A Parents' Code for Youth Lacrosse

This Parents' Code was edited from Character Counts! Campaign at the Josephson Institute of Ethics

As a parent, you play a special role in contributing to the needs and development of young players. Through your encouragement and good example, you can help assure that the boys learn good sportsmanship and fair play.

They'll likely develop a lifelong love for this sport, and best of all - they will have fun.

Support Your Child
Supporting your child by giving encouragement and showing interest in their team is very important. Help your child work toward skill improvement and good sportsmanship. Learn the basics of the lacrosse. Teach your child that hard work and an honest effort are often more important than victory - that way your child will always be a winner despite the outcome of the game!

Always Be Positive
Parents serve as important role models for their children. Learn to recognize and applaud good, clean plays by your child's team as well as good plays by the opposing team. Show respect for the officials and opposing teams. Support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from youth sports activities. Do not encourage or applaud rough play.

Remember That Your Child Wants to Have Fun
Remember that your child is the one playing lacrosse, not you. It's very important to let children establish their own goals - to play the game for themselves. Take care not to impose your own standards and goals on them. Don't put too heavy a burden on your child to perform or win games. Surveys reveal that 72% of children would rather play for a losing team than ride the bench for a winning team. Children play for the fun of playing.

Reinforce Positive Behavior
Positive reinforcement is the best way to help your child achieve their goals and reduce their natural fear of failure. Nobody likes to make mistakes, but it's an important part of learning. The freedom to take risks in learning new skills, such as developing a dodge is critical to advancement and having fun. Always point out the good things your child accomplished.

Don't Be a Sideline Coach or Referee
Coaches and referees are usually parents just like you. They volunteer their time to help make your child's youth lacrosse experience a positive one. They need your support too. That means refraining from coaching or refereeing from the sidelines. If you'd like to be a coach, we have opportunities for you.
 

Our approach to the 2nd/3rd Chester PAA Grade Lacrosse Team

1. Our goal is to introduce young players to the concepts and individual skills associated with the great game of lacrosse. It is hoped that they'll continue to enjoy the sport for many, many years.
2. Our first priority is safety. Though lacrosse is generally thought of as a rough contact sport, at this level contact will be limited to stick checking. Protective equipment will be worn at all times and coaches will closely control all on and off-field activities.
3. Our emphasis will also be on fun and good sportsmanship
4. Practices will be fun. Games will be fun. Everybody plays. Anybody can learn and play any position. Emphasis in games will be on familiarizing players with full field play and the play of individual positions. We do not "lock" players into specific positions. We mix the rotations every game so we have a balance of experienced and less-experienced players on the field at one time. We seek equal playing time for every player. Due to the high number of players we have, this sometimes leads to teams scoring more on us. Winning games is not the point at this level. It's about fairness, sportsmanship and fun.
5. Players who continually miss our practices, however may not play as much as those who have made the commitment to come out very week. It's about fairness. And, it's also about safety. Lacrosse is a sport that requires skilled and safe play with the stick and the body. We carefully coach this every practice. Players not receiving this important coaching are not considered well prepared to play this sport.