HGR’s Culture

What Makes Us Different

HGR lacrosse players on outdoor field

HGR’s Culture

Pure Sports Values

Fun, teamwork, honesty, respect, self-motivation.

Legacy Sports Values

Earned separation, dedication, attention to detail, work ethic, passion.

Read and React Lacrosse

No plays, no memorization, learning to move together, reading the ball carrier and putting yourself in the best position to support or expose the defense. Plays, memorization, and scripted movement are boring, outdated, stifle creativity, and limit potential of players and team.

Director’s Message

“There’s so much that goes into creating a positive experience for a young athlete, one that not only shapes their ability, but their character as well. We have three driving forces in everything we do here at HGR: Teaching pure sport values, Legacy values, and Read and react lacrosse.

Too often coaches and programs  choose one value set over another.  They see greater significance in work ethic and attention to detail than they do in fun and teamwork. The problem is, if the kids are never having fun, they are never going to create self-motivation.  Now, you can have work ethic without self-motivation, it’s called obligation, but you’ll never get passion. Passion  is where players go from 0-60.  Without passion a player never reaches their full potential.

Flip side is, if the focus is on fun and fun alone, you miss out on legacy values. Those are values that will serve these athletes for the rest of their lives and in countless areas of their life.

Balancing both sets of values along with the appropriate amount of time, commitment and intensity for each age group is paramount to maximizing success in the long run.”

-Bryan Brazill-

Purpose and Vision

Our purpose at HGR is to inspire passion in our athletes and to help them use that passion to find and fuel self-motivation.

To improve all of our players’ lacrosse skills, knowledge, and athleticism to prepare them to succeed and excel at the next level.

To guide our players from their first practice, all the way through the recruiting process, to the signing of their NLI’s and beyond.

We will make you fall in love with lacrosse again, every time you step on the field.

  • We have extremely talented, accomplished, and knowledgeable coaches who understand the value of read and react lacrosse and will take the time and effort to instill those principles in our athletes.
  • We see the long game, not just the immediate practice or season, but cumulative building blocks required to develop a well-rounded lacrosse player. Fundamentals are imperative to this development and long-term success.
  • We custom-tailor our recruiting guidance for each athlete and their unique and specific recruiting situation. We use our 15 years of expertise from both sides of the recruiting process, as college and club coaches, to help our athletes and their families navigate the ever-changing recruiting landscape.
  • We will create an electrically fun, inclusive, and values-driven culture for these athletes to grow, learn, mature, and thrive.

We will debunk the status quo.

  • You don’t need to reclassify, attend a private school, or do a post-grad year to get recruited.
  • 10% of the players shouldn’t dominate 90% of the ball.
  • Consistency in coaches and teammates is imperative to trust and development.
  • Plays and memorization don’t make good lacrosse players; it’s an outdated way to coach and play the game.
  • Getting recruited to college is not the reason we play lacrosse, but when you get to that time in your career, it’s about finding the right home athletically, academically, and socially. It’s about getting on a team where you can develop and contribute on the field.

Passion

Passion fuels all great athletes and passion starts and ends with fun. In the middle is where kids find self-motivation. Self-motivation leads to drive and drive is continually reignited by fun. This cycle creates a relentless pursuit towards excellence.

Earned Separation

Much of what makes a youth or high school athlete successful is given at birth; size, speed, strength, agility, hand eye coordination…

At the next level everyone has been given those same gifts and you have to earn your separation from your peers. Earned separation comes from banging at your craft, logging hours on the wall, in the gym, running ladders, sacrificing, taking pride in the things others don’t: accountability, attention to detail, work ethic and self-discipline.

These values lead to something athletes earn and are not simply given. They’re no longer just gifted athletes, they are accomplished athletes. That creates confidence and personal growth.

Team

Sports, especially team sports, are about being a part of something bigger than the individual. Something that causes that individual to work harder, reach higher and become more than they could have on their own. The recruiting process has caused an entire industry to forget that for far too long.

Our athletes care about each other, support and push one another, and strive to achieve together, because a rising tide raises all ships.

Individuals will be showcased by our program; our program will never be showcased by individuals, because this is not an individual sport.

Our coaches, program, and players are of a team-first mentality and recognize that it is a strength and essential to achieving success at this level and all levels of the sport.

Respectfulness

All players will treat each other, coaches, officials and opponents with respect.

Accountability

We don’t make excuses for ourselves, and we don’t allow other to do so either, no matter how well-intentioned.

Timeliness

All players at all levels will be at the field, fully dressed and ready for practice 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of that practice. We will use this time for a dynamic warm-up and to review the practice plan.

All players will be at the field 30 minutes prior to their 1st scheduled tournament game of the day and 15 minutes prior to all remaining tournament games of the day.

Many players rely on their parents or others for transportation to and from HGR events. This is not an excuse for being late. It is your job to relay the standards and importance of meeting them to your ride so that you can be on time.

Consistency

Consistent application, focus, and effort are required to learn and develop. Consistency is expected in body language, energy, attitude, passion, coachability, and preparedness.

Uniformity

At tournaments, players must wear their entire HGR-issued game uniform, including their shooting shirt and helmets (high school boys only).  At practices, players are required to wear their HGR-issued reversible.