Lax Goalie Rat 2019 Year in Review – Plus 2020 Plans!

What’s up everyone? I hope you had a great 2019!

At the end of every year I like to take some time to reflect on how things went and set some goals for the upcoming year.

In this post I’m going to do exactly that.

The Lax Goalie Rat blog started as an idea in my well before 2015, but September of that year is when I hit publish on my very first post.

When I think about and look at some of the early content, it’s great to see how far the site has come.

It’s also great to hear from all the coaches, parents, and goalies who been touched in some way with the goalie training or motivational content I offer.

That is what it’s all about for me! Period.

2019 YEAR IN REVIEW

Solid Content Creation

In 2019 I was pleased with the level of content I was able to put out.

I essentially took Q4 off for reasons I’ll discuss in a bit but I was still able to reach:

• 53 blog posts
• 26 podcast episodes

It still continues to amaze me that in a niche as specific and concrete as lacrosse goalies that I’ve yet to run out of content to create.

In addition to free blog posts and podcasts, I added a bunch more content to my paid training, the lax goalie rat online camp including:

• Backyard Training Sessions Course
• Stick Stringing 101 Course featuring a bunch of different tutorials on how to string up goalie heads
• Forums for interaction amongst members and an easier method to interact with me

Overall I was happy with the output in 2019 despite taking several months off because we…

Moved to Argentina

My wife is from Argentina and while we had visited tons of times, in 2019 we decided to relocate there.

We’re now living in her hometown of Córdoba, Argentina.

It’s extremely exciting learning a new culture, a new language, and a new country.

Very simple things that I took for granite in the US are now routines that I’m relearning and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

We’re also exploring the country with some trips which is amazing:

At the same time, it was bittersweet for me as coaching goalies live is one of the biggest thrills for me. And here in Córdoba lacrosse isn’t quite a thing (yet!).

I did put on a lacrosse clinic here about a year ago with my friend from Syracuse. We already have plans to do more clinics with physical education classes at the local universities. That’s the plan to build up a team here.

Buenos Aires – the capital – has multiple lacrosse teams and I’d love to be able to start a team in Córdoba to compete with (and beat) them.

So while I was getting settled in Argentina I essentially took off a few months from the site.

PLANS FOR 2020

Go Pro with Lax Goalie Rat

Ever since I started Lax Goalie Rat it’s always been a side hustle for me.

I used to do freelance web design and then started a job as Head of Customer Success for a software company Simplero earlier this year.

Lacrosse and coaching goalies is something I’m extremely passionate about. Here we are 5 years in and my fuel for helping goalies has only grown stronger.

But I’ve yet to crack the key to make a full time income from this blog and the training products I sell.

I’ve had this one on my list of goals for awhile and it continues. In 2020 I plan to “go pro” making a full time income by helping lacrosse goalies and coaches up their game.

New Season of Podcasts

If there is one thing I love talking about it’s lacrosse and lacrosse goalies.

I guess its good I have a lacrosse podcast then where I get to do exactly that!

I try to keep podcast episodes to a maximum of 1 hour but for most episodes it feels like myself and the guest could go on talking all day about the topic.

Most of the feedback I get on the show is positive although I do understand the audio medium isn’t everyone’s favorite for learning.

However in 2020 I’ll be back with a new season of podcasts!

I already have a couple interviews done including with:

• PLL Redwoods Goalie Tim Troutner
• PLL Whipsnakes Goalie Kyle Bernlohr (2nd time on the show)
• A couple interviews with youth goalies and goalie Dads

If you know of any great guests for the show in 2020, send them my way: [email protected].

Lax Goalie Rat Membership Site

I typically sell lifetime access to my flagship product – the Lax Goalie Rat online camp.

When I was running my Black Friday sale, someone asked “what exactly is in the camp?”. Great question!

I recorded a quick walkthrough to show you what you get:

In fact I ran a sale awhile back indicating this was the last chance to grab lifetime access. I wasn’t being scammy, life just got in the way and I haven’t had the chance to switch everything over to the new model.

You can still grab lifetime access – lacrosse goalie camp – probably for the next month or so while I get the membership site and pricing setup.

In 2020 I’m going to setup a membership style pay by the month style access. So those who just want a few months of access can get it.

Part of running a membership (pay by the month) style is adding new content monthly so I’m also planning on hiring a goalie to help me run the membership site, add new content, and interact with the members.

Lax Goalie Rat Affiliate Program

In 2020 I’m going to spend some time building up the affiliate program.

I’ve always had one out there for folks who were interested but so far it hasn’t really been a success. But mostly cause I haven’t put any effort into promoting it or helping make affiliates successful.

Could be a great chance for some lacrosse programs to earn a little extra revenue by promoting my training camp. I’m offering 30% commission.

If you want to apply, click here and I’ll review.

Republish Old Posts

In 2020 I still want to dedicate time for new blog posts.

I still get great questions from new goalies and parents that I’ve yet to fully address on the blog.

However in addition to new I want to spend some time redoing older blog posts.

At this point some posts are a few years old and don’t fully reflect either 1.) my current writing abilities or 2.) my current method of coaching the position.

So I will be reworking and republishing several posts.

Coach Damon Coaching Coaches

I may not be the best goalie coach. And I may not be the best web developer.

Am I the best goalie coach / web developer combo out there?

Yeah, I’m willing to put my money on that.

I think I have a gift when it comes to teaching and I also understand online business and the technical side that’s required to setup your platform online.

As I speak with the professional lacrosse goalies out there many are teaching camps and private lessons this winter or coaching at universities to make money to supplement their professional income.

I would love to teach them out to setup online coaching business. I’ve done it without any name recognition so they have a tremendous head start.

Setting up a business online is magical in that:

1. You broaden your reach and help more people! All sudden kids located in a city you would never visit have direct access to you and your training.
2. You stop trading time for money. With coaching and private lessons you have to be present for those to work. With online training courses, you put in the work up front and then collect on that asset you’ve built. So you can earn while you’re training at the gym or even while on vacation.
3. You get to make money doing the thing you’re passionate about. That’s the dream right. “Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.” This is still hard work so I don’t know if I agree with that quote but one thing is for sure – you will love it and working with something you live will improve your life!

In 2020 you’ll see some training come out from me regarding getting an online sports coaching business setup.

You don’t have to be a professional to run an online coaching business (spoiler alert: I’m not a pro goalie).

You just have to be knowledgeable in the sport and have a passion for coaching. Those are the 2 requirements.

You bring those to the table and I can teach you the rest. This training would apply to any sport – not just lacrosse.

Conclusion

Despite taking the last 3 months of 2019 I pretty proud of the output for Lax Goalie Rat in 2019.

My wife and I moved to Argentina this year which means I won’t be doing any live coaching in the US but in 2020 I’m going hard at adding additional training content. Both in terms of free stuff on the blog and podcast and within my paid online goalie camp which will become a membership site.

I’m also going to branch out to start coaching coaches who want to do something similar to what I’ve created with Lax Goalie Rat.

So that’s my 2019 year in review and the plans for 2020! What do you y’all think?

Really looking forward to 2020! Hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Much love! Coach Damon