[
THE SCOOP] we are US Lacrosse Questions Tournament Time: PARENTS SHOULD ASK
US Lacrosse’s guide to navigating summer youth tournament options
By Paul Krome C
oach Gene Isnardi wanted the attention of each of his players after his Long Island Express (N.Y.) defeated two-time defending boys’ national champion FCA (Md.) at the 2011 US Lacrosse U15 National Championship.
“I sat them down facing me, and I told them to absorb the moment,” Isnardi said after the quarterfi nal win. “I have an older son, Nick, at Army, that I used to coach. I’ve been texting him about this tournament. He texted back that he remembered how lacrosse tournaments are such great times. I told them they can’t just run off the fi eld after a game. Don’t lose focus, but enjoy each moment with your teammates. You don’t get many opportunities to play for the US Lacrosse National Championship.” Summertime youth lacrosse tournaments can provide kids with opportunities for growth and memories to cherish for a lifetime, and US Lacrosse’s signature youth event ranks among the most anticipated each year (see sidebar) among a landscape dotted with tournaments.
That didn’t happen by accident. The national governing body of lacrosse is in the midst of researching, developing and publishing national standards for all aspects of lacrosse participation to ensure the most positive experience in the sport for players, coaches, offi cials and fans. The US Lacrosse Gold Stick Standards outline seven tenets for the operation of an ideal youth lacrosse league or organization. Similar standards for tournaments and events, researched and developed by the US Lacrosse events staff after consultation with sports organizations and tournament directors across the country, are on the way.
28 LACROSSE MAGAZINE July 2013>>
“They haven’t been formally approved for publication, but we have been operating by these standards for our events,” said Beth Porreca, director of special events at US Lacrosse. “Our top priority is a positive and safe experience for our youth members and their families.” US Lacrosse works with local convention and visitors bureaus to make many of the less visible logistical and operational aspects top notch, so that teams can simply show up, play and have fun. Here are fi ve questions parents should ask before registering their kids or teams for tournaments.
1. What happens if my kid gets hurt playing in the tournament? While players may be content to “shake it off” after a big hit or wrap a hurting body part in ice for a few minutes, a misdiagnosis or, worse, no diagnosis of an injury can cause more complications down the road. “The US Lacrosse events staff was
very concerned about ensuring player safety,” said Ben Huffman, sports director for the Warren County, Ohio, Convention and Visitors Bureau, which has hosted US Lacrosse youth events over the years. “US Lacrosse folks have standards they want the local organization to meet. They start walking through months out — the detection system for injuries, where the trainers are located on the fi elds, where the ambulance will be on site. They walked around the facility looking for divots or holes in the fi eld. They looked at the goals — do they look great and are they safe? They met with the head trainer and the local fi re station’s EMTs.”
An automated external defi brillator (AED) on site is a must, and an ambulance should be on site if its response time to a 911 call from the facility exceeds 10 minutes.
2. Are the offi cials certifi ed? Scrutinizing offi cials remains a sad link among all sports, and that’s sometimes magnifi ed in lacrosse, where the increase in the number of players has outpaced that of qualifi ed coaches and offi cials. To minimize criticism of offi cials by parents, coaches and players, tournaments would be wise to use only offi cials that participate in the US Lacrosse Offi cials Education Program. The multi-level training program includes a variety of online and in-person clinics, rules review, and mechanics instruction, and it allows offi cials to be certifi ed by the national governing body of lacrosse. “Some tournaments have teams coming from all over the country, with
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©LEE WEISSMAN (TRAINER); ©SCOTT MCCALL (OFFICIAL, U15)
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