💭 FCL Weekly Thought: 03/21/25

Happy Friday, and welcome to all new subscribers! If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe here to get stay in the loop.

Today’s email is all about recovery, brought to you by our friends at Chillshark. Recovery is one of those things that’s easy to overlook—especially as a high school athlete. Some players take it more seriously than others, but no matter where you fall, we hope this email helps you give it more thought.

We’ve also got some exciting events coming up in our online community, plus tons of free content for players, parents, and coaches. Check it all out below!

We appreciate you being here—enjoy your Friday ☕️.

Matt & Deemer

🚨 New Recovery Tool — CHILLSHARK 🦈: Chillshark brings a premium cold plunge experience to the comfort of your own bathroom. Check it out here.

This Week at a Glance:

🎙️ FCL Podcast:

• Episode 8 of FCL’s In-Season Podcast

🔐 Online Community Highlights:

• Adam Sear Webinar Recording: Sixes Scheme & Film Analysis

• Paul Richards Webinar Recording: Richmond Defensive Coordinator

• (3/24 RSVP) Deemer Class: Shooting Mechanics, Drills and Film

📧 Newsletters & Blogs:

• “On the Run”: NCAA Lacrosse Recap - Week 6

• “Coaches Corner”: John Danowski. Offensive tips for attacking the flow! Butt-end hold or v-hold?

• Developing Elite Lacrosse Defenders: Tips & Drills from Jesse Bernhardt

WEEKLY THOUGHT

💭 How to Take Care of Your Body At the Next Level

Spring is here, and seasons are in full swing. If you’re a player reading this, you’re likely striving to push your game to the next level. If you’re a parent, you’re either a lacrosse superfan, an FCL supporter, or someone trying to guide your child through their journey. Maybe all three!

This week's thought dives into recovery—a crucial, often overlooked piece of the development puzzle.

Why Recovery Matters

Many players follow a similar progression as they commit more to lacrosse:

✅ Greater involvement in club teams and events
✅ Increased dedication to extra skills work and time with their stick
✅ More time spent in strength and conditioning

This leads to early growth and success. But what happens next often depends on how well a player recovers. Injuries, plateaus, and fatigue are common when players just try to do more rather than recover better.

Recovery isn’t just rest (although that’s a big part)—it’s an active process. Here’s why it matters:

🔹 Fresh Legs – The ability to play at peak performance every practice and game starts with recovery. Fatigue leads to sloppy reps, bad habits, and slower development.

🔹 Injury Prevention – More isn’t always better. Recovery work like stretching, mobility, and proper nutrition helps keep you on the field instead of sidelined.

🔹 Mobility & Longevity – The best players aren’t just strong—they move well. Prioritizing recovery improves flexibility and movement efficiency, key for longevity in the sport.

🔹 Mental Reset – Recovery isn’t just physical. Sleep, hydration, and downtime allow players to recharge mentally and show up with focus and confidence.

Actionable Tips to Build Good Habits

Want to level up your recovery? Here are a few simple but effective habits:

✅ Prioritize Sleep – 8+ hours a night is a game-changer.
✅ Fuel Your Body – Quality nutrition before and after training boosts performance.
✅ Active Recovery – Stretching, mobility work, and light movement keep your body fresh.
✅ Hydration Matters – Water and electrolytes are essential for energy and recovery.
✅ Listen to Your Body – Pain and fatigue are signals—adjust accordingly.

The final piece of advice we would give is to build the right ecosystem of experts and people you trust around athletic performance and recovery. Both of us have benefitted from great trainers and coaches from high school to today. These are people that can help guide workouts, give feedback on nutrition and recovery and generally just serve as a sounding board for you as an athlete. I would argue this is a necessity if you are serious about your craft.

The best players don’t just train harder. They train smarter—and that means taking recovery as seriously as practice.

Best
– Coach Class and Coach Dunn

RECOVERY TOOL: CHILLSHARK

“Chillshark is built for frictionless recovery, eliminating every obstacle between you and the perfect plunge. We made Chillshark to be the easiest cold plunge companion for you: Simply plug it in, set the adaptable mat over the tub, and choose your desired temperature. Additionally, our dedicated app makes it easier than ever to pre schedule and remotely schedule your cold plunges for the optimal recovery experience.”

IN THE COMMUNITY

In addition to our coaches communities, we are making a big push in content for players & parents including our recruiting resources space in Circle. If you are looking for guidance in the recruiting process check out our community.

Check out our new course on recruiting: 15 spots remain at the current price. Enjoy this free teaser on “Tips for Sending Emails” from the course!

High Schools on Our Circle Community

We are pumped to have McDonogh, Taft and Somers on our Circle community!

Coaches, we still have all the great content for you as well with over 100 drills from top college coaches, full webinar recordings, a film breakdown library and more.

NEW MERCH DROP 🔥

UPCOMING EVENTS

Want to train with us? Check out all options here. See a selected few highlights below.

Best In Class Fall Showcase Update - Sold Out!

SOCIAL & CONTENT

Our free content on social media is core to who we are as a business. We love sharing content that you love seeing. Check out Duke’s Eva Pronti dishing out seven assists against a UVA zone!