FLN has asked new 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 first submission for 2016! We thank Doug for taking the time to do this and letting our readers experience this unique insight.   Week 2 of the preseason is in the books and the boys have worked hard since September when we added a weight training program that most of the team has bought into.  The benefits of this time are apparent as the team is much more physical this year with their checks and especially dodging down hill. I hope we can build on these as we continue to hit the weight room twice a week. The workouts themselves have changed however, geared more towards injury prevention and maintaining the gains made in the off season.     The second annual “Family Day” was again a great success. It is important to the program because not only is it the job of the coach to get his players to buy in, but the parents too. Building relationships with parents is the key to making any program better, embrace your parents and get their support. Sometimes, not all parents are willing to get involved, especially if they are new to lacrosse and sports in general so we feel very lucky to have parents who have done such a great job doing so.  They add such an important value to the team. I am forever grateful for what they do for our program, team, and players. This week we look forward to the Pope Cup at Lynn University. Stay posted to see how we do…!