photo via the FIT web site   Hello Florida Girl’s Lacrosse World!  

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.

  This first one will be about something I had to learn to love and the mindset I need to develop to succeed: RUNNING! Entering my final lacrosse season, I realized I wanted to leave nothing on the table, no stone unturned . . . empty the tank . . .  so my main goal this offseason and preseason was fitness and being able to finally pass the dreaded fitness tests. In this process of making speed and endurance my priority, I fell in love with running and the pursuit of getting faster and better with every run. In high school, I was the most unmotivated person regarding conditioning. I was focused on stick work and believed that my equal left and right hands and quick ball movement would push me in my recruiting efforts. You always hear your coach stress conditioning and speed but I thought I could do anything with lax IQ and stick work alone. When the day came for my first run test at UCONN, I recognized just how much I had underestimated the importance of fitness. I trained the summer before my freshmen year, which what I can say now was just in my comfort level, nothing that was pushing me to be better. I went to a high school where our team was always so good, Vero Beach, where I never experienced a total letdown or major  disappointment. That day at UCONN was my first eye opening lacrosse experience. I was out of my element, completely behind the rest of the squad and that was my first impression to my new team and coaching staff. I decided I never wanted to feel that way again except that season through injury and many feet of snow, taking the time for running was not a realistic option. The summer I transferred to Florida Tech I worked harder then I ever had to prove I wouldn’t be the same, lazy player who “just has a good stick”.  And every summer and winter break up until this point my mind was set on improvement, never again overlooking fitness tests but saw them as goals rather than torture and the worst part of the year. Looking back now, I can tell you speed is the first thing a coach notices in young athletes and with that potential alone, a player can go far, but growing on that speed is what sets elite athletes apart. Don’t settle for the talent and skills you possess now, go forward and work to be greater then your current self. This is the mindset I had to adapt to every morning waking up at 5:30am for practice or lift or a run at 6am. My advice to any player now is don’t let running be something you hate to do because we play a sport that requires TONS of it. As a better runner now I have a new passion for the sport, an invigorated spirit in playing the game because I am not worried about the pain of running up and down the field,  specially as a midfielder! Preseason is all about getting ready for your season, mentally and physically – embracing this process is vital and the best players I know took full advantage, and this is where most seasons are won and lost. Run hard, beat the tests and enjoy! Here are some of my “favorite” runs that helped me train and get prepared for the best time of the year (Hopefully they can make you love running too). Once a week long distance run (3-4miles) 300 yard sprints (Full laps/25s/50s/100s) 1:30m quarter miles. 1m break (6 times) Jog/Sprint/Walks, 1m each (15-20 minutes) Manchester Test Half Gassers with active recovery circuits 120 yard sprint, 120 yard jog Timed Mile (<6:30m) or 2 Miles (<14m)   Author’s Note:  A big thank you to Allie, her coach at FIT Corinne Desrosiers and the Sports Information contact at FIT Daniel Supraner for helping to put this together!  I hope that all the high school girls playing lacrosse and their coaches and parents find this to be enlightening and entertaining all season long!