FLN has asked Head Coach Doug Shanahan of St. Brendan High School in Miami to continue to share his thoughts on how he is building his new program through what is now their second season and Doug has graciously agreed to do so. Here is his latest submission! We thank Doug for taking the time to do this and letting our readers experience this unique insight.   Congratulations to Miami Country Day for making the District 30 playoff, the seeding is set as follows: 1 Belen 2 Columbus 3 Ransom 4 MCD   When dealing with certain moments in life there is really only one opportunity to seize the moment or take advantage of a situation. Miami Country Day certainly showed up ready and eager to win. Our boys at St Brendan weren’t just quite ready to make the jump on that night. Everything was in place for us to, but we didn’t rise to the challenge. Sometimes what is missing is the psychological part of the game, the belief and the mental willingness to do what ever it takes to makes things happen. We were “caught in the headlights” as they say, and by the time we looked up it was 9-1 at the end of the 1st quarter. We did not play like the same team that just had a 5 game winning streak.  As a coach it was a good lesson in understanding the mental game is as important sometimes as the physical game.  In a new program the “big pressure” games are new in our experience, as is dealing with them. However, failing is part of life, and so is the bounce back. In an amazing turn around the following day versus North Broward Prep, our team found themselves again and we were able to pull out a victory at home 20-14. It’s a great teachable moment for our team and a big lesson learned for our underclassmen. Something that in the long run will probably be beneficial for our program,  although it certainly stings a bit right now! Moving forward we are now 9-5 on the year, with 4 games to play. Next week we will see LaSalle again who always plays us tough. We will follow that with Coach Finn and Atlantic Delray at our place for Senior Night on Wednesday March 23rd.   — Doug Shanahan St Brendan High School Assistant Athletic Director Lacrosse Director & Head Coach