My Story

Even though this photo is with my younger sister, my older brother Matt was the reason I started playing. Just like any older sibling, I had to do everything he did. Once I picked up my first stick I was hooked. I was always an active kid, playing multiple sports, but lacrosse always had my heart. 

As I kept falling more in love with the sport, I started having problems in my feet causing pain when I ran. Sure enough, someone suggested I try goalie and as any kid first trying it I liked it but wasn't sure it was for me. The years went by and high school was growing closer. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to play goalie all of the time, so in 8th grade I decided to play 100%. 

High school is when things started to get a little crazy. I was always a perfectionist growing up, but it wasn't until high school that I started to feel the immense pressure of the position and attempted to develop that "mental toughness" thing that everyone talks about goalies needing. Also, I was a weird kid, and still am. Yes, it is true all goalies are weird and I love it! I tell all my goalies to embrace the weird because being normal is boring.

I transferred halfway through my sophomore year to St. Mary's High School in Annapolis and although things were going great in school and socially, playing lacrosse year-round and going through the recruiting process was so much to handle. After pushing through it, something clicked and I earned a scholarship to Stanford University. It was a dream come true. In my senior year, I was on cloud nine and played like it. I earned accolades of First-Team All-Met, Under Armour All-American, US Lacrosse All-American & Academic All-American, All Tewaaraton Team, and more. 

Stanford was the dream I had imagined, until school and practices started. On the first day of practice we didn't touch our sticks, we just ran. At the end of the practice, we had to run full field shuttles and since I didn't make the times I had to run it again with all my teammates helping me through. I was so unbelievably unprepared and questioned what I got myself into. Then, I went to my first class where all the kids seemed like geniuses compared to me. Then again, I am not one of those people that's inherently smart. I'm inherently curious, and I want to read and study something until I know it. However, with much help from teammates and tutors, things got better in the classroom and I got in better shape. Things started to click on the field and although I wasn't playing much I was excited every time I stepped on the field. I was just waiting for my opportunity to play. My big moment came in the final game of the MPSF Tournament. We were down by 7 and Coach Amy Bokker told me to warm up. I was so excited and nervous, but I went in there and made some saves which in turn must've gave some energy to my teammates as we started to come back. We ended up winning the game, and I was honored as the MPSF Tournament MVP. I couldn't believe it! We ended up losing to Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but I'll never forget that first year. I learned so much and it would fuel me the rest of my years at Stanford.

Sophomore year you could say was a blur. I was the only goalie and I remember doing everything I could to make sure that I wouldn't get hurt. After losing an amazing senior class, we struggled to fill in the gaps. Even though our team wasn’t as strong, with less pressure to succeed, I played well, earning a spot on the Tewaaraton Watchlist entering my junior season. Another bright point during my sophomore year was beginning to share my story with others through US Lacrosse Magazine. Through sharing my story, I heard from parents and players how my words helped them in some way. It was unbelievably rewarding. Throughout college, my mental game was constantly up and down. All that pushing through I'd always done was wearing on me. I didn't know how to deal with it all. Alas, the roller coaster that was my senior year. 

I was dealing with the fact that soon, lacrosse would be over. This thing that was my whole world. I was always "lyndslaxx" to everyone, lacrosse was who I was. But I wondered, who is Lyndsey without lacrosse? I had no idea. I was trying to find a job in the communications field, and struggling to find what I wanted. I came out to my family, friends, and teammates about being gay. Needless to say, it was a lot. I tried everything to help with my mental state both on and off the field. In hindsight "tried" is really like doing something for 3 days and saying it didn't work. I would have bad games and I couldn't get past it, letting down teammates, coaches, family, myself. Lacrosse used to bring me such joy and it was causing me so much pain -- from myself! I ended up getting benched in our last game of the year and it tore me apart even more. 

After graduating, I went home in hopes of finding a job somewhere nearby. However, despite me thinking my involvement with lacrosse was over, it seems the universe had other plans. While on a break from job hunting, I naturally went on Facebook to distract myself. I saw a video pop up about an organization called the Washington Inner City Lacrosse Foundation (aka WINNERS Lacrosse). After seeing the video, I wanted to get involved immediately however I could. I received a response shortly after, that a position was available to be the program director if I was interested in applying. After a little while, I found out I got the job! Working at WINNERS was an incredible experience. Being around kids who had no idea what the sport was and watching them fall in love and smile the entire time made me find my passion and love for the game again. I will forever be thankful for that.

As much as I enjoyed WINNERS, I experienced some of the most difficult moments internally as I battled intense bouts of depression. Getting through this period in my life is what pushes me to openly discuss my mental health struggles to possibly help others through their own. Goalie coaching was always a bright point for me. One day I gave a coaches goalie clinic and something was sparked inside of me.

In a room with about 30 coaches, I told them all about stance, how to save the ball, warming up goalies, how to pick your goalie, etc. I was able to answer any questions they had, and I realized that a lot of coaches really don't know how to coach goalies. The thought sat with me for a while, and I decided to launch the site.

Fast forward a year, I decided to make the move to pursue my love of coaching this sport full time to California. During that time I invested in my education of fitness, nutrition, and performance training to further help the athletes I was coaching, and subsequently anyone that needed help advancing their health and fitness. I officially turned LM (Lax) Training into an LLC to help others learn what I had along the way.

After coaching high school for two years, I was provided an unexpected opportunity to coach at the Division I level. It was unbelievable, and am so grateful to everyone who made that happen. That journey in itself would require several paragraphs. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made in a really long time to leave Mason after three years. In 2023, I got married and my wife and I bought a home in Catonsville. I’m in a place now where I want to be apart of my life for as much as I can, and my family is my favorite part of it.

I launched this site originally with the intent to only provide goalie training information, but as time has gone on I've come to learn that it's not just goalies that need help. This is especially true around aspects of the mental game, performance training, nutrition, hydration, and sleep.

Now without the strict rules of college coaching, I’m able to reach athletes at younger ages to learn these key skills for success that I so badly needed. It is my purpose now to help as many people as I can to feel better, create a life they love, and feel less alone in it.

If there are any topics you wish I would discuss or questions you have feel free to email me at any time. If you are one of those people that wants to jump right in, check out my blog! You can follow me on these social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok (@coachlyndseym) and YouTube. 

Start learning from me through my podcast, “Lessons with Coach Lyndsey M,” or my Substack Newsletter - both updated biweekly.

Thanks for reading, it’s certainly been a journey! Remember through whatever struggles you face, you are stronger than you think. As my favorite author Glennon Doyle says, “we can do hard things!”.

Work hard & spread love always.

Lyndsey