Kyle Sweeney, who has played more games in Major League Lacrosse than any other player in the league’s 17-year history, announced his retirement Thursday in a post for The Players’ Tribune that chronicled his journey from middle-class Springfield (Pa.) to the heights of his sport.

Sweeney, 36, spent 16 seasons in MLL playing for five different teams, most recently the New York Lizards. A tenacious defenseman and long-stick midfielder known for big plays in transition, Sweeney has appeared in a league-record 170 games. He won three MLL championships with the Philadelphia Barrage (2004, 2006 and 2007) and added a fourth ring with the Boston Cannons in 2011.

A seven-time MLL All-Star and two-time member of the U.S. national team (2006 and 2010), Sweeney retires as one of just six players in league history with 500 ground balls. He also scored 41 goals and doled out 21 assists, substantial offensive contributions for a long pole.

“In my mind, I could keep playing forever,” Sweeney wrote. “A Love Letter to Lacrosse.” “But at age 36, the wear and tear on my body is catching up to me, but moreover the wear and tear on my psyche is much worse.  And more than anything else, it’s time to focus on my family and what’s next for us.”

Here are a few excerpts from Sweeney’s emotional and entertaining goodbye, titled “A Love Letter to Lacrosse.”

On playing for the love of the game: “No one plays lacrosse for the money or fame. They might … if there was any of either.”

On commuting to Bridgeport (Conn.) from his job in New York City as a rookie: “Do you know how to carry a six-foot lacrosse pole through Grand Central in a suit and wingtips when you’re late for your train? Well, I certainly didn’t. (Apologies, fellow travelers, for all the times I inadvertently skewered you with the stick as I was hustling by you.)”

On the sacrifice required for longevity as a professional lacrosse player: “We’re all sick bastards obsessed with proving we’re one of the best. The difference between the guys who say, ‘I could’ve played in the MLL for a few years’ and the guys who’ve really made a career out of it is that level of sacrifice and obsession.”

On getting cut from the U.S. team in 2002, falling short of gold in 2006 and winning it all in 2010: “It took eight years, but I finally got to hoist that plaque with my American teammates.”

On missing the birth of his son, Owen, because he was traveling for lacrosse and his wife, Angela, went into labor a month early: “Up until that moment in my life, I thought of myself as a pretty tough guy. But what Angela had to do that night? Alone? She’s an absolute savage.”

Read more on The Players’ Tribune.