You got this.
Join the #bravesquad to train your mental game alongside other competitive, awesome girls.
Learn from female Lax Legends how to manage anxieties, overcome obstacles, and achieve peak performance.
Right now is the best time.
Girls everywhere are experiencing more stress and anxiety than ever before often resulting in self-doubt and lack of confidence, which impairs their self-image and wellness.
Cultural and societal pressures compound the challenges through pervasive social media, and young women are struggling with the stress of school, college selection process, and extra-curricular responsibilities.
Female athletes are also burdened by performance pressure and the stress of college recruiting.
Brave programming enables female athletes to manage external and internal pressures in an increasingly difficult environment to support their performance and growth athletically, academically and emotionally.
This 29-day #bravesquad gathers athletic girls together - in community and on a team - to acknowledge fear and activate bravery in order to CRUSH their life!
29 Days of Brave
This edition of the #bravesquad is geared toward lacrosse players in the thick of the stress of school and fall recruiting tournaments.
The programming was designed to meet girls where they are right now, and offer support during this crazy time.
Daily Pump-Ups
29 days of inspiration, motivation, and advice to keep you focused, improving, and growing.
Virtual Practice
8 all terrain skill training sessions with lacrosse experts.
#bravesquad Sweatshirt
1-of-its-kind sweatshirt for #bravesquad members ONLY that will help you find support at fall tourneys.
We're rooting for you.
We assembled an incredible team of expert teachers, coaches, competitors, and role models, to scaffold an experience that will lift you into your own awesome life.
Hear directly from the experts
Each week, we'll host an expert during one of the virtual practices to tell their story and talk about the stuff they know from their lived experience. Short, daily emails will include content by each expert curated for maximum motivation and support.
Crista Samaras
Princeton '99
Host, Brave Founder,
#bravesquad Programming Designer
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Crista is the Founder of Brave Enterprises, a research and data driven effort to increase bravery through deliberate practice.
At Princeton, she was selected Rookie of the Year, was a 3x All-American, 2x Ivy League Player of the Year, and graduated as the record-holder for career points, single-season points, and assists. She still holds the single-season record for caused turnovers. Crista was on the US Women’s Lacrosse Team from 1995-2007 and competed in both the 2001 and 2005 World Cup Games winning gold and silver medals, respectively.
She coached at Yale before she started XTEAM and BOUNCE - two lacrosse companies in 2004, which worked to empower female players from non-traditional lax-playing areas to compete for spots at the collegiate level. In January 2012, she stepped in as Head Women's Lacrosse Coach at the University of Richmond for the spring season and coached the team from #33 in the country to #13. In 2014, she sold her lacrosse companies.
To date, Brave Enterprises has worked with over 10,000 people in 250+ sessions nationwide. Brave has effectively measured its programming impact on 6,000 people and continues its research on fear, and how best to activate bravery in the face of it.
Crista lives in NYC with her wife Mayme, and their two kids.
Kylie Ohlmiller
Stony Brook '18
Getting the most out of the game you have right now, and building toward the game you want.
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Kylie Ohlmiller is the founder and owner of KO17 Lacrosse. She is a Long Island, NY native who played lacrosse, basketball, and volleyball at Islip High School and Division I lacrosse at Stony Brook University. Throughout her career at Stony Brook, she was a 4x All-American, a 2x Tewaaraton Finalist, a 2x America East Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and the NCAA Record Holder for both Single-Season and Career Points and Assists.
Currently, Kylie is a member of the USA Lacrosse Women's National Team, an Athlete's Unlimited Pro Player, and a New Balance/Brine athlete. Recently, she has added commentator/analyst to her resume!
Katie DeFeo
USC '21
How to develop a healthy relationship with social media, and use it to your advantage.
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Katie DeFeo graduated from the University of Southern California in 2021, where she played D1 Lacrosse and started a YouTube channel showcasing her life as an athlete.
Now, Katie works with athletes and brands to build their communities as she did in college. Katie hosts a weekly YouTube show on ‘Unleashed’ dedicated to the current news and events in the world of women’s lacrosse.
Mira Shane
Michigan '18
What it looks like (and feels like) to search for, discover, and BE your true, authentic self.
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Mira Shane is the winningest goalie in Michigan Women's Lacrosse history with 24 career victories, 360 career saves, and .451 career save percentage.
Currently, she lives in Brooklyn, NY and is working for Verb Energy doing BJEDI (Belonging, Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) for employees. She is passionate about social justice, mental health, women in sport and music.
Jessica Adam
Duke '09
Learn how to prioritize your mental health in a world where hard stuff keeps coming at you.
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Jess graduated from Duke University in 2009 with a bachelor's in biological anthropology and anatomy, and a certificate in markets and management. Two-time captain of the Duke Women’s Lacrosse Program, Jess went on to intern at ESPN's “Wide World of Sports” at Disney World in event management, following her graduation. Her love of lacrosse took her across the pond as well, where she served as the Head of the Women's Lacrosse Program at Durham University and led them to a first-place finish in the British Universities and College Sports National Championship.
After her lacrosse career wound down, Jess wholeheartedly pursued her interest in psychology, completing the master's program in clinical psychology at Antioch University in Los Angeles. Now she is a licensed therapist and yoga instructor in Cambridge, Massachusetts, working with young adults in private practice and community health.
Jess runs groups for current college student athletes, and individuals who competed in athletics who are now transitioning out of sport and exploring their purpose and identity after playing sports. When not working, Jess can be found hanging outdoors or spending time with family and friends.
Rachael DeCecco
Princeton '03
Guest Coach
Head of PLL Academy
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Rachael is the Head of PLL Academy, the PLL’s youth development arm of the business. In addition to leading the Academy, Rachael serves on the PLL’s medical committee and helped build the protocols for the 2020 Championship Series and 2021 season.
Before working at the PLL, Rachael helped co-found the Women's Professional Lacrosse League. Outside of her league operations experience, Rachael is a color commentator for ESPN, the Big Ten and the Ivy League Network. Prior to working in sports, Rachael earned a master's degree in healthcare administration from George Washington University and served as an executive in senior living for 12 years.
Rachael earned a psychology degree from Princeton University, where she captained both the field hockey and lacrosse teams, and remains one of the most decorated lacrosse players in program history. She is a World Cup silver medalist, 2x National Champion, 3x All -American, US Lacrosse National Hall of Famer, and remains the only defender in the 20-year history of the award to win the Tewaaraton trophy.
Rachael lives in Newtown Square, PA with her husband Jason and four children.
You are going to CRUSH it.
That is what we do on the #bravesquad. There is no hiding the stuff that hurts, OR how awesome you are. This is the place for truth, for trust, and for team.
Squad Schedule
It's a busy month doing what you love. This time 'round, plug into motivational energy and a team of girls who knows EXACTLY what you're going through.
DOWNLOAD SCHEDULEWe are so glad you are here.
Yes, you.
