When you walk into the men’s lacrosse side of Liberty University’s East Campus Athletic Facility, you’ll see three words everywhere: give, grow, grind.
These words are on the walls, T-shirts and even magnets, but they are more than just inspiring words for the men’s lacrosse team — they are values to live and play by.
Mounted on another wall is a board that says, “With Gratitude.” Along the left side runs a list of every player’s name, with four columns beside it labeled give, grow, grind and gain.
Throughout the season and academic year, players are nominated by teammates and coaches anonymously when they embody one of these values on or off the field.
To be nominated in these categories, players must exemplify the value in their life — this could be through giving a teammate a ride, growing in faith or grinding on the field during difficult circumstances.
Nominations come from a suggestion box in the locker room. During team meetings on Thursdays, coaches pick one standout player from the group. After a player is nominated, they will receive a magnet with give, grow or grind on it to fill in the column for that value.
“My sophomore year I got a grow, because I came into Liberty not really being a believer, just doing my own thing, and then at the end of my freshman year, I came to Christ,” senior attacker and captain Luke Branham said. “My sophomore year I would say I changed pretty radically, and it was cool because other guys had recognized that, and I got a grow for starting my life in Christ and walking out that faith, and that’s something I’m really proud of.”
Once a player has earned all three magnets, they receive a fourth: gain. Gain represents the athlete’s work from embodying each of the other values.
“So, if you give, you grow, you grind and do that on a daily basis, the byproduct of that is that we gain,” Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. “And the gain is wins, and championships, and national championships, and success and notoriety in the world of sports … and it’s also the relationships, it’s the community.”
The concept of living with gratitude is a major focus for the Liberty Men’s Lacrosse team. While performance on the field is extremely important, behaviors off the field have equal, if not more importance. These are the things that set players up for life, not just their athletic careers.
However, prioritizing these values does not mean lacrosse takes a back seat. On the contrary — proven through multiple seasons of success — the team has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
For the 2024–2025 season, the team held a 20-game win streak, including a 17-12 win over Georgia Tech in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) national championship.
“The focus is (that) we’re doing this to become a better lacrosse team, or a better, faster, stronger version of ourselves so that we can go out on the field and have success, but that bleeds into the real world,” McQuillan said. “If you show me a winner on the lacrosse field, I’ll show you a winner off the field.”
This year, the Flames delivered multiple wins both at home and away while taking part in a competitive schedule during the 2026 season, memorably upsetting the No. 3 seed University of South Carolina with an 11-8 win.
“Sometimes you’re out on the field, and there’s a guy that just wants it,” graduate student attacker Ezra Anderson said. “Some people want to grow, they want to give, they want to grind and I feel like that translates really well because people that in their daily life are applying these things, it’s going to show itself on the field too.”
While recognition is not the driving force for players regarding their values and effort, the attention from fellow players and coaches adds extra motivation to push through and finish their season strong, both in academics and athletics.
“I wouldn’t say people are only giving, growing and grinding because you get recognition … but when that guy that has been working really hard and maybe struggling with motivation or battling with something, when they do get that recognition, I think that gives them that extra level of motivation and adds to the brotherhood,” Branham said.
Giving, growing and grinding encourages each player to contribute positively to the team and in turn, it builds the team’s chemistry.
“It’s the fact that when these guys graduate and go off into life, they stay connected, they are in each other’s weddings. They have a bond and connection, and a community developed through the time that they spend here that has grown them closer to the Lord,” McQuillan said.
Through giving, growing, grinding and gaining all with gratitude, the Liberty Men’s Lacrosse team builds more than just a winning program. Through positive team culture, they prove that succeeding on the field is a mirror of who they are and what they do off the field.
Stewart is a sports writer for The Liberty Champion.