The sun isn’t even up over the Long Island Sound when the lights inside a shed in Clinton turn on. Inside, Connor Page has already loaded up his squat rack to get his workout started. To his players on the Morgan boys lacrosse team, he’s a reliable and knowledgeable coach, but to his friends and family, he’s a guy with an unbreakable mentality.
When Connor Page took on the position of head coach for the Morgan boys lacrosse team in the spring of 2024, he implemented hard workouts and practices.
“My first impression was from the team meeting, when he was going over expectations and grit. There was a lot of high-intensity workers. It was a lot of full-body work. The squats, lunges. The sled. Coach’s dedication to the team was crucial – the way he was constantly scheduling workouts, and showing up.” It made a difference, said Aidan Brotz
At first, the players were frustrated with how hard they were getting pushed, but then it just became second nature to them. Now, they see the massive impact he has made – senior captain Declan Shortt said, “He’s helped all of us progress with our strength and endurance. If you’re going for a ground ball, you need that extra speed and strength to get there, and that helps us win games.”
For Page, being a coach isn’t about blowing whistles from the sideline. It’s a lifestyle built around being physically strong and gritty. It’s a lifestyle built long before he started coaching.
Growing up in Branford, Page learned early on that effort is a choice, something he believes in strongly to this day. “There are very few things we can actually control, effort being one of them. I believe discipline and effort are taught and learned, not something you’re born with,” said Page.
Branford is a town where there’s lots of athletic pride; where blue-collar work isn’t just a saying, it’s how people live. Connor Page’s father did blue-collar work, and he saw his dad working hard and was inspired by his dad at a young age to do the hard things and never give up. “My father got up and worked all day, and showed me what dedication looked like, and for me, being productive all day, ends up being the best days, because the regret of doing nothing was worse than any workout I could do.”
In high school, Page was on the lacrosse and swim teams; he has gained experience in both individual and team sports. “I think individual sports are great because it’s you against yourself. You’re still part of a team, but it’s much more individual, so you have to hold yourself accountable because at the end of the day it’s on you.”
That hometown grit followed Page into his adult life, too. His personal routine is intense, waking up before the sun is up, and he does rigorous workouts daily, always making sure to post them on his Instagram. In the winter, Page enters his gym with no heating and gets to work.
Oftentimes, Page is at practice before the players, doing lunges around the field. “If you’re going to build a house, you need to have a strong foundation; you have to do it brick by brick. The more that you start to stack, the stronger it becomes. Then, when you encounter challenging things, you can look back and know you have done harder things, and push through.” This mindset has completely changed the energy of the team. It’s no longer just about individual stats; it’s about a collective culture of being game-ready.
The physical side is obvious; the team is noticeably stronger and faster since Page became head coach–the real change is how the players treat each other. By pushing them hard, Page has forced them to rely on one another. The players have noticed Page’s influence on the team’s attitude, senior captain Jake Lichack said, “I feel like Coach Page really makes the players step up. He gives a lot of responsibility to the captains to keep the team under control, make the young guys step up, and really focus on practice.”
For Coach Page, the focus of being active isn’t just about winning a championship. He looks at his players and sees more than just athletes: he sees young men who have their whole lives ahead of them. Coach Page said, “I’m hoping that my players will learn from the hard work, pick up on the work ethic and dedication. There’s a famous saying that 225 pounds is 225 pounds, the bar doesn’t care, and the weights are always the same. So it just depends on how you are going to attack it, each day.”
Page believes that if a player can commit to a 6:00 am practice or a tough season, they are building discipline that stays with them forever. For Page, the strength they build now is just a foundation for the rest of their lives.