BUGBEE’S MESSAGE

A calmand cool Keith Bugbee strode onto Stagg Field one sunny afternoon last fall. The stands were filled with student-athletes, probably thinking they just had to sit through this lecture and they could go on with their day. Little did they know, Bugbee’s story would touch them in a way other speeches and lectures hadn’t before.

It wasn’t the typical motivational speech, a coach preaching hard work and leadership on the field.

No, this was something different. Bugbee simply told the crowd to show up.

“Show up.” It seems like a simple concept. The message was straightforward– yet so impactful. It was something that students could get on board with, and many of them can be seen sporting the yellow “Show Up” wristbands every day as a reminder of what Bugbee told them that day on Stagg field.

Bugbee, who has been the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Springfield College since 1984, was named the 2021-22 Humanics Professor, an honor that is given out each year to a deserving professor. Along with this recognition, the chosen faculty member is required to create programming that promotes Humanics to the campus community.

Upon receiving this honor, Bugbee instantly knew what he wanted to do. He had already begun preaching the idea of “showing up” to his team and used the symbol of the sunflower and color yellow to honor his daughter, Lindsay Bugbee Crosby, who passed away in 2018.

After Lindsay, a former standout lacrosse and soccer player at Springfield, died suddenly after giving birth to her third child, her family was devastated. Keith Bugbee said that the people who showed up for him -- via visits, phone calls or texts -- were what kept him going through those dark times.

He began to share elements of this ideal with his lacrosse team. A tradition began where every week the coaches give two players the coveted yellow helmets, representing Lindsay’s legacy and the act of showing up for their teammates. The following week, the players take the responsibility of choosing the nexthonored teammates,andthe cycle goes on.

“Most of the content was about Lindsay and how she was that kind of person, she showed up, certainly as an athlete, captain of two sports here, and certainly as a daughter, as a mother to her children. She just kind of showed up in life,” said Bugbee.

Bugbee has instilled a sense of togetherness and brotherhood amongst his team that goes much further than the turf. The ability to make a difference in a young person’s life is difficult, and Bugbee has mastered the craft.

Through his Professor of Humanics title, Bugbee has been able to share his “Show Up” lecture to more than just the Springfield College campus. Through the initial program, more and more people started to hear about it and request that he come to speak to their schools. He has now spoken at over 15 high schools and colleges, spreading an important virtue.

It wasn’t the message itself that was taken so positively from students, but it was also in Bugbee’s delivery. He is a calm, evenkeeled speaker. The lecture is not over-rehearsed; it is presented eloquently and authentically. Bugbee is known in the Springfield College community as well as the college lacrosse world as a successful, prominent coach. He is respected, honorable, and courageous.

Though “Show Up” began as a yearlong initiative to share with the College community, it has become so much more. Bugbee’s message has reached many students, coaches, and athletes and will continue to do so as it continues to ripple.

“I didn’t know where it was going to go, I just knew it was going to go somewhere,” Bugbee said with a short chuckle.

It definitely did go somewhere, and still does. It was a simple message; who knew that telling kids to show up would make such an impact?

Bugbee knew, ever since he saw it in Lindsay in the way she lived every day.

By Cait Kemp