💭 FCL Weekly Thought: 05/09/25

Hey everyone,

Hope your week’s going well. Today’s email is an awesome story from our podcast with Pat Kavanagh this week. You wouldn’t assume it based on his success and notoriety these last few years, but Pat was very under-recruited and a late bloomer.

We love hearing and sharing these stories to highlight a point we always come back to — everyone’s journey is different. Run your race and do the best you can. You never know how things will shake out.

Let’s get into it. Happy Friday ☕️,
Matt & Deemer

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THIS WEEKS CONTENT AT A GLANCE

• 🎧 Podcast - Ep. 15 of FCL’s In-Season Podcast with Pat Kavanagh

• 🔥 Upcoming webinar (RSVP) - Prepping Your Scout Team, Kacy Kapinos (Delaware)

• ✍️ Blog - A Defender’s Guide to Defense by Matt Dunn

• 🏃‍♂️ On the run newsletter - NCAA Lacrosse Weekly Recap

💭 WEEKLY THOUGHT 
Pat Kavanagh: An Underdog Recruiting Story

Do you know someone that is going through a tougher journey in recruiting? Maybe it is a friend’s child, your own child, or yourself. We hear the stories about others going through this, and the advice of “trusting the process,” but sometimes it can still look meek.

Nonetheless, hearing a powerful story can always inspire - and that’s exactly what happened on the FCL podcast this week with Pat Kavanagh. Pat is a guy we have gotten to know after competing against brother Matt for many years and become big fans of how the Kavanagh family plays the game of lacrosse.

Lessons in Perseverance and Late Blooming

When you look at Pat Kavanagh’s lacrosse resume, it’s easy to assume his path was smooth: a 2x national champion, Tewaaraton winner, Notre Dame record holder, All-American, and one of the most electric players in the college game.

But as Pat himself tells it, his recruiting journey was anything but typical. For every young athlete who feels overlooked or outmatched, Pat’s story offers a powerful lesson in perseverance, self-belief, and the value of being a late bloomer.

A Humble Beginning

Pat’s journey began with a challenge familiar to many young athletes: he was undersized.

On his first day of high school, Pat stood just 4’10” and weighed 85 pounds. “I was just the latest bloomer ever,” he recalls. At a time when lacrosse recruiting was the Wild West - coaches were filling classes with eighth and ninth graders - Pat was simply too small to get noticed. By his junior year, when most top prospects had already committed, he was still only 5’4”.

The lack of size meant Pat was often overlooked, but it also forced him to hone his stick skills and lacrosse IQ. “I knew I had to have really good stick skills because I wasn’t going to run by anyone,” he says. While other kids relied on physicality, Pat developed a creative, dynamic style of play that would become his trademark.

The Mental Battle

Despite his talent, Pat’s recruiting process was filled with rejection and self-doubt. He watched his older brother, Matt, become a household name at Notre Dame, while his younger brother, Chris, was a highly touted recruit from an early age. Pat, meanwhile, struggled to get noticed. He remembers being taunted on the field-opponents would tell him he was “a disgrace to his family” and would never be as good as his brother.

What kept him going was a deep inner drive and the support of his family. “It was a mental battle with myself the entire time to just keep pushing,” Pat noted. “My dad is one of the most competitive people on planet Earth, and that blue-collar mentality was instilled in all of us.” The Kavanaghs’ love of hockey and gritty, hard-nosed play translated to Pat’s relentless approach on the lacrosse field.

The Turning Point

For most of high school, Pat had few offers. He dreamed of Notre Dame, but the Irish weren’t recruiting him. That snub fueled his motivation, pushing him to train harder. “I give Corrigan [Notre Dame’s coach] crap for that all the time,” Pat jokes. Pat did mention the boost that he felt when Jacksonville’s John Galloway finally gave him that first real taste of interest and opportunity.

It wasn’t until a late growth spurt before his senior year that things changed. Notre Dame told him that if he did a post-grad year, they’d open a spot for him in the 2019 class. Pat jumped at the chance, grateful for the opportunity that so many others take for granted. “I don’t think I have the career I have if I wasn’t such a late bloomer,” he reflects.

Lessons Learned

Pat’s journey taught him the value of patience and persistence. He watched as early-blooming recruits committed to big programs, only to stagnate or burn out. He was fueled to keep improving, which led to delusional confidence in his college days as he puts it. “I like the guys who are more the late bloomer, diamond-in-the-rough types who just keep grinding and getting better.”

He also learned that recruiting is unpredictable - sometimes all it takes is the right coach seeing you at the right time. For Pat, that moment came at the Long Island Underclass tryouts, where a strong performance finally caught Notre Dame’s attention. He almost didn’t go to the tryout that day.

Full Circle

Pat’s story is a testament to the power of resilience. He arrived at Notre Dame ready to prove himself, and quickly became one of the program’s all-time greats. Looking back, he’s grateful for the adversity. “It wasn’t easy, but I’m really fortunate that it happened,” he says.

For every young athlete facing obstacles, Pat Kavanagh’s journey is proof that the path to greatness isn’t always straight-and that sometimes, the late bloomers shine the brightest.

We hope you find some time to listen to the full FCL Podcast with Pat Kavanagh that dropped today.

Best,
Coach Class and Coach Dunn

🤔 PARENT PERSPECTIVE Q&A

Question

Answer
Like most of these questions, the answers will vary by a number of factors including the school, position, division, year and men’s or women’s coaches. However, there are some universal constants.

Quite simply, college coaches want to recruit players that make their program better. Sometimes that means they recruit the best player available if they are able to, and other times it means they are trying to recruit a specific fit. This is their full-time job and they invest a lot of time and energy into it.

I will list a handful of universal traits that generally apply to most schools:

• Great teammate - Great teams are full of great teammates. Coaches are building programs that need buy-in from everyone on the team. Do they believe that player will be a great teammate and help to build a great team culture? Great teammates genuinely care about team success over their own. No job is too small for them. Coaches want players that are great teammates.

• Highly skilled - This is relative to the division and level of the program, but they want players that have invested into their craft and are skilled. Stickwork, decision making, scoring, ground balls, defensive footwork, etc are so important in lacrosse. A coach is going to watch a player and ask: “can they play at our level? do they help us win a conference championship?”

• Coachable - Four years is a long time. Will they be able to develop you there or will you get stuck in your ways? Do you love the sport and the process of getting better? Coaches want players that want to get better.

• Motor / compete level - This is one we constantly here from college coaches. Is the player conditioned with a great motor and do they compete relentlessly on the field. It’s hard to teach compete and motor.

• Athleticism & size - This varies by school, but it is an important factor based on program needs. If a school has multiple smaller defenders, they may need to recruit one with size.

• Grades, finances, other - These are all real components to recruiting. Do your grades and test scores meet criteria? Do you need financial assistance? Are there other components that drive value to you being a part of the program?

This list is general and not fully comprehensive, but it does it many of the real factors that coaches consider. When they evaluate individual players many will dive more deeply into skillset and capabilities.

🔥 RECRUITING COVERAGE

We are introducing a new section in the Weekly Thought where we highlight some athletes that are catching our eye. We will share clips, highlight videos, and brief thoughts as this section evolves.

Jack Kelleher | 2027 | Attack | Benjamin School | Sweetlax |
Benjamin School is heading to the 1A State Championship game and a big part of their offense this spring has been Kelleher. He’s a slick lefty that operates on the wing. I love his release points and his ability to feed from those different release points as well. Lefties are always in demand and he has a slick style of play that will translate to the next level.

Watch his tape here.

Colin Maher | 2025 | Attack | St. Anne’s Belfield | Brown Commit |

Speaking of underdog stories, Colin has continued to exemplify the power of self belief and love of the game. In his first year at STAB, he recently eclipsed 100 points and was named Virginia Prep Player of the Year. He’s extremely 2 handed and plays with a high IQ. His change of speed moves allow him to get a step and manipulate the defense.

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🏋 BREAKDOWN OF THE WEEK
NORTH CAROLINA’S MOTION OFFENSE

This week we posted a snippet of UNC’s Offense in the ACC Finals. Impressive wing dodging, spacing, and offensive concepts were on display. The full 15-Minute breakdown is available on our Premium Coaches Community.

🏋 NEW FCL UPDATE
FORMER NCAA COACH ADAM SEAR JOINS FCL

We are thrilled to work with Adam in our FCL Athlete Program. He will be taking on limited athletes. Apply here.