Growing the game

3 easy ideas for getting kids to try lacrosse

Free Intro Clinics

brooklyn clinicShort clinics allow kids of all ages to try the game in a low-pressure setting. Get your coaches and experienced older players to come help out.

The timing of the clinic can really help grow your program. If you hold the clinics in the fall just before registration opens, you can build a ton of buzz toward signing up for spring.

Promote the clinics by reaching out to your local paper and schools, posting flyers on community bulletin boards, email marketing, and Facebook. If you begin to build a relationship with the sports reporter at your local paper, you’ll be able to get coverage for your program in the future.

Hold registration on the web so that you can also collect email addresses from prospective players and continue reaching out to them for the future.  Does this sound daunting? Check out formsite.com for EASY and free registration forms. You don’t even need a website (or access to your website) to use this tool.

TIP: Hold 2 or 3 clinics on consecutive weekends. You’ll get the same kids coming back over and over, and each week they’ll bring more friends!

Make sure it's clear that beginners are welcome, and no gear is required to attend
Make sure it’s clear that beginners are welcome, and no gear is required to attend!

School PE Class

The Brine "Whip It" lacrosse sticks are often used in school PE units
The Brine “Whip It” lacrosse sticks are often used in school PE units

Is there a lacrosse unit included in your middle school PE curriculum?

If not, check with your school’s PE teacher and ask how you can help get the lacrosse unit included.

See if they have a set of basic lacrosse sticks already, and if they don’t, reach out to your local US Lacrosse chapter for assistance with getting some.

Ask if you can send a coach over to talk to the kids about lacrosse when the unit is happening.

Check out US Lacrosse’s free PE Curriculum and equipment grant program

Wall Ball

Find a wall, pick a day, and be there every week during the summer for anyone who wants to come hang out and play wall ball. If you want to get creative, have some prizes for the players who show up the most, improve the most during the summer, bring a friend who has never played, or put in the most hours on the wall (think “summer reading club at the library”).  All you really need is at least one coach or parent to be there playing with the kids and a big wide wall that’s friendly for wall ball.

From the policy and philosophy side…

Make it OK to start playing lacrosse at any age

If your board truly wants to grow the game and grow your club, make it your club policy that you welcome new players at any age and any level.

This means you have to have a “no-cuts” policy. If you have too many kids in your program, congrats! It’s time to split and grow a new program. It is never okay to cut players at the youth or high school level!

We love ya Pierre!
We love ya Pierre!

One of our favorite players ever was a French foreign exchange student named Pierre, who came out as a senior and played on our C team.

He was incredibly motivational for his squad and added something really special to that year, to the entire program. If it hadn’t been ok for him to play, that season would have been completely different and not nearly as fun!

Don’t you think if you’re on the C team, you should at least be having a total blast?

Think carefully about the message you send to your kids by allowing everyone to play. They are always welcome and accepted. They are part of a family. They are important.

Grades or violations of a clearly established behavior policy should be the only reason for letting kids go from a team.

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Logos and Uniforms

7 mistakes to avoid when designing lacrosse uniforms

1. Numbers too small or wrong color

If the numbers on the backs of your uniforms or pinnies are too small, or blend in too much with the jersey color, nobody will be able to see the number across the field. That means your parents, officials, scorekeepers, and spotters will all have a very hard time seeing who made that awesome shot or who had that killer assist. (Not everyone can identify your player by his adorable legs.)

2. Substituting hockey jerseys for lacrosse jerseys

Don’t let anyone talk you into purchasing hockey jerseys for lacrosse. The cut is different and the kids complain that they can’t shoot and the sleeves get hung up.

3. Getting hung up on sublimated printing

You can save a lot of money and still look VERY classy with numbers and letters that are sewn on.  Sublimation is cool, but it’s not better or worse than anything else. It’s a lot more expensive and if there’s a mistake (which you should expect every time), it’s a mistake on every uniform.

4. Not being able to order more of the same uniform

Next year when you need more numbers, or one of your seniors purchased their uniform for framing, or spilled barbecue sauce all over his light shorts… how hard will it be to replace pieces or add more numbers?

5. Not buying local!

If you need anything fixed on your uniforms (which happens on almost every order), there is NO substitute for having your uniform rep just down the street. I cannot stress the importance of keeping this business local and having a relationship you can depend on.

6. Ordering uniforms too late

The longer you wait to place your order, the harder it will be to get the colors and styles you want. You will also be cutting it dangerously close to your first game. Most clubs order uniforms in the fall for the spring season. If you don’t know your registration numbers, this can be challenging! But if you order 25-30 sets of uniforms per team, you will be okay.

7. Allowing vendor or design changes too frequently

Inevitably, a new board member will have a “hook up” with a new gear vendor, or decide they want to “jazz up” the uniforms and make changes. Almost nothing will cause more stress or strain on your board relationships. Opening this topic for discussion is a recipe for turmoil. If your board agrees that the uniforms are already great and don’t need changes, don’t fix what ain’t broke.

Even better, If you’ve got a clear branding policy to lean on, you won’t have much to discuss.

8. Ordering black uniforms in hot climates

I never would have thought of this one since we lived in Washington state, but a parent from Arizona told me they had the worst season of their lives in black uniforms because the kids were getting cooked! Yikes!

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