West Geauga's Chris Chapin, who became the program's first varsity head coach in 2023, utilizes the “be a goldfish” mantra to instill a positive motivational climate.
West Geauga’s Chris Chapin, who became the program’s first varsity head coach in 2023, utilizes the “be a goldfish” mantra to instill a positive motivational climate.
The phrase, taken from television show Ted Lasso, happened early on when Coach Lasso’s star player, Sam, is shown getting faked out in practice, giving up a goal.
Coach Lasso explained that goldfish are extremely happy because they have a 10 second memory.
He then tells Sam: “Be a goldfish.”
“They say the happiest animal in the world is a goldfish because it has a ten second memory and that’s what I tell (my team),” said Coach Chapin.
Added senior captain Bella Zaffiro, “We always have this one motto and it’s “be a goldfish.” So, basically it’s like if you mess up on the field, just forget about it, it’s one time, it’s five seconds of your life, and just keep playing, keep moving on with your life and keep working hard.”
Coach Chapin said that it is often not easy to implement the “be a goldfish” concept, but his players do a really good job of trying to apply this mantra.
To help his team stay positive and focused, Coach Chapin frequently reinforces the “be a goldfish” mantra throughout the season.
“I always tell them, forget the bad, celebrate the good, and good things will happen,” Coach Chapin said.
Utilizing the “be a goldfish” mantra aligns with Coach Chapin’s overall goal which is for his athletes to become intrinsically motivated by helping them develop a passion and love for lacrosse.
“If they do that (become intrinsically motivated), I don’t have to push them to play hard because they do that on their own,” said Coach Chapin. “I want them to enjoy themselves. At the end of the day, the reason they are out here is to have fun, and that’s what we try to do. It’s not about the winning, it’s not about the losing, it’s about enjoying yourself and having fun.”
Although the Wolverines have had a few setbacks to start the season, they have maintained a positive attitude, fueled by hard work, high team cohesion and the enjoyment of working with their teammates to improve.
“It’s been a really great season so far, we’re really close as a team this year which is always great,” said Zaffiro. “We’ve had a lot of players put in so much effort, especially at lot of new players. We have a couple new players playing varsity this year which is fantastic. We’re so proud of everyone on the team.”
The Wolverines recorded their first victory of the season on April 9 at West Geauga High School against the Lakewood Rangers.
Coach Chapin said that the win over the Rangers was an excellent team victory.
Against the Rangers, leading the Wolverines to a 7-3 victory was Zaffiro with 4 goals. Also, scoring one goal each against the Rangers were senior Lizzie Fuerst, junior Maria Jones, and junior Liliana Colecchia.
Both Zaffiro and Colecchia have led the Wolverines this season in goals scored.
In fact, against the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals at West Geauga High School on April 15th, both Zaffiro and Colecchia demonstrated a “be a goldfish” mentality as they fought hard throughout the game.
Against the Cardinals, the Wolverines got behind early, 5-1, heading into the second quarter.
However, the Wolverines quickly utilzed their goldfish mentality and did not worry about the score.
Indeed, both Zaffirro and Colecchia both had hat tricks against the Cardinals and both scored their 10th goals of the season.
With a “be a goldfish” mentality the Wolverines are continuing to work hard and improve each week.
“The whole team is working hard, they’re improving every week, and that’s all I tell them to do every time they walk on the field,” said Coach Chapin.
