We're Not Playing For Second Place: Jumping In with Team USA Head Coach & Premier Lacrosse League Director of Competition Seth Tierney (Stars & Stripes Classic Series)

The Jedburgh Podcast

The United States doesn’t play for second place. Not on the battlefield and certainly not on the lacrosse field. As we gear up for the first ever Stars and Stripes Classic, Fran Racioppi sat down with Head Coach of Team USA Seth Teirney. Seth is also the Director of Competition at the Premier Lacrosse League and the Head Coach of Hofstra University.

He’s involved in every aspect and level of lacrosse from the pros down to youth. He’s a national champion as a coach and played in the National Lacrosse League as a player.

Seth’s attitude about lacrosse is gold medal or bust. Fran and Seth covered why it takes “feeling the sport” to compete at the highest level as both an athlete and a coach. Seth shared the launch story of the PLL from a broken down bus in Israel and how the PLL honors the Indigenous legacy of lacrosse.

Seth also gives his tips to parents raising athletes and explains what it means to coach the US National Team. Plus he makes his prediction for the battle of the year, as the Green Berets take on the Navy SEALs September 2 at Gillette Stadium.

Take a listen, watch, or read our conversation with one of lacrosse’s greatest players and coaches, then head over to our YouTube channel or your favorite podcast platform to catch all the action from the Stars and Stripes Classic. Head over to Green Beret Foundation and join our 18 Series Match Challenge to support our team as the Snakeeaters take on the Frogmen.

Highlights

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:27 Welcome to Fairfield University
• 3:30 Setting the lacrosse example
• 5:16 Growing the PLL
• 7:12 The origins of lacrosse
• 8:58 Lacrosse is about feeling
• 10:49 How have the players evolved?
• 12:48 Gold medal or bust
• 14:08 How coaches have changed
• 16:01 Is junior level competition healthy?
• 18:00 A tribute to Andy Towers
• 19:53 The PLL’s next phase
• 21:48 Recruiting the top athletes
• 22:46 Stars and Stripes Classic

Quotes

• “This whole thing started when a bus broke down in 2018 in Israel.”
• “This sport. Where it came from. It was not just playing. It was understanding.”
• “It’s not written down in a handbook. You’ve got to be able to feel the game.”
• “It’s an all-in sport that is on fire right now.”
• “There is no second place. We’re not playing for second place. It’s gold medal or bust.”
• “When we get the Stars and Stripes Game going…that’s a forever day.”

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation. Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.

Special thanks to the Premier Lacrosse League for hosting us at Fairfield University and for sponsoring the Stars and Stripes Classic.