💭 FCL Weekly Thought: 03/28/25

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

This week’s edition builds off last week’s focus on recovery and takes a deeper dive into player safety—a topic that’s essential, yet often overlooked. This conversation is brought to you in partnership with our friends at Q-Collar, who are helping lead the charge on brain protection in sports.

Let’s be real—player safety isn’t always the most exciting subject, especially for younger athletes. No one wants to be seen as the “overbearing” parent, and players often want to prioritize looking cool over staying protected. But we believe the coolest thing is staying on the field—healthy, confident, and ready to compete.

We’ve also got exciting webinars, new blogs, and fresh content below for players, parents, and coaches.

Thanks for being here—enjoy your Friday. ☕️

Matt & Deemer

This Week at a Glance:

🎙️ FCL Podcast:

• Episode 9 of FCL’s In-Season Podcast

🔐 Online Community Highlights:

• Adam Sear Webinar Recording: Sixes Scheme & Film Analysis

• Paul Richards Webinar Recording: Richmond Defensive Coordinator

• Deemer Class Webinar Recording: Shooting Mechanics, Drills and Film

📧 Newsletters & Blogs:

• “On the Run”: NCAA Lacrosse Recap - Week 7

• “Coaches Corner”: The TEAM. Bo Schembechler. A book on coaching. Inside out defense 🔐. Look away!

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

WEEKLY THOUGHT

💭 Having Thoughtful Discussions Around Player Safety

This week's thought dives into player safety— and how we can have thoughtful discussions with our athletes around playing the game a safe way, and using the proper equipment.

Safety Matters

This quote rang true in last week’s discussion around recovery, and it continues this week as we explore injury prevention and safety. Whether it’s through warm-up routines, prehab, or the right protective gear - injury prevention isn’t always the most exciting topic for athletes, but it’s one of the most important.

During summer break in college, I remember my mom, Angela, getting on me to wear shoulder pads at a summer tournament, to which I responded: “nobody else is wearing shoulder pads, mom!”

But these are the conversations that matter.

1. The Rules of the Game

Teaching athletes to play within the rules of the game not only builds smarter players but also keeps them safer. Plus, it keeps them out of the penalty box—and on the field helping the team.

Topical safety concerns to discuss with your players:

• Body Check Technique & High Hits (Men’s)

• Cross Checks (Men’s and Women’s)

• Dangerous Shots / Checks (Women’s)

For parents, understanding these rules—especially how they’re enforced at different levels—helps you guide your player and have better conversations with them around the game.

2. Protective Measures

In 2021 at Loyola Blakefield, our former high school, a player was hit in the chest by a shot—causing commotio cordis, a rare but serious condition. Quick action from the athletic trainer saved his life. Read more here.

Since 2022, new standards require that all field players wear chest protection that meets the NOCSAE ND200 standard. Awareness matters.

In the men’s pro league, shoulder pads weren’t worn traditionally, now a chest liner is mandated. This a tweet from Coach Dunn back in 2021 after the incident at Loyola. Matt was a coach on the team when this occurred.

We also can’t overlook concussion safety. Football gets most of the attention, but lacrosse and soccer present their own risks. We both personally dealt with concussions in high school and beyond—so we know how real the impact can be.

3. The Q-Collar: A New Approach to Brain Protection

We often get questions about the Q-Collar, and we have seen several of our athletes wear them. We wanted to share why we think it is worth doing more research on. The Q-Collar applies light pressure to the jugular veins, increasing blood volume in the brain. This creates a cushioning effect that helps reduce brain movement during impacts—one of the key causes of traumatic brain injury.

It’s FDA-cleared and worn by top pros like Michael Sowers, Jesse Bernhardt, and Rob Pannell, who said:

It’s not a replacement for helmets or chest pads—but it’s a simple, smart addition to your athlete’s safety strategy.

Other professional lacrosse players like Michael Sowers and Jesse Bernhardt have endorsed the Q-Collar, citing its effectiveness in enhancing their confidence on the field.

4. Having Conversations

Many athletes hide symptoms—worried about losing playing time or disappointing coaches. That’s why open communication is critical.

Here’s how you can help:

• Remind them: Your identity is not tied to your sport

• Reinforce: Your safety is our #1 concern

• Emphasize: You are not in a rush to return

At the end of the day, this is a long journey you’re on together. Keeping your athlete safe—mentally and physically—is what really matters.

Staying Healthy

Although “availability is the best ability”, playing injured for half a game to get set-back another few weeks or longer is not the solution.

Whether you want to use a certain product is up to you; however, we strongly encourage taking your health and player safety seriously. Don’t just roll the dice.

We highly recommend enlisting and trusting professionals that can help us understand our injuries, particularly serious injuries like concussions. We’ve both dealt with them throughout our careers and are familiar with how detrimental they can be if not handled properly.

Stay safe, stay smart, see you next week.

Best
– Coach Class and Coach Dunn

FCL Exclusive Q-Collar Discount

If you’re interested in purchasing a Q-Collar, you can use our discount code FCL10 for 10% off. We are excited to partner and present this opportunity given the positive potential impact for players and parents looking for additional protective measures. We know many players that love them.

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: only 5 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! Most recently, the staff of the new men’s #1 high school team, Calvert Hall, joined.

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

Take a look at some of our events below.

Best In Class D3 Showcase

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 FCL Athlete & Syracuse defender Billy Dwan’s D1 Defensive workout, or learn the “S Dodge” from Coach Class.