The Sport America Is Sleeping On

About this episode

Kyle Matthews interviews Marc Riccio about the growth of lacrosse, its challenges, and its return to the Olympics.

Kyle Matthews interviews Marc Riccio, CEO of USA Lacrosse, about the sport’s growth, access challenges, and lacrosse’s return to the Olympics in LA 2028 as a medal sport for the first time since 1908. Riccio explains the sixes format (a faster, smaller-sided game akin to rugby sevens) and notes the U.S. women are ranked No. 1 while the U.S. men are No. 2 behind Canada. He discusses obstacles such as high school sanctioning (24 states still not sanctioned), pay-to-play infrastructure, and efforts like “Lacrosse in a Bag” to introduce the sport in schools. Riccio shares leadership lessons from 17 years with the New York Jets, his career path, and how team culture and vulnerability help build championship rosters. 00:00 Move Early Mindset 00:38 Meet Marc Riccio 01:56 Lacrosse Growth Tailwinds 02:37 Olympics Hype And Hockey Comp 04:53 Participation Numbers And TAM 08:02 High School Sanctioning Fight 11:14 LA28 Sixes And Medal Odds 12:07 Lacrosse Origin Story 14:37 Traits Of Great Players 16:54 Team Culture And Leadership 19:41 From Kid Player To Scholarship 22:45 College Grind And Pro Reality 28:40 Breaking Into The Jets 31:01 Parcells Lessons And Decisions 37:04 Belichick Contrast…

People in this episode

Host: Kyle Matthews

Guest: Marc Riccio

Topics covered

• lacrosse
• sports growth
• Olympics
• leadership
• team culture
• high school sports

Keywords

• lacrosse
• USA Lacrosse
• Olympics 2028
• sports leadership
• high school sanctioning
• team culture
• Lacrosse in a Bag

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: USA Lacrosse

Products: Lacrosse in a Bag

Places: LA, New York Jets

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