As a coach, you have to interact with officials in lacrosse. In fact, the rules require it. For instance, only a head coach may request a timeout, and only the head coach can properly certify that all players are legally equipped before the game to the officials. Sometimes, though, when you are coaching, the most frustrating part of the game is dealing with the officials. It is important to remember effective strategies for dealing with officials:

Communication, Communication, Communication

This is easily the most effective method there is to maintaining a good working relationship with officials when coaching a team. It starts with the very first handshake, and continues through to the conclusion of the game. Good communication involves politely asking the official questions in a manner that you would like to be asked questions. Demands for answers seldom bring good results, but a quick question, nicely delivered requires a response at an appropriate time.

Use The Coaches Certification To Ask Questions

Good officials respect coaches with solid questions. Not, “how are you going to call this game,” but, “Is pushing a technical or personal foul, because it’s been called both during this season.” Frame your questions in a way that is not accusatory. Remember, just because you didn’t like the officials on your first game does not mean the officials on your second game will inspire the same dislike. Officials may wear the same stripes, but each has a different reffing style.

Use Timeouts To Your Advantage

Timeouts create dead ball time, which means the officials have a moment to answer questions or strike up conversation. Ask the refs how they are doing. Ask if they want a drink (better yet bring a water bottle with you, I rarely refuse a chance to hydrate during a game). If the refs are not doing anything, like conducting a stick-check or checking the score, there is little harm in talking to them. If the officials don’t want to talk, then no worries, just go back to your team. By the way, this is usually the domain of the assistant coach since the head coach will often be talking to the team during the timeout.

Take The Four-Minute Mark At Halftime Seriously

This is your opportunity to talk to the officials about what happened during the first half, so use it! If your league does not use a full ten-minute halftime, let the officials get a quick break from the action, then ask them for some clarification on calls. If done respectfully, you will usually get a respectful answer.

If The Official Says Stop Talking, Then Stop Talking

Sometimes and official just has to tell a coach to stop talking. Maybe the coach is taking away needed concentration for the game, or maybe the official doesn’t think the coach is being as respectful as the coach thinks he is being. No matter what the reason, if the official says stop it is probably a good idea to avoid addressing the official unless absolutely needed. No need to get a penalty unnecessarily.

Control Your Assistant Coaches

Head coaches are the only speaking coaches. They are certified at the beginning of games as the speaking coach, and no other coach may talk to the officials. Now, confident and experienced officials will allow assistant coaches to respectfully ask questions and chat, but no official worth his/her salt takes flak from assistants. When warned to shut up your assistant coaches, pass on the message until your assistants get the hint.

Control Your Players

No official takes grief from players. Good officials will give a warning if a warning is warranted, or a penalty if the player steps over the line. Ensure that your players take any issues they have with the officiating to you so that you as the head coach can address it coach to official.

Control Yourself

If the official makes a call you disagree with it does nothing to pitch a fit. In fact, yelling and screaming and berating the officials generally makes things worse because they invite a conduct foul to be called in addition to the call/no-call you are complaining about. The best coaches generally have an air of silent confidence around them. Coaches are always welcome to argue their point, but try to do so in a manner that is reflective of how you would want to be argued with. The words rationally and calmly come to mind. You may not change the officials mind about a call, but you will earn that official’s respect.

Always keep this in mind: approach the officials the same way you would want to be approached.

If anyone has any other strategies that they use when dealing with officials I would love to hear them. Post them in the comments section below!

Cheers,
Gordon

I get to toot my own horn a little bit here! I am very excited to report that I am attending a LAREDO (LAcrosse REferee DevelOpment) clinic in Vail, Colorado this summer. US Lacrosse did a short story on the LAREDO program, and I was asked to contribute a few quotes about it. Here is the full article:

Officiating a high school boys’ lacrosse game in Arizona in late April, Ben Vosika and the rest of the crew came upon a call that confused them.

“We were dumbfounded for a second,” Vosika, 26, said.

“But then I was talking with my fellow officials, and I was like, ‘Well, I’ve been in this situation before. I know what to do,’ he said. “We talked about that in Florida, so I knew exactly how to handle the situation. That happens all the time.”

So Vosika made the call, and he made it with conviction. He was referencing his experience at the 2011 US Lacrosse Level 2 Lacrosse Referee Development (LAREDO) program in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., at the US Lacrosse Under-15 National Championships, presented by Champion.

Since the late 1980s, LAREDO clinics have provided training for lacrosse officials across the country. Initially hosted at the Vail Lacrosse Shootout in Vail, Colo., the LAREDO program was designed to teach three-man mechanics to officials on the West Coast.

US Lacrosse in January announced its newly redesigned certification and training program for men’s lacrosse officials. As part of the changes, Vail now is known as a Level 3 LAREDO. It is designed for officials ready to make the jump from two- to three-man mechanics and join the ranks of the US Lacrosse Collegiate Officials Committee.

Vosika was one of eight officials selected from a group of 28 applicants to attend the 2012 Vail Shootout, the premiere Level 3 LAREDO for the “cream of the officiating crop.”

US Lacrosse supports the promotion of amateur lacrosse by providing men’s officials nationwide for games at all levels. Through its men’s officials training program, US Lacrosse gives training, services and representation for those who wear the black-and-white stripes. The LAREDO clinics play a significant role, as more than 250 officials will go through the program in 2012. In turn, the LAREDO program aids in US Lacrosse’s standardization efforts.

“Consistency is huge,” said Charlie Obermayer, officials program manager at US Lacrosse. “As the game gets bigger and bigger and we’re more visible, the pressure is on us to grow the game the right way. The LAREDOs bring everyone together and gets everyone on the same page.”

On an individual level, the LAREDO programs provide instruction on mechanics and game management, but also “nit-pick the little itty-bitty finer details of officiating to make each official the best they can be,” Obermayer said.

Like Vosika, Gordon Corsetti attended a Level 2 LAREDO in Florida and will complete the Level 3 LAREDO in Vail this summer.

“The best thing I gained was confidence,” Corsetti, 24, said. “It was a night-and-day difference. Clinicians with 30-plus years of experience looked at me and said, ‘Hey, you’re doing a solid job. Keep it up.’ That was huge on top of the intricate teaching methods.”

Corsetti and Vosika raved about the relationship-building benefits of their Level 2 LAREDO experiences, and they’re both looking forward to Level 3 at Vail in July, as it will position them for future NCAA assignments.

“I had a blast. It was a rockin’ time. It was a lot of fun,” Corsetti said. “My only thing was I wished it hadn’t ended. I wanted to keep going. Overall, I would give it two thumbs up. And I would give it more if I could.”

For interested officials, space still remains in several of the July LAREDOs, including the Level 2 clinic in Florida that needs 25 members, and several Level 3 events in Ann Arbor, Mich., Springfield, Mass., and Chapel Hill, N.C. More registration information can be found by clicking here.

— Matt Forman

Now onto my true purpose for posting this article. We need more adult and youth officials! Do you want the best seat in the house? Do you find stripes attractive? Then officiating may be for you!

If you are interested in being trained in officiating lacrosse in Georgia head to www.galaxref.com/contact, and fill out the contact form. Please select Adult Officials Training, or Youth Officials Training for the subject line menu.

Featured Image Credit – www.uslacrosse.org

Cheers,
Gordon

]]> http://ayllax.com/rockin-the-usl-laredo-training/feed 0 http://ayllax.com/how-to-yell-when-watching-from-the-sideline http://ayllax.com/how-to-yell-when-watching-from-the-sideline#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 04:09:46 +0000 Gordon http://ayllax.com/?p=5342 I like well-behaved parents/fans because I have been around a lot of ill-behaved ones. In nearly every youth game that I have officiated (U15 and below) there has been at least one, and usually two, fans screaming instructions to their player or entire team from the sideline. Often, it is incredibly poor advice. These are the same individuals who yell when their player is taken off the field, openly criticize the officials, and generally know next to nothing about how lacrosse is played.

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

All of these capture the inner struggle we all have to do the right thing. This struggle is characterized as our conscience, and we all have one. Yet, for young players their conscience, like themselves, is immature. This is not to say that young players do not have a conscience. Just that is is currently undergoing construction.

Parents and immediate family members lay the deep foundation of conscience. My father and mother constantly told me that being a good person meant doing the right thing when no one was paying any attention. Those messages permeate deep into the minds of young players, as it went deeply into mine. The next level of conscience-building comes from forces outside the immediate family. Friends are the first that come to mind. Players, have your parents ever told you to choose your friends wisely? My parents told that to me constantly, and I chose friends who liked me for me and always had my back. I avoided the kids that wanted to party all night, drink, and try drugs. Instead, I was lucky to have friends that cared about me and I continue many of those friendships to this day. It is my hope that your teammates become close friends to you today and remain that way for years to come. Because I believe that good friends will keep you on a good path.

The last force that helps to develop a good conscience are teachers. I use that term broadly to encompass actual teachers, coaches, church-leaders, role-models, etc. For the purposes of this post, I will be focusing mainly on coaches and our responsibility to ensure that kids listen to their Shoulder Angel.

I have said before that sports are a microcosm of life. It allows kids to experience victory and defeat, and all the emotions and feelings that come with each. However, every sport has a dark side which if left unchecked, will ruin any kid’s experience on the field. That dark side is evident when players don’t listen to their conscience, and allow anger, rage, and frustration to rule their minds. When that happens cheap hits and fouls are committed, often with an intent to get back at another player for a perceived slight, or, even worse, to injure another player. These moments have happened, do happen, and will continue to happen. Sorry to say, but players lose control over themselves sometimes and will occasionally do something that is just plain wrong. So how can coaches use these dark side situations to their advantage? How can we teach young players to control themselves when everything around them seems so chaotic?

Option 1, Fight Fire With Fire:

Sometimes, a player will do something so blatantly unsportsmanlike that the only thing to do is call the player out on it. Put simply, there is a lot of power behind a coach using his own dark side and scaring the heebie jeebies out of the player. For example, I did something downright ugly in a game many years ago. My coach (also my dad) got right into my grill and demanded that I explain myself. I was so taken aback by how angry he was that I chose to be the most sporting player I could be after that. Do I remember what I did that set my father off? Not at all. I just know that I’ll never do it again and I’m incredibly sorry that I did it. The point here is there is a place for anger as a coach, so long as it is used effectively.

Option 2, Create A Safe Place

Every player should feel comfortable coming to their coach with a problem. Especially if that problem is occurs during a game. If communication lines between players and the coach remain healthy, then players can talk through their issues with their coach. Coaches, especially at the youth level, should strive to become a safe place where players can voice their opinions and concerns. If you do this, players will think to tell their coach about unsportsmanlike behavior on the opposing team, so that he can handle it properly, and without the player having to get revenge against their opponent. Work on ensuring that players can come to you with any issue, and they will come to you if they have a problem in a game. Tell your players, “if someone is playing dirty against you I want to know about it, and don’t take it into your own hands.”

Whichever option you choose, remember they are not mutually exclusive. You are more than welcome, and encouraged, to use both.

To all of the players reading this blog, I want to request something from all of you – Do Not Sully This Game. That means, when you are fouled in a game, you don’t go looking for retaliation. That means, when one player calls you a bad name, you don’t reply in kind. That means when you step onto the field you leave the game better than you found it by your actions on the field.

Finally, I will leave you with a great and humorous video that showcases the contrast between the Shoulder Devil and the Shoulder Angel. Here’s a hint, the best part of this video is when Kronk tells his Angel and Devil to leave him alone and he goes with his heart. That is what conscience is really about.

Cheers,
Gordon

• The Last Lecture (I think this video should be required viewing for any coach)
• So You Had A Bad Game
• Yes Sir, No Sir
• Mouthguard. Get A Good One
• AYL TV – Slashing
• True Leadership in Youth Sports
• Off Hand Resolution
• Communication In Youth Sports
• The Seven Deadly Sins of Lacrosse (probably one of my favorite past posts)

I think that makes a pretty good and broad list of some past posts that are still very applicable to the game as we move into the summer. Feel free to comment below, and let me know what kind of topics you want written about!

Featured Image Credit - www.oldies.rad.io

Cheers,
Gordon

1. More Posts! – I’m done with the spring semester, which means I’m not working my studies (1 year to go for my Psychology Major!), which means more posts for our avid readers.
2. More Instructional Videos! – I’ll be doing a few different video series throughout the summer. Each month will have a theme, and there will be roughly two to four videos per month. I have decided that the month of May will be Basics Month, as it is always good to start with the fundamentals! June will be Penalties Month, and July is currently TBD, but if you have any ideas for videos feel free to email me at: rules@ayllax.com.
3. Possible AYL Forum – still need to work some technical issues out, but we may roll out an online forum at the end of the summer where our members will be free to ask questions about the various programs and seasons that AYL offers. This way the information can be shared by all, and questions answered quickly by your favorite WebMaster.
4. Polls, surveys, and discussions! I really want the AYL Blog to become discussion based. Where visitors put in their opinions about each post or topic. I will be adding different user interaction tools over the summer to see where our visitors and members are coming from, what everyone wants to see from AYL, and to get some good discussions going about honoring the game and how best to coach all of our youth players.
5. Posts are back on Facebook and Twitter! – Through some unfortunate technical errors, I blame computer gnomes, we lost our ability to post to Facebook and Twitter. We’ll we are back online and posting to everyone’s favorite social networks. Feel free to friend us, or retweet our posts.
6. Online Donations! – We love that our members love to give back to AYL by providing donations. We are currently streamlining the back-end process for online donations to make it easy and secure to donate to Atlanta Youth Lacrosse to your heart’s content. Remember, all donations are tax-deductible.
7. Any further ideas or improvements to www.ayllax.com can always be emailed to rules@ayllax.com, or submitted using the comment function below this post.

Well, that is what is on the docket for Atlanta Youth Lacrosse from a web development and blogging standpoint. I hope everyone is excited for everything that will be rolled out over the coming months. I hope everyone has a great summer!

Featured Image Credit – www.hot-chocolate-summer.tumblr.com

Cheers,
Gordon

Get your OG in AYL Colors!

The Odor Gladiator “brings the battle to your bag.” Having used the OG for the last three months I am an absolute believer in this product’s ability to vaporize bad smells. As many of you know, I officiate lacrosse games all over Georgia. Which means I practically live out of my car. I used to keep copious bottles of good smelling sprays, and lots of air fresheners to combat the growing stench of clothes left strewn about the back seats. One, I repeat, one Odor Gladiator has kept my car smelling great for the entire season this year!

After reading a few of the posts on AYL, Chief Gladiator Mike Morneault, contacted me about partnering with Atlanta Youth Lacrosse. He has graciously offered a discount code to all AYL members! Head over to https://odorgladiator.com/store/products/odorgladiator.html, create your OG, and check out. From the checkout screen, add in the discount code AYLROCKS12, and you will get $4.00 dollars off your Odor Gladiator! You can choose any combination of 14 different colors for the helmet (yellow in the photo) and the mask (black in the photo). I highly recommend showing your pride in your team and getting an OG in your team’s colors.

I am certain that you will find the OG your newest and most favorite tool in combating the odor that permeates equipment bags and cars. This is a product that holds up great, is easy to use, and, most importantly, does what it says it will do.

This offer will not last forever! Get your discount before it closes on June 30, 2012!

Bring the Battle to Your Bag!
Gordon

He went into a convulsion and had to be air lifted to Emory Children’s hospital

where he was put into a coma to allow his brain to recover.  I spoke to one of his coaches today who is a good friend and he said it was a freak accident and they pray for a quick and speedy recovery for this young man.

This is why I am so adamant about wearing helmets when we are on the field.  In 40 plus years of playing and coaching I have seen some horrific injuries because a player or players decided to not wear a helmet when warming up or just playing.

It is one thing if you are in the back yard or beach just having a catch but when you are on the field YOU MUST WEAR A HELMET.

Parents, Coaches and Players please be mindful of always having the proper equipment on especially when shooting.  And always look around before you shoot.

This is very important when little kids or siblings around.  Hammond Park is a great

example of a an area where we need to be aware of what is going on around us.

An once of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

See ya on the field,

Coach Lou

This post goes out to any youth player who has ever felt a little odd. Here’s a hint – you are not alone in feeling weird, strange, out-there, peculiar, different, or flat-out not normal. If there is one thing I am certain of it is that nobody has ever felt completely normal because we all have our own idiosyncrasies that make us unique.

When I was in middle school, I was obsessed with being normal. In reality, all I wanted to be was cool. I wanted to hang out with the cool kids, and ditch my geeky/nerdy life. So I spiked up my hair, started playing more basketball, and hanging around the kids that I wanted to emulate. The trouble was, I was never really me when I was with these new friends. In fact, by the time I hit high school I did not like the person I had become. I was so fixated on being liked by everyone that I tried to please everyone around me, except the person that truly counted – me.

So in middle of high school I decided to stop trying to be liked. I was going to go at thing alone because I felt that my peers would never accept me for the goofy person that I really am. I spent roughly three years barely speaking to anyone in high school for fear of rejection and embarrassment. Because of this, lacrosse became my main outlet. I poured myself into the game, but I never really socialized with my fellow players because I always felt that I would be judged if I ever showed my true self.

Enter the college years. I met a few people who physically dragged me out of the shell I had created during high school. I began to feel comfortable being a little peculiar. Eventually, I came to realize that I had true friends that were going to stand by me no matter what. In short, I learned that the only people I cared about being around were the people who accepted me for who I was. Anyone else who judged me for being me just was not worth my time.

At 24 years old I can honestly say that I am comfortable in my own skin because I do not care what other people think about me. The only opinion on myself that matters is my own, and the friends that I trust.

So to all the youth players out there, I want you to remember that it is okay to be a little different. Actually, it is a good thing to be downright strange and weird. It makes you you. Hold on to your peculiar hobbies, and odd tastes. Even if they are not appreciated by those around you right now, you will find friends in life who will appreciate you for you, weirdness and all.

Peculiar facts about me:

• I love vacuuming
• I watch competitive Starcraft 2 replays on YouTube
• I am extremely goofy around my close friends
• Science fiction is my favorite genre of literature (Dune by Frank Herbert in particular)
• I will watch endless replays of Ninja Warrior
• I have always wanted a flying squirrel as a pet

Players – create your own list and post them in the comments below!

Cheers,
Gordon

It is interesting when you get to spend time with young people and how the interact with each other.  While I know they have enormous amounts of pressure on them it is good to see how much fun they can have it we just let them be kids.

This Friday evening our High School Team (Riverwood Raiders) lost a tough game to the runner ups to last years High School Championship in overtime 9-8.  Before the game I told our players just give it a great effort but to have FUN!.  And they did just that.  They gave a tremendous effort and while they lost they had fun doing it.  After the game many people were down and hanging their heads.

I was smiling ear to ear because I knew our team could not play any better and I know they had fun.  The moment the other team scored and ran on the field I had a thought in my head as what a great moment for both teams.   To be able to compete and understand the thrill of victory and disappointment of losing a tough contest.  I am blessed and lucky as I was able to get back on the field with our first game at 9:00 AM Saturday morning watching our 5/6 grade teams compete in another great contest.

So it does not matter if you win a tough contest…if you do your best and have fun you will always have great memories.

See ya on the field…Coach Lou