#184: Building Elite Warriors - Premier Lacrosse League CEO Mike Rabil (2nd Annual Stars & Stripes Classic)

Lacrosse is a sport built on passion, precision, and community. It’s also a sport that defines service. Live from the Stars and Stripes Classic, Fran Racioppi sat down with Mike Rabil, co-founder and CEO of the Premier Lacrosse League, to highlight the PLL’s partnership with the Green Beret Foundation and explore how the sport of lacrosse is intertwined with American Special Operators. 

A remarkable number of America’s Special Operators come from a lacrosse background. The sport builds toughness, discipline, teamwork, and the ability to perform under pressure. The same qualities that define an elite operator and a key reason why so many lacrosse players serve in the military.

Mike shares his vision for building the PLL into the world’s only professional lacrosse organization. Now in its seventh season, the PLL is deeper, faster, and more competitive than ever, supported by partners who believe in the mission and the athletes who make it possible.

Together, the PLL and the Green Beret Foundation are proving that sport can be a force for impact. This partnership honors the athletes, the warriors, and the families who give so much, and it strengthens the connection between two communities built on grit, excellence, and service.

Highlights

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:21 Welcome to the Stars & Stripes Classic
• 2:50 PLL Progression
• 4:51 College to Pro
• 8:32 Leading up to the Second S&S Game
• 11:14 Lacrosse Discipline in Special Ops

Quotes

• “50% of our games have been decided by just one goal this year.”
• “Now the pressure’s on us to make it worthwhile.”
• “These are the best lacrosse players in the world but some of the best athletes.”
• “To incorporate endurance, strength, physicality, and the hand eye, those are things as a tier one operator you need.”
• “Practice is the payoff for the eventual game.”
• “The community is actually bigger than we think, the game means something to people and it's actually been misbranded.”
• “They’re people of character.”
• “I think athletics in general will teach you a certain level of discipline, resiliency, and adaptability that become critical to your ability to succeed.”

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.