A Conversation with Pro Lacrosse player - Connor Farrell

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of D2 Men's La Crosse. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stentrom, and with me as always is that hidden gem of D2 Men's Lacrosse, Danny Moran. Hey Danny.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Hi, Kevin. How are you? You you cracked me up, my friend. You just cracked me up. I you put a smile on my face right from the beginning, every single time. I'm doing great. How are you doing tonight in Northern Virginia?

SPEAKER_01 0:40

I'm doing really well. I'm doing really well. I'm really excited uh for this podcast. Just let the viewers know that are or the listeners know that we recorded this a couple weeks before it actually is coming out. But I think this one's gonna be a good one. Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Uh I don't I I have no intro. I have nothing to say except this is this is gonna be one of the better ones, I think, that we've done.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Let's just get into it. Okay, Danny, let's move on to our next installment in our discussions with D2 Pro athletes or former D2 College of Cross players who made it into the pros. And tonight we have a doozy. Coming out of LIU in 2019, he burst onto the professional scene after being selected 22nd overall by the Chrome in the PLL college draft. He has nicknames like Milkman and Thor. And he is a beast at the face off. I don't think anyone I think everyone knows who I'm talking about by now, uh, who watches any kind of pro lacrosse. So let's just welcome him in right now. Hey Connor Farrell, how you doing?

SPEAKER_04 1:54

Great, thank you for having me on, guys.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Connor Farrell, we are so pumped to have you on the program tonight. I can't tell you, man. I've been excited all day, been telling guys at work, like you're not gonna believe who's who's coming on tonight. They're like, You're full of crap, man. I'm like, no, he's coming on, it's exciting. I work from home, so I I couldn't tell anyone, but uh but we are really humbled that you uh took the time tonight to come on with us, especially after last weekend.

SPEAKER_04 2:21

No problem. Thanks for having me, guys. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

That's great. So let's start off. I've I gotta start off with this. I've heard this story several times, but for those in our audience who may not have heard yet, can you just tell us how you started playing lacrosse at LIU?

SPEAKER_04 2:37

Yeah, so I always played lacrosse growing up. I was a three-sport athlete all through high school and all that, but I really didn't like lacrosse. I wasn't a big fan of it. I was more of a football player, so I went to college on a full ride for football at LAU. And um, and then halfway through the lacrosse season, these two these two knuckleheads down the hall from me, then it'd be my roommates the next year. They kept bugging me, play lacrosse, play lacrosse, play lacrosse. And then I finally, it was like it was like a little gnat just to swat them away. But finally I gave in. I was like, all right, if I'll I'll make a deal with you. If you last longer than 10 seconds with me in a wrestling match, then I'll then I'll come out to the team the next day. And then he was all he was all excited. He's getting ready to go. He was in the middle of the hallway on the third floor in one of the dorms. He ended up lasting 11 seconds. He's still trying to get half my paychecks though, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:27

I was wondering, he must at least at least get a free a few free tickets to to games of their own.

SPEAKER_04 3:33

He comes and wherever he does, but he tries to get half my paycheck still. He always says he made me and all that, but so what'd you do?

SPEAKER_00 3:41

You walked on the next day, or what'd you do?

SPEAKER_04 3:44

I just walked up to the coast and I'll play if you guys want, and then I just was at practice that day. That's amazing, that's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

So let me ask you this were you recruited uh for lacrosse, also, or mainly it was it was mainly football.

SPEAKER_04 3:59

I'm just curious, but I just was not interested at all. Yeah, and I would be like, I was it I would they would come up to me and I said, sorry, not interested, just have your football coach call me.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

That's great. So that's kind of interesting that you do that. You you're you play both sports in college, and the one that you really loved at the time, football, is not the one you went into professionally. So has has lacrosse grown on you a little bit more now that you're playing it professionally?

SPEAKER_04 4:30

Definitely. I like I've I've only been love. This is my fourth year in the PLL, just finished up. I've I've really started only been loving the sport for maybe like six years, five, six years. So I'm like a little kid right now. I'm having the best time of my life playing in front of the fans.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

You can't tell. You can't tell on the field, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:47

You know, and how you know, we talk about division two lacrosse, you know, because that's what post was at that time. They were division two lacrosse, you know, and the division two lacrosse is kind of like the redheaded stepchild. It really doesn't get a lot of the uh credit that it deserves with the players that go to division two. And I think we're seeing more and more players like yourself, division one caliber, professional caliber players playing at the division two level. Tell us about your time at post and playing lacrosse.

SPEAKER_04 5:20

So well, my first two years, I had uh a great coach, John Jez, and then my last two, I had Eric Wolf. And I those two guys playing two sports, it was really, really tough on time because I would literally go from football practice, walk in the locker room, take off my pads, go straight to lacrosse practice. So it was non-stop. I wouldn't eat for a few hours of the day, so they would always make sure they have like snacks in the locker room for me. Wow. All the lacrosse coaches were really were really great with my like just playing both sports at the same time, the schoolwork and all that on top of that. But um, I I tell everyone who was thinking about going to LAU that it was the greatest time, greatest times of my life. I wish I could have another year back, but uh I the best times of my life were there playing lacrosse there. I made some great friends that I still talk to this day who are in my wedding party and all that. So I loved it.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Now, who was the football coach at that time? Was it Frank Chimante?

unknown 6:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Oh, okay. Okay, okay. Interesting. That's that's good stuff, man.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

So one, we've had Coach Jez on the podcast a couple times, he's just been phenomenal. And you'll have to research it and listen to it. Um I'll try to I'll try to send those links to you so you've got those, but and he was great, but I think that's another thing to kind of uh touch upon. I mean, liu was D2, went D1, and I think that's kind of a testament to show what kind of level of teams at the lacrosse level, because LIU lacrosse man's lacrosse is doing well in D1, they're they keep on improving. What do you think about that? What do you think about D2 lacrosse teams compared to that in the D1 level and kind of what you've seen in the pros?

SPEAKER_04 7:07

I I think the players are like right there, like even like you see Charlie Bertrand, he went from very max and then to uh uh Virginia, I believe it was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's one he's one of the best midfielders for the Redwoods. But I think that the D2 teams they have the players. The only difference is maybe the game's just a tad bit faster. As yeah, the game's both faster when you go to the division one level, but the players are there. You got the big boys, you see them. I played teams who had like six foot five middies that were playing fence and they're unbelievable shooting 110 miles an hour, but you the there's the players there. I think uh the only difference maybe a speed, very little.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Yeah, and I I think that comes down with resources and time because D1 in the fall gets a little more time with their players and in practice, and obviously the bigger schools have more resources, just like it is in D2. There's levels of resources that are that are committed to the lacrosse the sport of lacrosse. One other question I've got for you is playing at LIU was there anything that that taught you at the D2 level, or really just playing for LIU? Let's even just leave it at that, that helped you transition into the pros?

SPEAKER_04 8:16

Uh Underdog. I mean, we were always we were you just gotta you just gotta go and expect like no one's gonna just give you anything, you're not gonna get handed anything. You gotta go in there and just take what's yours. Like my first uh my first training camp in 2019 with the Chrome. I no one was really expecting me to do anything. They were like, ah, just some D2 guy, he'll he'll be in and out quick, he's not gonna make the roster. So I had to know I had to make sure I made a made a big name for myself in my first game up in Gillette. I think the big thing was that hit that first hit I made after like my second phase.

SPEAKER_05 8:47

Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:49

Wasn't it psychotic? My name more, so that's when it started to grow, I think.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

And and you know what, you've become like one of the bigger personalities now in the PLL.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

You're one of the faces of the league. What I mean, not you are hundred percent.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Yeah, it's pretty crazy. I love it. Raple, Rabel must be like, you know, I hope Rabel's putting a little bit more in the envelope for you, man. He he's done an amazing job with this league. Uh it's unbelievable. When it first came out, Connor. Um, again, I never played the game, but I love the game. And when the PLL, I remember watching the first weekend of PLL, and I was like, yeah, man, short of field, these guys getting after it. The speed is insane, and they've all played like club ball against each other, they played college ball against each other with each other, and now these guys get after it, man. It's like holy crap, what do you think?

SPEAKER_04 9:50

Like you look at the games this year, like the cannons are one and nine, they're in every single game. Yeah, we beat them in overtime, and we were the second team, and like every team Mike and Paul Rabel have done such a great job. I I give like they gave me an opportunity to what I do today. I'm gonna I play the cross full time. I own a gym on Long Island where that I do face-off trainings out of all year round, and I owe it all to them. But uh, but the PLL though, like the different rules, like the different face-offs is that we have we're a little farther away, so like the ball is high up in the stick, and uh like the rules is if you go early in college three times in a half, there's a one-minute penalty. But in the PL, if you go early, you just can't take the next face-off, which is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

That is a very cool rule, actually. I like that better than the penalty because I love it.

SPEAKER_04 10:40

It's perfect. Technically, usually you lose two face-offs now because a lot of guys don't travel too many to uh face-off guys because we only have 19 men on the roster. But we have a great D Midi who play who faces off in the NLL right now for the for the rush up in uh Saskatchewan, yeah. Mike Messenger, he's an unbelievable another D2 player.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

D2, limestone. You guys ever talk about that? No, no, we just we just talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Because there's the pros once you get there, that's kind of the the the leveling factor, anyway. Once you get in and you're on the team, it's it's more about that.

SPEAKER_04 11:16

Yeah, yeah, once once we get in there, but like a lot of the D1 guys they'll joke around, be like D1 or D none, or like get out of here. What are you joking about, dude?

SPEAKER_01 11:26

Yeah, but but then you just truck them in a game and then they they exactly.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Then they remember, hey shit, this is a real deal. What an attack, what an attack unit you guys got, huh? Dylan Malloy, Brendan Nicktern. I I went to I grew up with Brendan's dad in in in Rockaway Beach. I don't know if you know where Rockaway Beach is. Okay, so that's where I grew up, and that's where Brendan Nicktern's dad grew up. And let me tell you something, his dad was a sick athlete, a rugby player. He was a big, strong, and fast Walter Payton type moves, like really. So I loved watching Brendan play. I watched Dylan Malloy play. He was a what you know. You and then Logan was mouse. I mean unbelievable.

SPEAKER_04 12:12

I usually that's why I just give them the ball and they do their magic. They're they are unbelievable to play with, and just to even watch them play is it's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

Oh, it's just amazing. Those guys are just amazing. Then you got Will House, you got Messenger.

SPEAKER_04 12:25

Oh my god, just the best D Midis in the game, best D Middle's game, those three.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

Well, it's funny with Mike Messenger, too, because I think this year is the first year I really saw a couple games where he has stood out to me because he can play both ways. Yeah, he's not just a D MIDI, he's a great D MIDI. It's a big one, but he can play in that transition very well.

SPEAKER_04 12:46

He never played D Midi before, he was a he was an offensive MIDI.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

That's right, he scored a lot for Limestone. He's a big boy, though.

SPEAKER_04 12:54

He's a big boy, he lives up in the up in the woods in Canada. Yeah, he just lifting logs and everything. I love him. He's one of my favorite guys on the team.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

So I have to ask you this quickly, though, you because you kind of talked about it going into the the training cap training camp in 2019 as a D2 player. Were you surprised that you actually got drafted, or were you getting signals uh from Chrome or other other teams that you might be in there?

SPEAKER_04 13:23

I had no idea. I like the draft that year uh happened at like one 1:30 in the morning, and I I fell asleep and I got woken up to a phone call from one of my buddies saying I just got drafted to the chrome. And I had no idea. I didn't hear anything from any coaches. The only thing my coach, my coach at the time, Coach Wolf, said that I it's gonna be a good day tonight. I had no idea. So I just went to bed because it was so late. We had class at 7 a.m. the next day. So uh yeah, so I just got woken up to a phone call that I got drafted.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

How did your name get in the pool? How'd that work how'd that happen? They just said, hey, listen, we gotta get this guy into that pool, into that draft. And coaches, I guess, just how'd that happen?

SPEAKER_04 14:01

I didn't enter any draft or anything or enter any pool, so I have no idea how that works. Um, I just I don't even know they I guess they just called my coaches and were talking about me about it because I I didn't enter any draft or any any pool like that.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

Well, it's interesting. You're one of the faces of the league, and you've certainly kind of I think brought something special. Obviously, Danny and I are very partial that you're a D2 player, that's probably why we key on it more. But you certainly, from your physicality and your athleticism, bring that to the game. Like you said, one of the first plays uh in Gillette Stadium with that hit that showed what you were going to bring, and then you bring the light side when you did in the um in the the competition at the all-star game, dressing up as Thor and drinking the milk as we talked about. Uh I mean you have fun with it too, which is just so much. It's so great to see you and Trevor Baptiste, I think, bring that both all the time.

SPEAKER_04 15:02

Yeah, yeah, he's a great guy. We're most of the face, pretty much all the face-up guys. We're all we're all good friends, we all talk, we get reps in the offices together. Just when we're when we step on the field and play, obviously, we're yeah, all out. But other than that, we're all really close.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

We had a good year this year, won almost 60, you know, for the year. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 15:21

Had a great offense, didn't really take much time off, really was training hard. The uh the big thing with jujitsu, my flexibility and just my weight distribution and all that helped me a lot. It's bridge lane jujitsu, huge.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Does that help with balance too?

SPEAKER_04 15:36

100, 100.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Yeah, so that a lot.

SPEAKER_04 15:39

Probably in the games you're able to see my legs were so flexible, like I was almost lit, and I my weight was just balanced the right way, and I was able to like push them off my hip. But I Brazilian jujitsu was an unbelievable workout. The bet I hate running. Oh, I hate running, so that's the best cardio in the offseason, too.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Yeah, well, I've seen a few of those clips, I forget what it was at some halftime. I'm showing you doing jujitsu, and there was definitely a lot of sweat on that map from you and the others, so it's got to be a good cardio workout.

SPEAKER_05 16:11

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

So let me ask you this. You also have signed with the San Diego SEALs recently. How excited are you to play box in the NLL?

SPEAKER_04 16:21

I'm really excited to uh finally finally play in the box league. Uh, all my friends were on the Chrome team were telling me I gotta play, but uh, I'm really excited about it. Patrick Melo, Patrick Merrill is the uh coach and GM over there, so I'm really excited to hop on the board over there, especially if he's all the way on the way on the opposite side of the country. So I'll I'll get a lot of delta travel uh miles going back to the city.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

Yeah, I don't know how much time you spend in San Diego, but that is one beautiful city. Probably perfect weather in the United States, I'll tell you. He's not gonna want to come back to Long Island after spending after still doing it. He'll be doing it the opposite way, it's a little more expensive in San Diego, but it's it's a beautiful spot. Have you played much box?

SPEAKER_04 17:04

I actually I've never played box before. I was I got drafted by the riptide my rookie year, right? Uh, we just never came to uh an agreement on like a contract, so I never officially like joined on. So then this year he called me up because I was having a good year, so they saw me doing well against some of the top face-off guys in the NLL. So they asked if I would play, and I was like, Yeah, why not? I was coaching at St. East, actually. I was the head coach of Sache M East last year, it was my first year as the head coach of varsity. Oh wow. Uh I I couldn't pass up the opportunity to play box, so I stepped down from Sache M East, and now I'll be heading out to San Diego.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Wow, that's cool. Very physical game, the box game, man. These guys are just coming on the field and they're getting banged, they're just coming on and they're getting banged down. It's great. I I you know the box game, you know, I'm a Long Island guy, so we were field guys, you know. We didn't play a whole lot of box. My youngest did a little bit with FLG, but um, the box game's completely different, a lot faster, a lot very physical game, man. You know, you're getting 6'2, 6'3 boys sprinting down this like hockey field, it's pretty cool, man.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

Yeah, I'm I'm I'm thinking uh Connor may be able to handle the physicality, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

I think he's gonna relish in it.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Former linebacker, that's what you were. You were your linebacker, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Middle linebacker, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Bring that to the NLL. He's gonna enjoy being able to do picks.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Yeah, play the you know what? I always said that middle linebackers are the best athletes on the entire football field. Better than the quarterbacks, better than the running backs, better than the receivers, middle linebackers. You guys gotta do everything.

SPEAKER_03 18:50

Dealing with home guards, covering high receivers.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

Yeah, you're calling the a lot of times, you're calling the defenses, the middle linebackers calling the D out. So I give you a lot of credit, Connor. This is awesome, man. And you're an Irishman to boot, so yeah, Kevin.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

I had it thrown in, bro. I think I have a I have a quota that I have to get so many Irishmen a year for interviews on our podcast.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

They're just great lacrosse players, but they're even better people. That's what's the great about the Irish, Kev.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

You just want to just you want to join them all for a drink afterwards at the at the local pub. 100%. Oh, that's so funny. So we talked about that a little bit. I gotta ask you this question. So you got two nicknames that have kind of stuck so far in the pl. Is there one you like better, or do you not like either, or do you just roll with the tide?

SPEAKER_04 19:49

I like both. My my fiance isn't a big fan of the milkman one. I like it. My feet, I like both. She's like it's grouse. I'm uh she drinks, but not regular milk like me, but I like both games. Thor makes the long blonde hair and Thor and Milkman just gets all in milk. I like both.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Now, how much milk do you actually consume in a day?

SPEAKER_04 20:09

When I was when I was growing up, me and my brother, we literally go through at least 10 gallons of milk a week, just me and him. At least now it slowed down a little bit. Maybe now, maybe it's like two and a half, three. But uh now it definitely slowed down a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

We'll try to cut that out of the podcast so no one knows the actual number.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

But uh strength, the strength coach is gonna be like, Connor, you gotta chill with the milk, bro. No, that's cool. That's amazing. That's good stuff, man. This is great.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Yeah, I was gonna say that for most kids, I mean, having nicknamed Milkman, it's good for them to know that to drink milk unless they saw how you drank it during All-Star Weekend. Like, I don't think their parents would be uh uh liking that too much.

SPEAKER_00 20:55

Uh the kids love it though, man. Yeah, they go so when you go in from city to city, instead of playing like, hey, we're you know, the Los Angeles blank or the you know the the St. Louis Chrome, what do you think about like the city to city routine of the PLL?

SPEAKER_04 21:13

I love it because before the PLL, the furthest west I've been was Pennsylvania. So I love it. And we're going to go to see new places. Like I'll I'll fly out maybe a day early or two days early, or maybe stay a few days after the game and really like explore like Utah or Colorado. Me and some buddies or me and my fiance, we're gonna get like a cabin up in the mountain, Rocky Mountains, and stuff. So we get to see all different places where we've never been before. So it's that's the really cool part. I think eventually we will get home bases, maybe in like four years. But uh really, yeah. I like I like the tour base right now. It's pretty it's different.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

I would assume part of that business plan is more team expansion, and sooner or later that gets a little unwieldy. From the the tour model, I would think.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Yeah, definitely. What I like about the tour model is that you're bringing the game to towns that might not have a lot of lacrosse. You know, and you're you're bringing something new. But you know, the game of lacrosse is growing exponentially, 300% in the last five years, just in the high school ranks alone. The game is growing. You're getting teams out of Georgia now, you're getting teams out of Alabama now. North Carolina is putting together good teams. Even Florida now is starting to put together good teams at the youth, high school, and club level. You even have California now. But because of the PLL, you're going to places that really don't have a whole lot of lacrosse, and you're bringing it to a whole new group of kids. That's got to be a fulfilling thing to me. I don't know. I think it would be for me. Well, how about you?

SPEAKER_04 22:51

Definitely 100%. 100%.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Yeah, it's interesting because we talk about this. I think that's the other great thing about D2 lacrosse because it has expanded in some of those areas where D1 is not. Alabama, you have UH UAH, and Montevallo. Look, you the Sunshine State Conference with all the great Florida teams down there, where the hotbed used to be up where you were, Connor, with LIU and Dowling and Adelphi and Lemoyne and Tech. And now it's you know, Tampa won the national championship last year. I think it's a it's a pretty even split between north and south of quality teams that that play and play when they play each other. I love that. I love seeing even regular season early in the season when you can get it, uh a few north teams playing a few south teams. Yeah, is just a lot of fun to watch because you get to really see the matchup. The only other time you get to see it, it's finally in the finals, and so it's great in the regular season to see.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

So, what's the future now that you know season's kind of over? When do you go out to San Diego and start all of that?

SPEAKER_04 24:01

I got I was planning on playing for two more weekends, so yeah, I know, I know pretty much free, but um, I got like the month of October off from playing, so that's like really recover, make sure I stay healthy and just get back to training. Like I was back in the gym today, just getting ready to rock and roll for the NOL. And then uh training camp starts November 2nd out in San Diego.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Wow, yeah, it's a terrible time here to be out there November 2nd versus Long Island. Yeah, yeah. Don't remind me, please. So let me ask you this. You said recovery. I I see the scrums that you have at the faceoff X. How beat up do you feel at the end of the season?

SPEAKER_04 24:48

I I feel good right now. Just it's just like sore. Yeah, it's not knock on wood, I'm healthy right now with all my injuries, no injuries, but uh it's just like soreness, like you gotta get hop in the ice bath or get like massages. Like I'll get a massage every week during the season to keep myself ready, rock and roll. Um, I go to a great uh rehab place just to get like stretched down and work on on anything that's like tweaked a little bit called Orman Cohen. So I'm in Bohemia, and then they've been great to me, fitting me in whenever I can. If I have like a little something a little banked up, they fix it for me right away. So that's the biggest thing a lot that I didn't realize until I got to the throws is you gotta, it's all about just staying healthy and being like if you hurt, you gotta recover fast. Because if you're not ready to go, just someone else taking your spot like that.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think that would be the tough thing to just to stay healthy. Like you said, it takes all those tools during the week for recovery, and like you said, I think jujitsu probably helps you with that too, from a flexibility, not only when you're on the field, but off the field in recovery during during the week. Not doing maybe jujitsu, but doing this the stretching and all that.

SPEAKER_04 26:02

Exactly. Yeah, like during the season, I would do jujitsu maybe like once a week just to stay flexible and all that, right? But like like during the season, because we I usually leave on Thursdays, I come home on Sundays. My week would usually be like Monday, I get a massage, Tuesday go to my recovery place, Wednesday would have like a little off day from recovery, and then Thursday I would go back. Uh no, Thursday. Yeah, Thursday morning, go back to my recovery place and leave like Thursday afternoon.

SPEAKER_00 26:27

It's a pretty busy week, though, believe it or not, with all the traveling and stuff, you know. Weeks go fast too. I I bet I bet I'll with that kind of schedule.

SPEAKER_01 26:36

Let me ask you this too. In the PL, are there other things that they have you doing, either clinics or guest appearances? Are there things that you have to do during the week, or is that more off-season that they have you doing that?

SPEAKER_04 26:51

They do it during the week as well. I they have this thing called PL Academy where they have a bunch of clinics stuff. I don't do the PL Academy anymore. I did that my first two years, but now I do mainly just like appearances where I gotta go sign some autographs and stuff like that, take pictures with kids and all that. But uh I do my own clinics like a fight. We play out in Colorado. I'll make maybe like set up a clinic out in Colorado with maybe like 20, 25 kids get a little thing, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's cool, that's cool. Give them back to the kids, give them back. That's you know, it's important. I think, I think, you know.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And one of the things that I like that the PLL is doing, and I forget what it's called, but it's Paul Rabel basically giving lacrosse goals across the country to have them there so the kids can shoot, can play against and play on it. I think that's a a really neat thing to try because access is one of the issues, not only equipment, but even if you get a stick, having a goal available. I mean, they're all over the place on Long Island, but other places, as you've probably seen in in the in the Great West, you don't see that many lacrosse goals out there.

SPEAKER_00 28:04

Yep, yep. So let me ask you this what's up on the shelf behind you there? What's up?

SPEAKER_03 28:14

That's my black label.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

I was like, I was lying that right away.

SPEAKER_04 28:21

Yeah, I'm in my office right now, my gym. I got my gym downstairs and my office up here.

SPEAKER_01 28:25

Well, that's a nice display, by the way. Yeah, with the glasses and everything. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

True Irishman. There we go. So let me ask you this. Kind of, what do you like to do for fun outside of lacrosse? Like, what are some of the things, any hobbies or any interests that you have that's outside of lacrosse?

SPEAKER_04 28:42

I'm a big golfer, love golfing, fishing. I go, I have a beach pass in my truck, so I'll I'll take drive the truck on the beach, bring my black stone, set it up, I'll do like a little hibachi or anything. Cool. I I'm a great cook on that uh blackstone. I cook any smash burgers all the way to Bachi.

SPEAKER_01 28:59

Uh see, they talk about Matt Rambo all the time of being a chef, but you have some hidden talents with the hibachi there.

SPEAKER_04 29:05

Yeah, yeah. It's only the the blackstone. I'm I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm amazing at the Blackstone.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

I love what's your go-to meal, man, on the on the Blackstone? Uh I love the smash burgers.

SPEAKER_04 29:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

Smash burgers. I'm uh I love those. Yeah, they're real good. That's real good. That's good then. I I like to golf too. I don't get out as much, you know, with my schedule, not as much as I'd like to, but uh went to an outing last last month and didn't play well at all. Just did not play well. Yeah, but I love to enjoy it now.

SPEAKER_01 29:41

I I tell people that I I got into golf late and uh I started playing and I played for about four years before our first son was born, and right before he was born, I got my handicap down to about 13, which isn't bad, it's respectable. And and it just then I had three kids, and now I have no handicap like that.

SPEAKER_04 30:04

I play a little too much. I play like I play like two or three times a week. I try to get out there. A lot of guys in the Chrome make fun of me how much I play.

SPEAKER_00 30:12

No, that's good, it's a great game, man. It's relaxing, and you know what? It's just a it's a great game, and it's a hard game to play well, you know. You gotta play a lot to play well.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

You do have to play a lot, and and the other thing is based on the tour model for you, have you been able to maybe swing the sticks in the different areas? That's what's great too. Just seeing different different tracks out there across the country. He's gonna be playing Pebble Beach in a couple of months. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:39

I want to check that place out.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

That's right. That is just up the coast. That's a hop, skip, and a jump for you as a seal, or maybe a swim, but you'll get there.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

Connor, this has been this has been a great, great half hour, 40 minutes. Uh, you were a phenomenal guest tonight. We really appreciate you taking the time. You're a busy guy, and you took 45 minutes to be with the two knuckleheads from In the Crease podcast, two dads that just never played the game but just love the game and passionate about it. And to have you come on our show is probably the highlight, I think, so far, Kev.

SPEAKER_04 31:18

No problem. Thanks for having me, guys.

SPEAKER_01 31:20

Yeah, somehow we're gonna I he can't sign my laptop or my my Zoom calendar, so uh, we'll have to think of something else for an autograph at another time.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

But uh well, the next time the PL is at Hofstra, where you have family, Kev. Yeah, and it's right down the road.

SPEAKER_01 31:38

So the next time Chrome is at at Hofstra, we'll be actually going to the semifinals on Sunday in DC, living in northern Virginia. And I was hoping to see Connor there, but unfortunately, uh just one game short of that. Um, but uh Connor, it's been phenomenal having you on. You're a true gentleman to come on with us and and a real ambassador for the sport, even beyond the PLL. So we thank you so much for coming on.

SPEAKER_00 32:08

No problem at all, man. Thank you, Connor Farrell, PLL Chrome, former D2 player at Post. Thanks so much for coming on. We wish you all the luck in the world, especially out in San Diego. Think about us when you're out there. Think about us. We'll be cold on the East Coast, yeah. And again, thanks so much and continued success. And we really appreciate it. And we'll see you next time, okay?

SPEAKER_04 32:33

D2 represent baby.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

There we go. Wow, Danny. Yeah, wow, is right. What a guy, huh?

SPEAKER_01 32:45

What a what a phenomenal guy. Well, it's funny too, because I've never seen you and me too, as awestruck of having a player on when you see him every week playing professional across, yeah, and there he is on your screen talking to you. He's just a regular guy.

SPEAKER_00 33:08

I I was pretty excited about it when he said, you know, when he was willing to come on, I was like, Oh, yeah, this is great. I was telling everybody at work, I was calling people. I'm like, you're never gonna believe who said he's gonna come on, and just just to have him on. And I mean, he's one of the biggest personalities in the PLL. I don't care what without a doubt, if not the biggest. And I and I mean, he's just he's really good at what he does, and he was a former D2 player, another D2 player. You know, Division II, the unsung heroes, the red-headed stepchildren. And there he is, not only uh playing in professional league, but he's an all-star. He's an all-star and one of the personalities of the entire league. Paul Rables should be stuffing his envelope with a lot of money because he's really bringing something more to the table than I they thought he would.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Well, they built part of their model is built on the player and built on building them individually and helping them with social media. And I'm telling you, you can see tonight, and you see it when he plays, you'd see it in his interviews, his other interviews, and what he does in social media. He is made for that, and not only is he made for that on the social media side, he's also a phenomenal player.

SPEAKER_00 34:34

Yeah, he's got the whole package, and he's a football guy, he's a football guy. Yeah, he he said he didn't even like lacrosse that much in high school, he just didn't even like it that much, and now it was just something to do in the spring, you know? Keep him all the seconds, you know, and his roommate makes a little bet with him about wrestling for 10 seconds, and next thing you know, he's taking face-offs for Coach Jazz, yeah, and paralleles that into a professional career.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

I mean, obviously, he was a fun, he's a phenomenal athlete, you can see that, and he was a phenomenal athlete to be able to play two D2 sports at the same time. But I'll tell you, uh it it just shows what D2 brings to the table.

SPEAKER_00 35:19

100%, Kevin. I mean, again, the the redheaded stepchild, the forgotten son is division two lacrosse. And you know, if you look at division two lacrosse in the last six, eight, nine years, it's grown exponentially. There's just as many teams now in division two as there are in division one, and it's growing in parts of the country where Division I doesn't have teams. So Division II is where it's at, Kev, as far as I'm concerned. I know Division I, everybody, you know, I gotta go D1. But look at what it's done for Shane Jackson, look at what it's done for Andrew Q, look at what it's done for uh, you know, uh Mike Messenger, look what it's done for Connor Farrell. Yeah, look at what it's done to for these guys.

SPEAKER_01 36:05

Exactly. And even those that don't make it to the pros, look what it does for them from an education standpoint, and also the ability to play high level across. We talk about this all the time. It's not for everyone. You know, we had the podcast with with Reed Meyer and Athletes to Athletes, and it really takes kind of a meshing to understand if it works. But I'm telling you, you and I know from seeing our sons how D2 can combine so much and give that D1 level of of a team and an atmosphere and a culture and play level of playing teams at that level, right? And getting more of a chance to play and play for championships.

SPEAKER_00 36:54

I couldn't agree with you more. I mean, I mean the division two has been great for my kids. Okay, great, not just good, but great. They did great things at division two. And my and my youngest just started, he's you know, it's just starting fall there, he's there three weeks. He loves it. He's hanging out with the guys, he's going to the gym, and you know what? It's division two. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

And so if this podcast and the fact that Connor Farrell, a professional player that is world renowned, was willing to come on our podcast, I think people have got to start following us more. So let I'm I'm I'm asking all our fans to get the word out. Follow us on Instagram at In the Crease D2 Lacks, follow us on Facebook at In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, subscribe to the podcast, spread the word, especially, I think, to those parents and players at the middle and high school level who need to hear these and hear what D2 can bring as an option to other things.

SPEAKER_00 38:04

I'm so glad that you said that, Kevin, because I really believe that now is the time to start getting the parents of high school and middle school kids involved in this podcast somehow. Um, I think with bringing guys like Connor Farrell and Shane Jackson and some of these guys that play pro. And there's parents out there right now with kids in D2 that listen to us. Their kids are already in D2. But they might have friends or nieces or nephews that are still younger, or you know, have a sister that has a son that's playing at the eighth grade level. Get the word out to those people, folks, and and let's start getting those younger, the younger kids' families involved so we can, again, like you said, bring the word of division two and and just describe how good it is.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

Could not have said it better. And so with that, Danny, I think that's a wrap. That's a wrap, yeah. And that was a good one.