all of my main sources of inspiration have already been explained really well by previous blog posts, but I'll recap them quickly:

- Pride and tradition that go along with playing for our university and lacrosse program (Gargs)

- Sharing heart and compassion for the game we love with 26 of our best friends (Wing) 

- The hard work we have put in over the past 5 months (Mags)

- New opportunities (Em)

- Believing that we can accomplish anything we put our mind to (Marg, Sarah's video)

- Being the underdog, wanting to prove something (El, Allie)

- ONE chance to be successful with our 2012 team (Jord, Lo) 

All of these things should provide each of us with tremendous inspiration. To be honest, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about each of these things and where I want our team to be on May 28. I really believe that our team has what it takes to make it to the Big Dance, but as I've learned over the past three years, it isn't enough to just have what it takes. If we really want to accomplish all that we can this season, we need to come back to school in a week with three major commitments to ourselves and our teammates. First, we need to make a commitment to establish an unshakeable confidence in ourselves and in our teammates, which will enable us to mentally defeat our opposition. Second, we need to make a commitment to show up each day with a purpose to work hard and a desire to get a little better than we were the day before. Third, we need to commit to maintain a positive attitude in all realms of our lax world; as we read in the Energy Bus, this can really make all the difference, and after all we are pretty freaking fortunate and have a lot to be positive about. I know there are times when each of us exemplifies one or all of these commitments, but I really believe if we can collectively be determined to live by these commitments for the next five months, we will separate our 2012 team from any other team that has played before us. 

I truly believe in each and every one of you guys. We will face each opportunity and challenge ahead of us as a team, and it is up to us to make this season what we want. Let's go get it!! 

- Meg 

PS: some extra inspiration for those 4 300's today! 

"Winners don't wait for chances- they take them." 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YtAT2_58nc

Whats up from Long Island!

       Well I’d like to start this post by saying I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and being with family and all those lovely holiday specials. For me the holidays have yet to cease. January happens to hold many, many birthdays in my family and of course Trish thinks it’s okey to host each birthday bash at our house, leaving me with leftover cakes, cookies, pies and all sorts of tempting and overwhelming treats (someone has to get rid of them right?). I’d be a little more at ease about this if I was able to run and actually do something other than swimming and yoga ( which is really me drowning for about 45 mins and trying to find my inner third eye while contorting my body in all odd ways…good stuff)
So far one of the highlights of my break has been the reruns of the Nicki Minaj Takeover on MTV day after day. Whoop Whoop, love her.

    Well, Jim got pretty sick of listening to Nicki and hearing me sing about super basses, knockouts and other..things so  and Trev turned on the CrossFit Most Fit Men and Women in the World…holy s*** ( can I say that?). These people were insane! They weren’t body builders, they were actual athletes and I can tell you they were ripped. The different exercises they had to do, with the weight, in a circuit, being timed…unbelievable. I sat there in awe of these people. Has anyone tried to do a handstand push up? Yah I tried, fell flat on my face. But moving on from my own incapability’s, there were two things that I really took away from watching the Cross Fit; 1) everyday someone is out there pushing themselves to their maximum, to their very end 2) if you aren’t one of those people you will never be number one. One of my favorite quotes from Mohandas Gandhi is this “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.” So lets do this, take #18 and chop the 8 off the end. You wake up everyday believing in yourself and challenge yourself, challenge yourself to be the next greatest version of yourself. Boundaries are only created by men. Nothing is stopping you but yourself, so let go, embrace pain, embrace hardship and know at the end of the day you worked through it and got that much better.

In words of the baddest MC out there “I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive.
I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise, to fly” –Nicki Minaj
I can’t wait to see you guys and am so pumped for this season! I have such a great feeling about it. (Plus my horoscope says that my career will show success in May, and lacrosse is basically my career, so I’m just throwing that one out there.) XOXOXOXO

A little lovin from MaMa and me. -K.Bro 

Why Hello Long Long Friends

I guess after today I am able to call you friends, whether it be long lost or not.  Well today my day started at about 8, as I made my way to the Buffalo airport, with my grandma and her dog, aka her only pride and joy. Day started off relatively smoothly, dunkin donuts in my stomach numerous times throughout the morning, and no problems getting through security wearing a jean button up that says "Grandma's Angels" on it, with an embroidered pictures of all of the grandchildren on it.  I found it in my grandma's closet and couldn't resist.  But anyways, you'll find when traveling with dogs, everything starts out really well.  Everyone wants to be your friend.  People will come over and pretend to talk to you for a few seconds until you realize the whole time their eye contact is very low, aiming directly at the cute little white dog.  The sniffing and licking is totally acceptable and adorable, and your the airport's most popular.  Then comes boarding time, and the only place for the dog is in the little travel carrier. Suddenly you're an animal cruelest and people would do anything to make your life miserable.  The looks....as if i want to carry a dog in a purse.  So then comes the dog being on the plane, and no one even cares about the animal cruelty anymore, you are just the worst human being ever.  I guess the 14 million crying babies on the flight are totally acceptable, oh and the large orange cat? The flight attendant told me that there was actually 7 animals (6 dogs and 1 cat named chester) and 15 babies. Ive never been happier that to have that many babies to drown out the yips, the attempts to bite her way out of her case, and my grandma nearly crying about 12 times because she thought lacey was dead because she was finally quiet.  So we had a transfer in arizona and just to top off everything, on our flight from phoenix to oakland, were almost landed and my grandma says "so what is this machine were riding on"..........well this is what we call an airplane.  But thank god, here I sit, with a calm and alive dog, and a sleeping grandma, and my awesome california family.  That picture is a before picture and i wouldn't dare show an after picture.....

well onto other things, as for the rest of my break.  A few highlights are that I won a chubby bunny competition, actually peed myself while running 100s and had absolutely no control, and shared my love for pizza logs with ellie, who still can't stop raving about them. Here's some evidence.  

Well now onto some inspiration, I guess it could be a bit of a stretch, but I could easily relate it back to my love for food, in particular my love for pizza logs. (get me talking about garbage plates and we will really be in trouble) There really is nothing like sharing your love for something with someone else, and having the love and passion be shared.  If everyday we step onto the field with the hope to share our heart and passion for the game, the effect can only possibly be positive.  Heart and passion are both contagious, and to be a team that has 29 players filled with heart, we will be unstoppable. And for those of you who don't know what pizza logs are, they're fried, delicious. greedy, cheesy and pepperoni-y. Well I don't know about you, but this week in Cali i will certainly look forward to not choking on snowflakes as a run outside.  Miss you all very much chicitas :D

<3 Shauna Suzanne Pugliese

Greetings from the 631!

Hey guys! Caitlin Gargan, here!

Happy New Year! It feels like an eternity since break started. Between workouts these past few weeks, I have been rather unproductive. Aside from spending an inordinate amount of time sleeping, I’ve watched season seven of The Office on DVD in its entirety twice, become nocturnal, and have been coping with a recently acquired addiction to the excellent new game Temple Run. Also, I completely sympathize with Barb on her LI gym experience. I much prefer doing my pull-ups under Joel and Hunter's watchful eyes than that of the muscle-shirt wearing muscle-heads at the gym.  Yesterday, I did a variation of dumbbell swings, except instead of using a dumbbell, I used my 3-year old cousin…getting that IDP in. Shout out to Connor J. Gargan for taking the attached photo! But now, I’m going to mix it up a bit. Going with Maggie’s approach on this one, we’ll see how it goes.

One other small thing that I have done this break is play some pick-up with some of my former teammates who are now scattered across the country. Aside from rare spring match-ups that could slate us against each other, school breaks are really, as you all know, the only time we all get the chance to take a step away from our hectic schedules and catch up on the fields that first brought us together.

This pick-up might seem innocent and without significance at first glance, but what it represents makes it important. Before we all graduated and joined the pick-up tradition ourselves, we were part of countless grueling practices and games together. During this time, we were able to create a bit of success, and ultimately continue a standard that was set by those who graduated before us. We put a lot of our time towards lacrosse in order to become, collectively, a team, if at least only locally, with a target on our backs. Those days are over for us though, but the same thing that fueled our play during those years draws us back together now: Pride.

We meet up to play again not because we want to relive ‘the glory days’ or rehash old games but rather because we are proud of what we were able to build together. We never had the most talent on the island, but we compensated with pride and belief.

Now, the parallel between this and what our team has may seem like a stretch, but it’s really not as dissimilar as it seems. Notre Dame is imbedded with traditions that can be traced back to its inception. With this, I think it’s our turn to start a new tradition. It’s time for us to continue to put in the hard work and practice hours that have defined our program since the start, and ‘cash-in’ in May. We will exchange the intangible-hard work, belief- for the tangible-victories, successes, championships- and ‘cash-in’. With the talent, strength (both mental and physical), and belief we each possess, we can absolutely do this. Whether we play with a chip on our shoulder because we will be an underdog sometimes, or ignore that and play with an unflappable confidence because we know we can back it up, our team will have success.

I don’t mean to say that as a program ND hasn’t had past successes, because that is simply not true.  Teams have won, and even our seniors have won the Big East Championship before. But what we have before us is an excellent opportunity to do this, and much more as we decided in our goals meeting. We have the chance, this year, to set a new standard at Notre Dame, a standard of greatness. We have the chance to make this our tradition. And when we inevitably come back to the university that drew our 2012 team together, like our alumni do today, we will do so with great pride not only for our school, but also for what we will accomplish together this season, especially in May. We will return with a pride rooted in the new standard we will engrave our program with, through the success we will have this spring. But of course, before we think about returning, we have to act while we are still here. Tradition may sound like an intimidating thing to begin, but like with everything else, our tradition starts with one!

Enjoy the rest of your break! Can't wait to get back to school and spend absurd amounts  of time with you all!!!