Riccio: What I Learned from Being a Goalie

In seventh grade, we put our toes on the chalk line eagerly awaiting our coach’s instructions at our very first lacrosse practice.

Coach asked me to step in the cage. My friends encouraged me to do it. And truth is, I wanted to do it. The pressure, the fun and the individuality of the position appealed to me.

There are two stories that capture what I learned from being a goalie and how I bring it to my life every day.

After a particularly bad game, my mother handed me a poem that reads in part, “Sport is life with the volume turned up. The highs are higher, and the lows are lower.”

I knew in that moment I wanted sports to be an integral part of my life and career.  Over 30 years later, I’m still living that life with the volume turned up.

The second thing I learned is the adage, “This too shall pass.”

I was fortunate to have a pretty good run at goalie and was selected to play in the 1985 High School North-South All-Star Game at Johns Hopkins. My hometown of Canandaigua, New York, raised money to help my family buy the plane ticket — it was my first time flying.

I was one of two goalies on the North team, and it was an incredible honor for me, my teammates and community.

On gameday, the field was filled with great players and future hall of famers. The goalies split the game, and I drew the second half. I was terrible. We lost. Coaches and teammates did their best to cheer me up, but I was devastated. I was embarrassed. I felt I let them, Canandaigua and my teammates from home down.

But I quickly learned, this too shall pass. That bad game came … and it went. It did not define me; it did not limit me in any way. I learned that no matter how bad a situation or circumstance might seem — on the field or off the field — it will pass.

Players, parents and coaches: Sport is indeed life with the volume turned up and we are all lucky to be on that ride.  And perspective is what you need to truly enjoy it. Celebrate the highs. Savor them. Learn from the lows, so you get better and don’t repeat them.

But remember, both will pass.