The Best Rain I've Ever Felt

I played my last lacrosse game in Italy today. I might be the last lacrosse game of my life. Today we played the Peruggia Pheonix, one of the best teams in Italy. We lost by a ton (20 to 7, of which 5 goals and 1 assist were mine), but this was probably one of the pinnacles of my lacrosse career.

The game began on a hot morning with the sun beating down and it started out difficultly as it became apparent that we were completely outmatched. However, I was able to draw on everything that I've learned about the sport over the last 11 years: defensive slides, ground balls, man down defense, man up offense, picks, fakes, face-offs, and I was able to enjoy every single moment of the game. Today I realized that I won't ever like any sport as much as I love this one.

I've learned so much from the the clinics my parents drove me to as a kid, the Mt. Carmel High School lacrosse team, the Stanford lacrosse team, and my coaches, from that weird guy who used to eat almond butter at practice, to Coach Chancellor, to the Smith brothers.

Around fourth quarter, our team went on a little run of goals, and it began to rain. By the time the game ended, the hot, muggy air was filled with giant, cold drops of rain. They felt so good. After shaking hands, I lay my tired, beat-up body down on the grass and just laid there as the big cold drops fell.