Every October, the Landon community pauses to remember the life and legacy of George Boiardi ’00, an outstanding scholar-athlete who modeled Landon’s core values as a student and as a member of Cornell University’s lacrosse team. George died tragically on March 17, 2004, when he was struck in the chest with a ball during a game on Cornell's Schoellkopf Field.  

The Boiardi Forum for Ethical Reflection is an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to learn about George from a speaker who knew him or was impacted by his life. This year’s speaker was Connor Buczek, the Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Men’s Lacrosse at Cornell University. Coming off the program’s first National Championship since 1977 this past spring – 21 years after George’s passing – Buczek spoke about the ways George continues to shape Cornell lacrosse today, and how George inspired him as a student-athlete when he played for the Big Red. 

The following is a Q&A with Coach Buczek:

Thank you for coming to Landon to speak with our faculty, staff, and students about your connection to George. Why did you decide to say “yes” to this invitation? 

I don't think there was ever a thought in my mind to say no. I feel as though Landon, and George's presence at Landon, intersects so closely with what we do at Cornell, and his legacy obviously lives on very strongly here. He's impacted our program and what we do so much that it was a great honor to bring those worlds together in a way and to speak about George. 

You played on the Cornell lacrosse team from 2012-2015. How did George inspire you as a student-athlete? 

I think, as a student-athlete, I was so caught up in being successful in the ways that I thought were important: getting the grade in school, starting, winning accolades. I think I got lost a little bit in the shuffle, and I think George's presence and how he shaped our culture really helped me reshape that understanding of what success means and how I was going to get there.  

It wasn't by strictly chasing after these goals. It was about being present in the moment. It was about being grateful for the opportunity. It was about being impactful for the people around me. All of those things, for me, created a far more holistic and fulfilling college experience. That outlook helped me reach the goals that I set out to achieve. It took some maturing and support from the people around me – and from George's presence in the locker room and in the legacy that he's left – to widen that vision and see the bigger picture. 

You’ve talked about the importance of focusing on your inputs as a student-athlete and teammate, rather than just the outcome. Can you talk about the inputs you were able to give to the Cornell lacrosse team as a player? 

I think focusing on inputs, rather than outcomes, really gives athletes the opportunity to work hard and get in a frame of mind to attack whatever's in front of them. Certainly, for us at Cornell right now, the key inputs - effort, attitude, and enthusiasm - go a long way.  

For me as a player, it was attitude more than anything, and it was also effort. It was recognizing that if I gave my all and if I was focused on just being a good team member and doing my job, then I would get more out of myself than I would critiquing every play with every passing moment and trying to dial into exactly “this” or exactly “that.” This mindset helped me learn that I get to control how I feel and I get to control how hard I play, and if you can control those two things, it colors your perspective on just about everything else. 

Today you’re the Head Coach of Men’s Lacrosse at Cornell, and your team won the 2025 National Championship. How does George’s legacy influence your approach to recruiting and coaching? 

I think it impacts every piece of our program. Our recruiting is based on the qualities that George embodied: humble, tough, competitive, hardworking, and selfless. We think about these qualities when we think about who we're trying to add to our program. It’s about molding our culture around those qualities, and our culture is only as strong as what we do every day. The philosophy, “well done is better than well said,” and how we cultivate those traits and challenge our young men, go a long way into building the foundation for our program. As we get into games, we understand that it's an input-focused process and we hope that the byproducts will be success on the field. George reminds us that we have to stay the course, stay focused on the standard, and be centered around the right things. 

You yourself are a graduate of an all-boys school. Looking back on your high school experience, what advice would you give to a Landon student who wants to emulate George’s values and approach to teamwork? 

I would encourage students to not get caught up in where the wind's blowing that day. I think that defines high schoolers in a nutshell, that it's easy to want the success or the accolades or to be the person that everybody looks at in a certain way, when in reality, high school is just another step. It's an opportunity to keep working on yourself, to figure out who you are, to build relationships and habits that are going to last the rest of your life. And getting caught in some of the other stuff that's a little more superficial is only going to lead you astray. In hindsight, I wish I had a more mature head on my shoulders at that point, but I think it's certainly something that over time you start to figure out, and you start to recognize what's important.