The Hard Hat Way: How George Boiardi Still Leads Cornell Lacrosse

It wasn’t the final goal, the dogpile at midfield, or even the program’s first national title in 48 years that defined Cornell’s championship on Memorial Day. It was the way they got there.

It was the empty-net goal CJ Kirst scored with 50 seconds left, not to celebrate early, but to finish the job. It was the 21-rep lifts in the weight room. The quiet reflections at 1:21 p.m. during class or film sessions. It was the hard hat with George Boiardi’s number that traveled with the team all season.

At Cornell, winning is important, but legacy is sacred.

On March 17, 2004, George Boiardi—Cornell’s senior captain, No. 21, and the embodiment of selfless leadership—died after taking a shot to the chest during a game. He staggered to the sideline and collapsed. Since then, Boiardi’s memory has shaped the program’s DNA. And last Monday, when Cornell beat Maryland 13–10 in the national championship game, it was a culmination of a dominant 18–1 season, yes, but also proof that standards, when held over time, become identity.

Here are three lessons especially relevant to us as coaches, executives, and leaders.

Lesson 1: Great leaders don’t just raise the bar. They hold it, every day.

Boiardi wasn’t loud. He didn’t command the room. He led by showing up early, staying late, and doing the invisible work: the mop, the ride home, the last sprint. Cornell players today still read Jon Gordon’s The Hard Hat, a book about his life. They do 21 reps. They ask what George would do.

“He taught us not to complain,” one of his best friends, Ian Rosenberger, told The Athletic. “He just picked up the mop, and then five other guys would do it. Classic leadership by example.”

During one-mile team runs, he’d finish first, then circle back to run with the last man. He greeted his coach with the same 100-watt smile he gave to dining hall workers. He made it a point to sit with new teammates each week, uplift walk-ons, and check in on those having rough days. Many former players still wear a bracelet honoring him every day and run on the treadmill for exactly 21 minutes. 

Another former player added: “George instilled in all of us that nothing is more important than our togetherness.”

Lesson 2: Culture doesn’t forget. It’s built on quiet moments repeated with care.

The most lasting team cultures aren’t forged through slogans or speeches. They’re built through small, consistent actions repeated with care.

Cornell coach Connor Buczek, a program alum, knows this firsthand. “This place changes you,” he said. “Not because it’s easy. It asks a lot. But you learn to appreciate every moment.”

David Coors, one of his teammates, used to rise at 5:30 a.m. before work to hit the beach, squeezing the most out of life. When asked to go out to eat with friends, he always says yes. “Life is so precious,” Coors told The Athletic. “It’s exhausting at times. But you’ve got to cherish these moments we have. There’s too many instances in the world where you never get that moment again.”

In great cultures, those values don’t fade. They’re passed down, moment by moment.

Lesson 3: Legacy isn’t something we speak about after someone’s gone. It’s the way we choose to carry them forward.

George’s locker remains untouched. His jersey hangs as a reminder: You don’t play for him. You play like him. And that’s what Kirst and the 2025 Big Red did on the field, in the locker room, and at dinner the night before the final, when Kirst reminded his team to link arms for the national anthem and “embrace the moment.”

The next day, they created one more.

In leadership, we often talk about culture. But culture isn’t built in huddles or highlight reels. It’s built in who stays to sweep the floor, in the effort we give when no one’s watching, and in whether we hold fast to what we say we value, even when it’s hard.

Last Monday, Cornell lifted a trophy. But what they’ve upheld for 21 years means far more.

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