Reilly O'Connor

Reilly O'Connor is a good dude. He's a great teammate. He's mentally tough. He's a leader, and he's the Head Coach of the Toronto Beaches of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League.

He walks the walk as a coach. The actions match the words, so much so that he's also still a player in the National Lacrosse League with the new Ottawa Black Bears.

He's also-also a coach with Beast Athletics in Toronto and its offshoot Leadership Project.

Dude is a full-timer. And it's super important to note that Reilly O'Connor's life is lacrosse, leadership, and coaching. Helping people get better.

He's a seven-year NLL vet, played college lacrosse at Georgetown off a recommendation from Brodie Merrill, he won two Minto Cups with the Whitby Warriors, he's also the youngest guest I've had on this podcast so far. He's 31. And we'll talk about how being that close to today's game – he's still playing today's game – gives him an advantage behind the bench and a connection to his players that sets him apart and gives him a fresh perspective.

He will be a coach in the National Lacrosse League when his playing days are done.

On this episode, we talk about the differences in preparing for a game as a coach versus a player, knowing when to push someone to go harder, and the skills that define being a good teammate.

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