Here is some of what to expect and what to learn!

Before the event: Rest and prepare. Drink plenty of water and rest before your event. Over the weekend or tournament days you will be pushed beyond your comfort. Get ready and rest accordingly. Things will be fast, fun, and unexpected events are sure to arise…be ready for them! Pack all the essentials and backup sticks! Don’t forget sunscreen and a pair of shoes or slide so you don’t have to wear your cleats all day!

Pace of play: We want to push the pace more than anything! Quick, not rushed, urgent exciting stylings. Make the simple play HARD…with effort! Moving the ball forward, or escaping pressure with our feet. All of these things are “effort plays” Effort is something that stands out more than anything else. Hustle on and off the field. At high levels of lacrosse at any age level you will see the ball move quicker than you would ever expect. That is exposing good skill! Being an athlete goes right along with that!

Style: Play with “what makes you YOU”. Have creativity but ride that line what what is too much, and take a step back. It’s certainly best not to force a shot, or overplay your offensive player. Place the effort forth and let that do the work. Express joy and enthusiasm.

Competition: The competition you will see if from across North America. Some better, some worse. Respect the mission set forth by all…to compete! Some teams are National teams who train year round together, mostly single sport players. Some teams are just showcase teams who will just show up at the event without prior practices and rely on what they bring to the field. Teams can consist of 15-28 players, yes a wide spectrum!

“The Far Sideline”: Parental Conduct: Here is the deal…..cant tell you the last time we have had a tournament where everycall on the field was perfect! Judgment is human. Officials spend all day at the field. Be cautious on how you approach and what you say to officials and NEVER talk to another parents/oppents kid (in a negative way). In fact it goes a long way to actually give good feedback. There are plenty of times when we say “good save” outloud to an opposition’s goalie! Its ok! Being positive is a good thing to motivate kids. Please don’t coach your kids from the far sidelines, words of encouragement go a long way!

Tournaments vs. Showcases: A showcase is generally a 1 day event. Players can travel across the country for these events. At a showcase you are generally not coached by a club coach, but a college coach. Players are brought together for recruitment purposes in front of a selected amount of college coaches. Depending upon the format they may run the kids through position specific group work, practices, and coach in games. Most showcases involve approx 3 games for recruitment. Tournaments are generally 2 day events. Starting a Saturday am, and generally wrap up by mid day Sunday. Games are played within an hour time block yielding approx 40 min games with room for half time and switch over. Most events have now shifted to offering 4 games. Games can be played in “pool play” where the top 1-2 teams advance out of pool play for game 4 and so on to a final crowned victor. A lot of the time tournaments will actively schedule teams that are not from the same region to provide variety of play…if they can.

Who are these coaches and why are they at my kids game?! Those are college coaches! They are there to recruit your children (high school athletes Rising junior to Rising Seniors). They will sit on the sidelines of our games, watch and LISTEN to players. Look where they are sitting…most of the time its on the bench side for a bit of privacy away from the parent sidelines. Please let them do their work! Yes, if you have a previous relationship in recruitment with them you may start up a conversation, if you approach you. Proper conduct can be obvious there, but please no “Parent Agents”. The first person they will want to take to is our director or coaching staff. We have received texts during games, phone calls, approach after the game, and they have even dropped a line to one of our alumni who plays for them while watching a recruit. They want to know their other side…academics, attitude, aspirations. Much of the time coaches are given a stipend to attend the event. This is what can drive up the cost of the event. They will host the coaches, and maybe provide more like transport/lodging accommodations. You can have volunteer assistants to head coaches watching you. Keep your head up, watch what you say, how you react and show enthusiasm!

Emulate: There are going to be players that are better than you. That’s ok! Learn from them! Be humbled but what they bring to the game. See if YOU can take a piece of what they do and apply that to your quiver of a skill set. Watch them, respect what they bring forth, and maybe it could be a new aspect in making you a better player!