- March 10, 2025
The best advice I ever received was from my college lacrosse coach. The acronym SUAP is one that I will never forget: Shut up and play.
This was my team’s slogan during our National Championship run in 2005 that ended with Florida State University’s first trip to the Final Four in the men’s collegiate lacrosse tournament. SUAP reminds me to only worry about things I can control. On the lacrosse field, that means don’t worry about the referees, the field conditions, the weather or the other team. In my professional life as a teacher, it reminds me to stay flexible.
A teacher’s day is filled with situations that are out of their control: a surprise faculty meeting, a fire drill right in the middle of a mid-term, and then there are the student’s who are the most unpredictable of all. I refer back to SUAP when interferences arise. It reminds me to re-focus and get back to the task at hand.
