This story initially appeared on Behind the Whistle, the official blog of the IWLCA, and is being republished with permission from the organization. Kali Hartshorn is an assistant coach at Binghamton University.

I chose to forgo my “COVID year” at the University of Maryland due to all the uncertainties surrounding how the 2021 season would play out. As hard as it was, and still is, to let go of that opportunity, I knew I wanted to try something different but still be involved in lacrosse. I’m a pretty cut and dry person to say the least, so to say this has been a change for me is an understatement. Here is what I’ve learned for anyone stuck between that same decision …

1. Don’t expect anything, but be prepared for everything.

My experience at Maryland came with knowing and playing with some of the best in the game and understanding a winning mindset. Moving to a mid-major program [at Binghamton], I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew the skill level would be different, but the mindset was the most interesting part.

I see kids everyday with so much potential (as I’m sure many coaches do), and as a coach, you expect them to just be able to grow into it naturally. That isn’t the case. Building confidence was something I didn’t expect to have to instill the most. I had to mentally prepare to build kids up but also maintain the hard exterior that I wanted to show as a coach because that’s what I had always seen. Preparing myself for what they need/should see was a huge adjustment.

2. Every person has a blueprint.

Dealing with so many personalities from a management perspective is something I’ve never experienced. I thought I would come in with one mindset and have it work across the board, but that’s not the case.

Every kid comes with a new set of instructions. What makes them tick, grow and learn is all different. On the flip side, when you do see the jump in progression of a player it’s such a satisfying feeling. Knowing that something DID click and that it did resonate, means now they can open up a new realm for themselves.

3. As a player, you don’t understand what’s behind the coaching curtain.

As a player at Maryland, I didn’t know the extent of what my coaches did besides come out to practice on a daily basis. I was a show-up-and-go kind of player who wasn’t concerned about aspects of the program other than what my job was.

I didn’t know how much planning went into coaching and managing emotions and player well-being, academically and athletically. Also on this side of the curtain was the experience of a loss. I can’t go in and play for them (as much as I want to), and when we didn’t succeed on the field, I felt a heavier burden of “what could I have done this week?” to have changed the outcome and made them better to face our opponent.

4. It takes a small army.

I truly have so much respect for smaller programs — or even big ones — that don’t have the staff to help get the job done. More perspective creates a well-rounded program.

Coming from an attacking/draw mindset, the only thing I wanted to do well was to make sure my side of the field was producing and getting the job done. As a young coach, I see now that if one side of the field is imbalanced, the whole team is. I had to look at new perspectives from the other coaches on the staff to tweak how we went about certain drills or practice days to create a better outcome for the whole team.

5. Repetition is key, but inconsistency kills.

I never knew how much I would have to repeat myself and stay consistent with what I said. If I don’t continue to say what I say all season, then new habits won’t be made. I also understand now that when I did something against my coaches’ instructions at practice, how and why that would cause an eruption. They saw something, but I saw something different and played it that way. Now I know that their view was valid, even though I didn’t see it from their perspective at the time.

Lacrosse has been a part of my life for over 10 years now, and after hearing that my senior year was about to come to an abrupt end, I was not ready to say goodbye to lacrosse. When I accepted the coaching job at Binghamton, I was excited and ready to take on a new position — not as a player, but as a coach.

The things that I have learned already in these past couple of months have set me up to look at the game in a new light. It is interesting to see that my perspective of the game has changed, however, my ambition to grow the game has never wavered or been so important.