
FIT’s Allie Modica’s Blog #4: Putting The Time In
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Uncategorized.
I’m Allie Modica, a senior midfielder playing lacrosse at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida and I will be blogging my experience in lacrosse and collegiate athletics this 2017 season. Just some background, I was a high school All-American, and won four state championships at Vero Beach High School and then went up north to the University of Connecticut and played lacrosse at the Division 1 level my freshman year. After a lot of snow and a tough injury, I came to Florida Tech and found the perfect environment-the beach, an emerging D2 lacrosse team, a coach that believes in me and a school that challenges my academics. Since my time here starting in 2014, I have made huge leaps on the field- SSC Player of the Year, All South First Team Member and Second Team All-American last season. I will be sharing my insights, experiences and provide some advice in this blog series on recruiting, hardships, collegiate athletics and the balance of it all.Performing at a high level athletically, takes hours of dedicated practice time with your team. More importantly, the hours you spend when no one is watching, on your own time is what creates those athletes at that top. To win the trust of your teammates and coaches, those 2-3 hours of practice once a day or a few times in the week is not enough to be elite. Even when you think you are the best you can be, there is more to learn and achieve, and that only comes with putting the hard work in when nobody is around. To be the greatest, you have to work harder then anyone else. I always think about a question my high school coach would ask us, “How hard do you think the competition is working right now to beat you?” And that motivates me to want and ask more out of teammates and myself. You never want to be out hustled and if you really want to get to that next level, you’ll make the time to go out, and play lacrosse on your own or with some friends- improvement comes in those hours. I believe in three things for getting better outside of practice: *1. Stick work!* In middle and high school my most valuable possession was my bounce back. On the weekends, I’d try to get as many touches I could, doing every kind of stick work possible. Plain walls are awesome for developing a quick stick and fast reactions. Work out the kinks with your stick and feel comfortable using both hands. And go for the crazy stick tricks and fun techniques! You never know when you’ll have to pull one out in a game. For both hands I recommend:
- One handed (placement up by the head and at the butt)
- Left to right, right to left quick switches
- Behind the back, around the worlds
- Bounce passes + high balls