‘HUGEStep I
National standards, offi cials education curriculum boost quality of youth lacrosse experience
By Emily Gibson and Paul Krome
n Alabama, where college football is king, some residents declare at birth if their children will root for the Alabama’s Crimson Tide or Auburn’s
Tigers. Lacrosse doesn’t quite have that clout yet. Willie Prince, a football and basketball
offi cial in Alabama, had never seen lacrosse until he received an email prior to the spring of 2009 asking if he wanted to offi ciate lacrosse. He began offi ciating boys’ lacrosse and soon found himself covering girls’ games too. “Luckily, it turns out that some of the terminology, mechanics and positioning on the fi eld — along with communication with coaches and fans from other offi ciating experiences — transferred over easily,” Prince said.
Prince got plenty of help from the US Lacrosse Offi cials’ Education Program (OEP). After years of development, US Lacrosse, with the help of many of the top offi cials in the sport, has established certifi cation requirements for offi cials for every level of play.
The OEP includes a start-to-fi nish process that revolves around national standards for rules knowledge and on- fi eld competency, with requirements for recertifi cation and a progression for offi cials wishing to ascend the career ladder. Certifi cation includes online and in- person instruction. On the women’s side, the rating is the on-fi eld evaluation component of certifi cation. High school students can obtain a youth/junior rating to offi ciate youth games, while adults must obtain an
A Publication of US Lacrosse
apprentice or local rating before moving up to district, national and international. District- or national-rated offi cials can work any game from youth through college. The men’s game employs numeric levels to designate certifi cations for offi cials. The level of evaluation is based on the skills offi cials demonstrate on the fi eld, not the level of play.
“US Lacrosse continues to focus on elevating the quality of the lacrosse experience for players and families, and
4. Pass the online US Lacrosse-NFHS rules test at
uslacrosse.org/offi cials. 5. Pass an on-fi eld evaluation conducted by your offi cials group.
From there, you must meet certain requirements annually to maintain certifi cation. They include attendance at an annual rules interpretation session, continuing education in the classroom and online testing. For more information, visit
uslacrosse.org/offi cials.
US L acrosse
Officials education program
March 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 69
Forward’
having offi cials meet national standards not only gives them what they need to make sure games are safe and fair, it also boosts the consistency of the lacrosse experience as the sport grows from coast to coast,” said Lucia Perfetti Clark, manager of offi cials’ education and training at US Lacrosse.
Prince immediately worked to bring an OEP developmental clinic to Birmingham and received his local rating after just his second season. Since then, Prince
HOW TO GET CERTIFIED US Lacrosse offers certifi cation through multiple levels of its Offi cials’ Education Program. Here’s
how to become certifi ed through Level 1 of the OEP: 1. Join US Lacrosse at
uslacrosse.org/join and renew the membership annually. US Lacrosse membership includes complimentary enrollment in the US Lacrosse Offi cials’ Education Program.
2. Take the free Level 1 online training course at
uslacrossecourses.com. US Lacrosse has upgraded its Level 1 online training classes for offi cials (and coaches), and made them available free of charge to members at this new website.
3. Attend an in-person instructional clinic or class offered by the local offi cials group in your area. Find the contact person for your area at
uslacrosse.org/subdistricttraining (men’s game) or
uslacrosse.org/localboardchairs (women’s game).
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