BJ Grill

I am from Bridgewater, NJ and I played at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.

Coaching enables a player to feel that they are learning and improving over time. I find that players who feel they are improving develop an affinity for the sport and are then motivated to continue improving independently. That feedback cycle fosters growth and passion.

I believe the most important aspect of development is a player loving the sport enough to put in work independently to improve.

I have been blessed with amazing coaches my entire life:

1. Pop Warner Football - Kevin Johnson. The best teacher of fundamentals I have ever encountered. The best disciplinarian. He taught all of his players how to work and push themselves to be their best. He also always adapted the scheme to fit his players' strengths.

2. Youth Lacrosse - MG Hollingsworth. MG was my first ever lacrosse coach in Bridgewater, NJ and I still talk with him today about coaching, mentoring, and motivating young players. MG taught me that every player needs different coaching, and being authentic to yourself as a coach develops the best relationships with players. MG always found out-of-the-box ways to teach and help players digest information.

3. High School Lacrosse - Chuck Apel. Taught everyone in Bridgewater that playing for our high school was about playing for our program not for yourselves. Groundballs win games. Toughness was our identity.

4. College Lacrosse - Joe Amplo. Joe was the best defensive coach I have ever been around. I redshirted my first year and got a year of individual development from Joe because we did not have any games. During that year, I was taught every element of defense from the ground up and that foundation is what I base my own curriculum on. Joe has the special ability to teach complex concepts simply, making them easy for everyone to digest and remember. He is a teacher.

My favorite player was John Lade from Syracuse. He was an undersized defenseman from a New Jersey public school who played at Syracuse. John was a multi-year pro and a multi-year All-American at Syracuse. I used him as motivation to pursue playing defense at 5 foot 5.