Posted by: Gordon
I’m almost close to being back in the real world following the 2013 US Lacrosse National Convention. Unfortunately, I am still craving cheesesteaks and wishing the convention lasted just a little bit longer. I got to see a lot of old friends from past conventions, officials who moved out of the state, and met a lot of new friends who are doing truly incredible work all over the country through lacrosse. I do want ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
A few months ago I had a small group of young players and I asked the question “what is respect?” The reason I was prompted to ask that question was because the players were disrespecting one another by hitting each other with their sticks while waiting in line during drills. I did not find that behavior particularly becoming of young lacrosse players. So I had everyone sit down in a semi circle around me and we discussed respect. Since that ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
Many thanks to all of our parents and players who came out to the Meet & Greet this Saturday. Especially to the U9 group, who persisted through a twenty-minute torrential downpour! The players in each division had themselves a blast meeting their coaches and teammates. I was personally psyched to see a considerable amount of new players and new parents who decided to join AYL this fall. We welcome you all to our league and this great game!
I’m going to ...
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I thought hard about what topic I wanted to write about for my 200th post. After many different ideas and drafts I settled on addressing how poor behavior by parents negatively impacts the children playing lacrosse. I addressed part of this in my post “Getting The Most Out Of Fall Ball.” Where I detailed the responsibilities of parents in off-season games, but I wanted to dig deeper into this area. So settle ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
One of my good friends and officiating mentors, Don Stoppenbach, gave me a great example many years ago that evolved into the Sideline Q&A Sessions that Atlanta Youth Lacrosse fans have come to expect and enjoy. While I did not get to do as many Q&A sessions as I wanted to this year, I was able to do a good many during the first few weeks of the season, and all of our parents and fans came up with great ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
There is a lot to be said for winning in sports. Without winning we have no reason for overtime, and no weight given to championships. However, winning cannot be the end-all-be-all for youth sports. The goal of coaches, parents, and players should be on self-improvement for the child; both as a player and as a person.
I found the following article during some psychology research for a paper I’m working on. I believe it hits the mark with what all coaches ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
I hope everyone reading this blog had an excellent start to 2012. I want to wish all of our players, parents, coaches, and lovers of lacrosse a Happy New Year from Atlanta Youth Lacrosse. Now, onto some New Year’s Resolutions!
An interesting survey was done in 1999. It found that only 35% of Americans followed through with their New Year’s Resolutions. That is just over one third of all Americans! One of the biggest ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
The post below is my very first guest post! I was contacted by Mike, the owner of Odor Gladiator, a cool and revolutionary tool that “Brings the Battle to your Bag!” Mike sent me my very own Odor Gladiator as a thank you for the post, and I am very grateful to have this stink-eliminating OG for when the season begins and I start living out of my car again.
Queen Elizabeth once declared, “I take a ...
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