TopJLax

At TopJ we like chatting to cool guys. When it comes to interviews we seek out the very coolest of the bro's who dominate the sport in their own ways. Introducing Chazz Woodson, widely considered one of the most explosive and exciting players in the MLL, he has stunned players and fans alike with his physics-defying trickery, winning 2008's MLL All-Star Best Trick, and making ESPN's top 10 best plays of the week across all professional sports (yup THAT behind-the-back crease dive). Graduating from Brown University with a scoop of All-Ivy League and All-New England Honours, he has continued to push the boundaries in every way possible, dedicating his life to educating and mentoring others in academics, spiritualism, and of course dominating the lacrosse field. As his catch-phrase, 'Average is my Enemy', suggests, Chazz doesn't waste time wasting time. Everything is about becoming the best, and overcoming what ever you have to to do it. Chazz is about as far from average as it gets!


TopJLax caught up with the MLL star to learn a bit more about what he does and how he works...

Flowseph: Firstly Chazz, a warm welcome to TopJLax. We’re extremely excited to have you here. How’s your day going?

Chazz: Thanks for having me, my man.  Woke up “early” today to get the oil changed in my car.  I put early in quotes because I’m usually up earlier than this, but lately the travelling has had me exhausted, so I’m sleeping a lot more than normal ... or at least a lot later.  I managed to find a good guy that does body work, and another guy that handles other aesthetics (tinting, etc).  I’ve gotten my morning routine – Morning Prayer, Words of Wisdom, check personal and business emails – out of the way before I walked out the door as well.  So far, a good morning!  After this interview, I’m gonna get lunch, then I have to get some work done on my Humble Swagger brand, handle some local area lacrosse business, and a few other things.  Plus I gotta play hoops again today.

Flowseph: That’s a cool schedule bro, living the dream! Now, you are one of the most electrifying and exciting players in Major League Lacrosse, how do you focus on keeping down-to-earth alongside such success?

Chazz: Being down-to-earth is about as easy as it gets for me.  #1, I think I’m that way in general.  Always have been.  #2, I was raised that way, and have plenty of people – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, coaches, friends, etc – that keep me in check.  They’d never let my head get too big.  And #3, I personally think it’s rather annoying when you see some of these guy (I won’t name names) that really think that they’re that big a deal.  You have to keep things in perspective.  As lacrosse players, we don’t make millions of dollars.  Nobody really knows who we are outside of the sport.  A lot of people don’t know what our sport is in the first place.  And some of these people are people that we actually know!  There are a handful of guys that really think, for some reason, that they are a big deal because they played at X school or that being in the MLL makes them anything special.  There’s this false sense of entitlement, I think, that is growing in lacrosse.  It’s actually rather disappointing.  But it’s all perspective.  I know that I’m not bigger than the Game and I know that nobody is.  The Game has done a lot for me, and I know my place in it.

Flowseph: You’re an accomplished basketball player and coach as well, what made you pursue a career in lacrosse over basketball? 

Chazz: Basketball is my first love athletically.  I actually wanted to play basketball in college - more than lacrosse really.  But I was better at lacrosse, and I also understood the doors that lacrosse could open for me.  I didn’t understand the extent of it when I was younger, but I knew enough to know that going to Brown University to play lacrosse was a better decision than going to East Nowhere U, just because I loved basketball more.  And obviously, I enjoyed playing lacrosse as well.  Still do.

Flowseph: At TopJLax we’re very forward thinking, when we finally go global and invest in the creation of a lacrosse version of NFL or NBA Street on the PS3 (or probably PS4 by then), would you like to collaborate on the effort?

Chazz: Is there a check involved??? Joking! Sure I would!

Flowseph: Verbal contract. What tracks would you like to see on it? 

Chazz: I’m not sure.  That’s a good question, but because I kind of steer clear of the gaming world, I don’t really know.  I stick to Tetris, (Ms.) Pac Man, Asteroid, etc.  Mostly because my younger brother used to put me to shame in video games, so rather than continuing to get beat, I opted out of it.  I punked out, for ever.  I’m slowly trying to get into some of it.  I’d like to get a wii or something similar at some point.  But I’m too cheap ... ehhhh .... cost efficient.  “But,” states Peter Griffin, “I digest.” 

Flowseph: Haha…nice

Chazz: I’d like to see some Jay Z on there, somebody like an Outkast (in full or as individuals), Mos Def ... somebody that has a little more substance to what they have to say.  Not just rhyming for the sake of rhyming.  And I’d like to collaborate on a spoken word piece for the intro.

Flowseph: Spoken word intro would be perfect. Do you see a strong correlation between the two sports, lacrosse and basketball? 

Chazz: Lacrosse and basketball are, without question, siblings.  And they should be.  After all, James Naismith was a lacrosse player.  Strategically, there’s a lot of basketball in lacrosse.  There’s soccer and hockey as well.  And as the game continues to develop, you see a lot more of the dodging starting to resemble the crossovers etc that you’d find on the basketball court.

Flowseph: Do you associate yourself, or draw inspiration from any NBA greats, or present stars?

Chazz: I think I ask myself this question a lot just in case someone ever asks me.  Ironically here’s my big chance, and I don’t have an answer!  I think I’m similar to some NBA/NFL players in terms of how I approach and/or play the game.  For example, take Chad Ochocinco.  Great receiver, works hard.  Will probably not go down as one of the best in NFL history, BUT he’s somebody that is a threat every time he’s on the field.  You can’t ignore him.  I think I’m similar.  I think Iverson, in terms of just being athletic, and not backing down from anyone in his path.  I think if I could be Barry Sanders on a lacrosse field, I’d be near impossible to deal with, so I never feel that I’m quick enough fast enough or strong enough.  There are a lot of guys who offer so many different things in their respective sports.  I often feel like if I could package them together and form one athlete, that’s what I’d model my game after.  But, as any child of the 80s and 90s basketball fan, Michael Jordan is who I draw athletic inspiration from.  I dare anyone to say they didn’t love watching and pretending to be like Mike.  I still watch (sometimes before games) Youtube videos of Mike just dominating the game.  Who doesn’t want to dominate their sport the way he did???

Flowseph: I’ve been described as a long-haired Larry Bird.

Chazz: The Bird-man! That’s a complement my man.

Flowseph: Thanks. As a Highschool sports coach you are in a great position to really instil some great values into the young’uns for both on and off the pitch/court- how do you go about achieving this?

Chazz: First and foremost, I try to make sure they all understand what their priorities are.  Faith and family #1.  Academics #2.  Sports #3.  I try to let them understand that they are where they are (physically and otherwise) because of others.  They didn’t do it alone, and they will always need to rely on somebody at some point.  No successful person is 100% self made.  From there it’s just about passing on the life lessons I’ve learned on my own and from countless other people.  I’ve made enough mistakes in my life and I’ve had enough good people in my life to believe in what I say.  And when I speak to younger people, I always speak from the heart.  Sounds cliché, but it’s the truth.  I don’t BS them.  I think they all realize that what I tell them, for the most part they can take to the bank. Though sometimes I like to make up ridiculous things just to see if they really will go for it.  All in good fun.

Flowseph: What tips would you give to youngsters and new players starting lacrosse? What should they focus on to develop their skills whilst avoiding bad habits?

Chazz: Get to the wall.  Make it your best friend.  There’s nothing in the world better than the wall for a developing lacrosse player.  There are parts of my game that I’m still developing with the use of the wall.  Handle with both hands.  There’s kind of a new school of thought, thanks mostly to Canadian players, that you can do everything with your strong hand.  And while there’s a great deal of evidence to support this, there’s always going to be a place on the field for a guy that can use both hands equally.  So work on both hands.  And then work 80/20 fundamentals/fun.  Fun is what keeps the game evolving, and is what separates the innovators from everyone else.  See Mike Powell.

Flowseph: Speaking of which, have behind-the-backs and classic ‘Chazz Woodson flair’ always been a big part of your game?

Chazz: To put it simply ... yes.

Flowseph: So we all know you train hard, as practise is something you have always emphasised on the way to greatness, but what does this involve for you? How do you ensure that what you are doing is making you better than anyone else?

Chazz: To be honest I have to trust that it is, especially at this point in my career.  I’ve changed focus a little bit now.  For a long while I was very determined to fill out my game.  To add a 12 yd shot.  To be able to hit the behind the back pass on the move.  But I’ve reached the point in my career now, where my focus is taking everything that I already do well, and fine tuning it.  I know what I do affectively, and I know what I don’t do so well.  So I want to take my strengths and make those as efficient as they possibly can be.  Another thing I do is watch other players.  I often find little things that guys do that either they do more affectively and efficiently than I do, or that I just never thought to do.  I’ll take those and try to fit them into my game.  As far as training, I just try to maintain my strength and speed, and then try to up it a bit.  I’m passed the point where I feel the need to get bigger (for lacrosse, and in life).  Now I just want to make sure that I’m physically able to perform.  The last two seasons I’ve had injuries, and it’s not a good look. 

Flowseph: We’d all agree with you there. Now your New Balance ‘The Next Step’, that was a great commercial. How was it to make? Did you have a large part in its production? It certainly seems like your work…

Chazz: NB and the production team did an absolutely AWESOME job of capturing me and what I’m all about.  I think that’s what they were going for, but I couldn’t have imagined it being that good.  I obviously was there for the shooting, but they did the piecing together all on their own.  I didn’t really have anything to do with it.  It was a lot of fun to do.

Flowseph: Do you firmly believe in New Balance and their transition into lacrosse?

Chazz: NB has been great with me.  And when that commercial hit last year, I think it said a lot about what NB wants to do long term.  Lacrosse, however, is still a niche sport and it’s tough, business wise, to throw a lot of money at things that may not have much return.  Fortunately for NB they’ve got Warrior and Brine.  So they’ll still have a foothold in the lacrosse world.  As for NB directly, I don’t know what they will end up doing.  I hope that they really transition full steam ahead though.

Flowseph: Do you see strong commercial marketing as a key avenue benefiting the growth of lacrosse and its popularity?

Chazz: Marketing, period.  Everything about lacrosse right now is still trapped in this bubble.  While it’s easier said than done, there needs to be a stronger TV presence – not just games, but good commercials as well, rather than hokey ones that don’t expose the game.  There needs to be print exposure outside of Inside Lacrosse.  Again, all of this is easier said than done, but the bottom line is that to grow in popularity, lacrosse needs more exposure.

Flowseph: What is your knowledge of lacrosse in the UK? 

Chazz: Unfortunately, I do not know anything about UK lacrosse…other than TopJ!

Flowseph: Tell your friends baby! Lacrosse in the UK is obviously a lot less developed than in the US and growth in participation takes time and ideas. How would you foresee its development?  

Chazz: There has to be a youth structure, OR as is the case in Thailand, a well connected group of older players that can start from the top level to showcase it to everyone else.  When people are exposed to lacrosse, they love it.

Flowseph: You are somewhat of a word-smith; do you create all of your own beats as well? 

Chazz: I do not create my own beats (yet).  I either jack them from others, or have somebody do them.  My cousin has done about 7 or 8 for me – some that you hear on my website, and others that I haven’t used yet.  I also had a fan shoot me an email through my site and say he wanted to do a few for me, so he sent me four I think.  I really appreciate that as an art and a talent.  

Flowseph: Well thank you very much Chazz, it’s been an honour, any last thoughts or words of wisdom that you would like to shout out to your UK fans?  

Chazz: The pleasure is mine, my man.  I appreciate the time to share a bit of myself with you.  Big shout, in general, to my UK fans!  I didn’t realize that I had a worldwide appeal like this, but I’m lovin it.  Man, just stay abreast of what I’m doing, via facebook, twitter, and my website.  Keep prayin’ and look out for my brand, Humble Swagger ... in fact the “Average is my enemy” t-shirt is available for purchase already at www.districtlines.com/humbleswagger