I believe that there would be no problems on the fans’ sideline if every fan approached every game with the goal of contributing to a positive, sporting atmosphere. Unfortunately, there tends to be a few people that willfully ignore that idea. Believing that their yelling is helping their team. Here’s a hint: you are not helping. Take for example the parent that yells shoot when a player is twenty yards away from the goal. It accomplishes nothing more than getting the player amped up to take a shot. My personal favorite is when the Head Coach is yelling “hold the ball” and all the parents are yelling “shoot!” More often than not, the player will listen to the voice of their mother or father and take an ill-advised shot. Meanwhile their coach has his head buried in his hands, wondering if there is enough duct tape to put over the mouths of his team’s fans.

Another key thing to keep in mind is that your player recognizes your voice whenever you yell something during the game. I played in some very competitive high school games, and my father attended many of them. I could always recognize his voice from the stands. The kicker is he never said anything more than “Go, Gordon!” A coach with thirty plus years of experience in the game, and he never once gave me advice from the sideline. He knew his role was to root for me when I did well, and encourage me when things turned rough. I was never once embarrassed by my father’s comments from the sidelines, however I have been embarrassed for some of my teammates whose parents who thought their role was to assist the coaches from the stands.

So how do you yell when watching from the sideline? The easiest way to do this is to limit yourself to a few specific phrases:

• “Go, (insert player name here)!”
• “Great play!”
• “Awesome defense!”
• “Stay strong!”
• “Keep playing hard!”

If you limit yourself to general statements about your player and your team, you don’t run afoul of the coach trying to do his job of running the offense or defense. Also, you can never get into the problem of giving bad advice to your player at a critical moment during a game. Plus, all of those phrases are extremely positive. Avoid yelling anything negative. For example, here are a few negative comments I have heard during games over the years:

• “Put him in a body bag!” (This during a U11 game, I was stunned speechless)
• “Destroy him!” (Would you want that yelled at your child?)
• “Wake up!” (Accomplishes nothing more that getting the player nervous)
• “That was the worst call I’ve ever seen!” (just making the Head Coach’s job more difficult, plus it sets a bad example for all the players)

If what you are about to yell is not positive it is best to swallow your comment. Here’s a short article on why yelling at your player negatively is not the best course of action: www.momsteam.com/successful-parenting/yelling-from-the-sideline-can-be-emotional-abuse.

Lacrosse is an emotional game. I do not expect parents and fans to be robots on the sidelines. I want people to get into the flow of the game. To feel the excitement that is inherent in competitive sports. What I do not want is for any kid to get discouraged while playing the game because one or more individuals feels it is necessary to share their opinion with everyone at the game. Enjoy the game in a positive manner or stay silent.

Finally, I leave you with the following card from US Lacrosse:

Remember to honor the game with your actions anytime your team steps onto the field.

Featured Image Credit – www.mogosport.wordpress.com/category/youth-sports-parents/

Cheers,
Gordon Corsetti

Rule #1 – Hustle Everywhere

• Coaches and evaluators are looking for the players who hustle all the time. I don’t care if you are the bomb-diggity player of your lacrosse team. If you do not hustle you will not make a select team. So how do you show hustle everywhere? Simple – do not let a coach see you walking. Jog from your car to the sideline. Move with purpose from drill-to-drill. Run at a million-miles per hour when you need to slide or get open. I kid you not, there will be evaluators who write down: “Great player but does not run anywhere.” Prepare yourself for two hours of exertion – if you are not tired at the end of a tryout something is amiss.

Rule #2 – Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

• This should go without saying, but you need to be prepared for a tryout. That means waking up on time, eating a solid breakfast, drinking water well before the tryout to stay hydrated, and having all of your required gear. Do not be the one player who comes up to a coach without a glove. That tells me two things. One, this player does not care about his equipment. Two, this player wants the coach to bail them out of trouble. Check your lacrosse bag when you pack it at night for all your gear. Then check it again before you leave the house in the afternoon.

Rule #3 – Pay Attention

• The tryout moves with or without you. Coaches are going to explain a drill one time, then they will start the drill. Coaches will not waste time because one player out of fifty was not paying attention and needs them to repeat the instruction. Every time I see a player with wandering eyes while I give out instruction, I make mental note of their number, and it is not a positive mental note. Each player at a tryout should give their supreme effort to pay attention at all times. If you do that, you will not get left behind.

Rule #4 – Caution, Fast Objects

• Coaches want players who can play fast. That means running hard, passing the ball quickly, and sliding with speed. They want Attack players who will V-cut as quickly as they can. They want midfielders to fly off the wing lines on a face-off. They want defenders to slide aggressively, and they want Goalies to get the ball upfield quickly. However, above all of this, coaches want the ball passed fast. I guarantee you they will not care if you drop the ball occasionally, so long as you are firing that ball out of your stick like a clown out of a circus cannon.

Rule #5 – Talk!

• I hate silence at a tryout. As a coach, I am going to be completely hoarse by the end of the day, and players should be tired from moving their mouths throughout the practice. Coaches want to hear players talk constantly. That means saying “I’ve got your help,” “One more,” I’ve got your left,” “Fire, Fire, Fire!” The only time you should not be talking is when the coach is talking. When you are in a drill, make it your mission to be the best communicator out there.

Rule #6 – Don’t Wallow In Your Mistakes

• You are going to make mistakes at the tryout. No one has ever had a perfect tryout, and no one ever will. Tryouts are meant to challenge a player, and challenge means adversity. You will drop a pass, miss a shot, or get beat on a dodge. Do not make a big deal out of it. The coaches are looking for a player who makes a mistake on one play, and then comes roaring back with a vengeance. They want a player who cares enough about a mistake to change their game to fix it, but does not concern themselves with a past mistake. Coaches want forward-thinking players. If you screw up, accept your mistake, and then fix it. Players who can do that prove to coaches that they deserve a shot.

Rule #7 – Do You Want It? (Also known as “fire in the belly”)

• Some players try out, but they don’t really want to try out. Maybe their friends were on last year’s team. Perhaps their parents want them to play on a travel team. You need to have the fire to be on an elite team. I’ve been doing this for so long I can look at a player for five minutes in a scrimmage and tell if they have the fire in the belly to be on the team. These are the players who follow Rules 1-6. They hustle, they talk, they move fast, but above all they want to be at that tryout, and they show that through their actions.

Rule #8 – Leave Everything On The Field

• While I do not guarantee that following Rules 1-7 will earn you a spot on a travel team. I do guarantee that if you leave everything on the field, you will have a successful tryout. Remember, if you put your heart into your game a coach will notice you. They may decide to wait a year, but you will be on their minds as a player who puts all the effort they have into the game of lacrosse.

I hope all of the players reading this are as excited about tryouts as I am. The other coaches and I will give you our very best, will you give us yours?

Cheers,
Gordon

P.S. – I will be resuming a regular blogging schedule next week. Every Tuesday and Friday you may expect a post. As always, topic suggestions may be emailed to: rules@ayllax.com 

Each newsletter will have:

• Coach Lou’s Corner – A message about lacrosse coaching, life lessons, and how to best enjoy the game.
• Director Messages – Important information regarding new signups, roster postings, and schedules
• Zebra Knowledge – I give a short explanation about officiating and lacrosse rules
• Weekend Game Scores – Once games get going we will post the scores and direct everyone to team standings within their division
• Important Dates - A small calendar of upcoming events, camps, and clinics
• Final Thoughts & Expectations - Thoughts about the past weekend’s games, and what we expect from everyone for the upcoming weekend.

If you have any suggestions about what we can include in the newsletter to make it more useful, or if you are having any problems reading the newsletter, please email rules@ayllax.com. Or, you may comment below.

Cheers,
Gordon

Coyote Logo

The Atlanta Coyotes have moved to atlantacoyotes.com!

The Coyotes grew so large they needed their own website, and our new website shows how awesome the coyotes are. On the new site you will find:

• Tryout Information
• Coaching Biographies
• U9, U11, U13, U15, and HS team overviews
• A history of posts from notable Coyote victories
• Every video recorded of the Coyotes

Remember players and parents, November tryouts will be here before you know it. A few blog posts each month will focus on ways to improve your game and increase your chances of making the team. No guarantees though.

Cheers,
Gordon Corsetti

by Paul Krome | LaxMagazine.com

Hughes Moffett scored four goals to lift the Atlanta Coyotes to a 9-6 win over the Jacksonville (Fla.) Lacrosse Club in the final of the US Lacrosse U15 Southeast Regional Championship.

©Peyton Williams

RALEIGH, N.C. – They had Carolina on their minds, and now they’ll head to Disney World for the big dance.

Behind four goals from Hughes Moffett, the Atlanta Coyotes boys’ team wore down the Jacksonville (Fla.) Lacrosse Club, 9-6, to win the US Lacrosse Under-15 Southeast Regional Championship, presented by Champion, at the CASL Complex today.

In the girls’ final, North Carolina defended its home turf against Cincinnati, using three first-half goals from Madeline Bromley to jump out to a 7-1 lead and win, 12-6.

Both teams earned automatic bids and free registration to the third annual US Lacrosse U15 National Championships, also presented by Champion, July 20-24 as part of the ESPN Rise Games in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

“To come out here and work so hard to have it culminate with us winning a championship, it means a lot for the program and for the kids especially,” Atlanta boys’ coach Shaun Lux said.

Moffett scored twice in the first half to help Atlanta turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

The Coyotes led 5-4 at halftime, after which Moffett again keyed a three-goal spurt to put the game out of reach. He scored unassisted 3:08 into the third quarter, and then Max McCrady assisted on back-to-back Atlanta goals. He fed Jeremy Garr (2g, 1a) midway through the period and then found Moffett with 2:29 left to force Jacksonville to call timeout trailing 8-4.

Six players scored for Jacksonville, and goalies Graham Gaver and Ambrose Givens combined for 10 saves to keep the Floridians within reach.

“It’s kind of our MO. We’ve started slowly,” Lux said of his team’s games during the three-day event, which ran alongside the participation-based US Lacrosse Lax Fests for the U11, U13 and U15 levels. “But we got into our groove and got the pressure on and took it home.

“Hughes is one of those kids that can play any position. We needed some speed down there so he took over the game and finished the ball for us. We’re glad to have him.”

You may read the full article here: http://www.laxmagazine.com/high_school/boys/2010-11/news/061911_atlanta_boys_and_north_carolina_girls_with_us_lacrosse_southeast_regionals

The original article may be found here: www.scacsports.com/sports/mlax/2010-11/releases/all_scac_team

*******

In exclusive voting by the league’s head men’s lacrosse coaches, Matt Ivie of Birmingham-Southern College was selected 2011 SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year, while Colorado College’s Zach Hoisington repeated as SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year. Colorado College head coach Guy Van Arsdale was once again named the SCAC Coach-of-the-Year.

In the same balloting, Davis Brown of Sewanee: University of the South was voted SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year.

Ivie, a sophomore attacker from Alpharetta, Ga., finished the regular season with 73 points on 65 goals and eight assists. He ranked in the top five in the league in a number of offensive categories including goals per game (4.06 – 1st), total points (73 – 1st), points per game (4.56 – 2nd) and game winning goals (3 – 1st). Ivie is the first Birmingham-Southern player to be named the league’s Offensive Player-of-the-Year in men’s lacrosse.

In being selected the league’s Offensive POTY, Ivie received five of eight votes from the coaches. Colorado College’s Carson Christman received the other three votes.

Hoisington, a senior defender from Alexandria, Va., helped lead a Colorado College defense that ranked first in the SCAC in ground balls with 42.62 per game. He helped the Tigers to a number one ranking in the league in penalty killing (86.8 percent) and a number two ranking in caused turnovers (10.54 per game). Hoisington totaled 24 ground balls and caused 18 turnovers.

Hoisington received six of eight votes to earn the SCAC Defensive POTY honor. Chris O’Quain of Southwestern received the other two votes.

Brown, a first-year attacker from Norcross, Ga., tallied 42 points on 30 goals and 12 assists. His 42 points led the team lead while his 30 goals were second on the team. Brown also ranked in the top 10 in the SCAC in goals per game (9th – 2.00/game) and points per game (10th – 2.80/game) while also totaling 21 ground balls.

Brown received four of eight votes in the Newcomer-of-the-Year voting. Hendrix College’s Cameron Millstone received three votes while Colorado College’s Jack Kreitler picked up the remaining vote.

Coach Van Arsdale guided the Colorado College men to the program’s second consecutive SCAC title in 2011. In his second season as the head coach of the Tigers, Van Arsdale led Colorado College to a perfect 7-0 SCAC record along with a 13-0 overall mark and the school’s first-ever SCAC tournament championship. He also helped guide the Tigers to the program’s and SCAC’s first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship.

Van Arsdale received five votes from his peers in the COTY voting. Curt Foxx of Hendrix (two) and Marty Waters (one) of Sewanee received the remaining votes.

To view the entire 2011 Men’s Lacrosse All-SCAC team, click here.

*****

Well done Davis. Congrats on the recognition and a stellar season.

Cheers,
Gordon

The following press release may also be viewed at: www.sewaneetigers.com

The Sewanee Men’s Lacrosse team dominated the first half of play and held off Fontbonne’s fourth quarter surge to defeat the visiting Griffins 12-10 and record their first victory of the season.  Sewanee went ahead early, scoring eleven goals to Fontbonne’s four in the first three quarters on their way to the win.  In the final quarter, the Fontbonne Griffins posted a near comeback, scoring six consecutive goals, but the Tigers held them at bay with a late fourth quarter insurance goal from midfielder Reed Daniel (Houston, Texas, St. John’s School).

The Tigers started the scoring early and wrapped up the first quarter up 3-1.  Outscoring Fontbonne 7-1 in the second quarter and 1-0 in the third quarter, the Tigers were comfortably in the lead heading into the final frame with an 11-4 lead. The fourth quarter proved to be the strongest for Fontbonne, as the Griffins mounted an impressive comeback, including six consecutive goals to come within one goal of a tie.  Sewanee was able to hold off the Griffins’ strong attack in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter to hold Fontbonne at bay and walk away with the win  Capping off the Tiger win was Daniel’s last-minute goal.

Sewanee’s underclassmen proved too much for the Fontbonne defense to handle.  Sophomore Pierce Leonard (Charlotte, N.C., Culver Military Academy) picked up three goals and one assist, while freshman Davis Brown (Norcross, Ga., Wesleyan School) added two goals and three assists.  In addition, Daniel, a freshman, recorded two goals and one assist, while sophomore John Stiefel(Jacksonville, Fla., Episcopal School of Jacksonville)chipped in two goals.  Senior Hank Gerrity (Cumberland, Maine, North Yarmouth Academy), sophomore Carson Pfiefer (Louisville, Ky., Louisville Collegiate), and senior Will Grimes (Marietta, Ga., Harrison High School) all scored one goal apiece.

Sewanee dominated Fontbonne in faceoffs, winning sixteen faceoffs to Fontbonne’s three.  Sewanee goalkeeper Spencer Graves(Lynchburg, Va., Episcopal School) recorded nine saves throughout the first three periods, while fourth-quarter goalkeeper Tommy Healy(Bethesda, Md., Gonzaga) recorded four saves.  Fontbonne’s Chad Meurer picked up eight saves in the first half, while Tommy Carroll saved six shots in the second half.

“We did a lot of things well, but there was definitely a lot we need to improve on,” recapped Tiger Head Coach Marty Watters.  “We had a solid first half, but the second half let down is something we need to address.  It was nice to see us hold on in the end, though.  At the end of the day, we won and it’s tough to complain about being 1-0 after three weeks of practice.”

The Sewanee Tigers will travel to Nashville on February 26th to play Wittenberg.  Game time is set for 1:00 P.M.

Sewanee Tigers

Way to go Davis!

Featured Image Credit – www.sewaneetigers.com

]]> http://ayllax.com/u11-coyote-coachcoach-davis-brown/feed 0 http://ayllax.com/we-want-you-coyote-tryouts http://ayllax.com/we-want-you-coyote-tryouts#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:54:19 +0000 Lou Corsetti http://www.ayllax.com/?p=357 Signups for Coyote Summer Select teams are now open on the web site.  Just click the green button.  If you want to improve your game you need to be part of the Coyotes.  No program ...]]> Attention all U11, U13 and U15 players.  Last year our U15 team won the prestigous Vail Tournament.  Be part of Atlanta Youth Lacrosse’s success.  Ask your buddies that played how much fun they had and how much they improved their game. See video highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP3DlvaTsno

Signups for Coyote Summer Select teams are now open on the web site.  Just click the green button.  If you want to improve your game you need to be part of the Coyotes.  No program in the state gives you the intense training to take your game to the next level. All of our coaches are current or ex college players who have played at a high level.

I strongly suggest each and everyone of our players who have played spring and fall ball with AYL to come and tryout.

2 hours of intense practice to see where you match up with other players of your age group.  Even if you do not make the team this year you would have experienced a tryout like no other.  We will be taking 22 players per team and if we have enough players we may also have a B team.  As a long time coach I want to see everyone succeed and be the best they can be.  So sign up now and see where your stand.

Tryouts will be the weekend of November 13 and 14

Video courtesy of Darlene and Tom Garr

PS – This is a QUICK TIME VIDEO