Kyle Saunders retweeted
Siena Men's Basketball honored Liam Gleason prior to tonight's game.
Every player wore a Siena Lacrosse shirt during warmups. Every coach wore a Siena Lacrosse quarter-zip with "LG" patched onto the sleeve. A moment of prayer/silence was also held. @SienaLacrosse @SienaMBB
Kyle Saunders retweeted
Short term, it means having (a) volunteer parents who love lax reaching out to their children’s friends and getting them out to try the sport and (b) having a robust system of scholarships and handout equipment that allows kids to try the sport without huge financial commitments.
Kyle Saunders retweeted
I think it comes down to town programs being ultra aggressive getting very young players (K-4) into the sport. Long term, the best programs build a lacrosse culture in their town that draws large numbers of young players and makes it competitive with tee ball and youth soccer.
Create a culture where every player’s experience matters (even the “bad/new ones”) .
Retaining players into HS should be the #1 focus of public youth programs.
If it hasn’t been the focus the last 3-5 years, your HS program is likely on life support/will be in the near future.
What about kids that are already good? They have to practice and play with “bad/new kids? “
This attitude runs a lot of new players off in the current model. I blame the parents.
Kids actually have the ability to be inclusive of their peers. Adults get in the way of that.
I think making it more convenient to play is huge for recruitment, retention, and growth.
Watching from a distance, the Deuces in-house league seems to be thriving.
Make k-6 grade lacrosse local.
Play in-house or team up with the next town over to create a local league. Make it rec.
Modified 6s. Fast, fun, and physical.
It’s a complex issue so I’m not sure that there’s a simple solution.
A good start might be to push the start of the youth season back to March. Better weather. Fewer cancellations.
Fewer conflicts with hockey and basketball.
Kyle Saunders retweeted
and most importantly over saturation..it is heartbreaking to see successful programs fold because someone new moves into the area and wants a slice of the pie instead of combining and joining forces for good they decide to start a new program to splinter what’s already successful
Kyle Saunders retweeted
I think ultimately it boils down to people wanting to see immediate success v trusting the process..
Over the course of just two-three years, the unintended consequences wreak havoc on youth and eventually high school programs.
This is why so many High School programs lack JV teams.
Club lacrosse infiltration at the youth level killed them.
All seems to make perfect sense except for the inherent bias/power those decision now makers have…
How teams are formed, talent is identified, leagues are formed/run, and how success is measured is all viewed through the lenses of club lacrosse at the YOUTH/COMMUNITY level.
Kyle Saunders retweeted
This lead to the best kids in the metroplex knowing each other and respecting each other in high school games. This lead to younger kids in the school programs striving to get better so they could make that “select” team because they put in the work…
Kyle Saunders retweeted
If you were excelling at the middle school level there was one maybe two “select” teams. But it was truly the best, not favoritism for what school you played for or coach you knew. This lead to DFW teams performing and winning multi state tournaments…
Kyle Saunders retweeted
Pre 2010 lacrosse in DFW was truly about getting as many elementary/ middle school kids as possible to play. It did not matter where you went to school or how much your parents made… there was a team willing to have you no matter what level you were at.
“Youth lacrosse as it is, feeds the club lacrosse machine…”
Here’s basically how it works.
Club coach takes community lax job bc XYZ parent(s) on the board have affiliation w/ club coach’s program.