The Winning Difference

Be The Standard. Don't talk about it. LIVE it.

To hear more: youtu.be/6Phme4MZp-8Paul Rabil, one of the most influential figures in the history of lacrosse, co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League, and author of The Way of the Champion. Paul has helped transform his sport not just through elite performance, but through vision, leadership, and a commitment to building something bigger than himself. In this conversation, we explore discipline, resilience, purpose, and the mindset it takes to lead when the pressure is highest. This is a conversation about championship habits, lasting impact, and what it really means to make a difference.

"Your likelihood of success in sports depends on your work ethic and your character." Plenty of athletes have potential. Fewer have discipline. Even fewer have the character to keep showing up when it’s hard, when they’re tired, and when excuses are easy.

“Failure, you have to take more from it than it took from you.” Failure took the result. Don’t let it take the lesson.   Walk away wiser, not wounded.

If you develop better people before you develop better players, you create a culture where leadership, humility and standards become habits that sustain winning.

Everybody wants to be great when it counts. Not everybody prepares like it counts every day. Everybody wants the moment that gets remembered. Few master the moments that never get noticed. That's where the separation happens. Master the moments in between.

“Your character will take you further than your resume.”   Your highlights show what you can do. Your character shows what you’ll become. The athlete with character wins long after talent runs out.

“You don’t quit and you don’t make excuses,” Tom Brady Toughness is built in your willingness to fight no matter what the situation is.

"You don't get to choose which pieces of the program you get to be committed to. And it's really important that when you have those standards the byproduct will be winning, but all of those other things need to show up before the scoreboard." @MollyMiller33

In this episode, Coach Schlossnagle shares lessons from his coaching journey, the standards that define winning teams, and the mindset required to develop players both on and off the field. From building trust to creating accountability, this conversation is packed with insight for athletes, coaches, leaders, and anyone striving to make a difference. youtu.be/FkU_dZUuGtM

"Accountability is the greatest form of love. It's doing what you say that you are going to do. We call it 'coach fed - player led'. Our job as a staff is to set the ground rules and the core values of the program but each individual team - it belongs to the players."

“It’s been pretty fun when you see a group of guys who are willing to give themselves to the team and the process, regardless of what that means for themselves.” Winning starts when everyone buys into the process, even when the process doesn’t revolve around them.

“Nothing feels better than having to earn it…that the beauty of competition.” What’s given can be taken. What’s earned becomes part of you.

"Part of being a real grown up in life is telling people when what they’re doing isn’t good enough." Real leadership is telling the truth before the scoreboard does. Athletes and coaches who care don’t let bad habits slide. They confront them, correct them, and protect the standard the team says it wants.

You never get to control what happens to you in life. But, you can always control how you respond. Your response-ability is your responsibility.

“What I love about sports is friendships. I think sports makes friendships more soulful and more deep and more connected,” George Karl The relationships you build with your teammates determine your immeasurable moments of success.

In practice: -most players work hard. -most players communicate. -most players bring energy and enthusiasm. -most players compete. Doing all of this just makes you like most players. What are you doing outside of practice to separate yourself from most players?

"Character is something you can only get when you experience the things that you do not want." Great athletes are not only shaped by what they achieve. They are shaped by what they survive, learn from, and keep showing up for.

Teamwork creates opportunities for greatness to shine in the most adverse moments.