This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
[


YOUR EDGE offi cials ]


Thankful for Change G


Every lacrosse season has a story, so embrace the new narrative


ratitude journals seem to be all the rage on Facebook. As I wrote this


in late January, gearing up


for my season as a college women’s lacrosse offi cial, I began to think about what I’m grateful for: change. Change comes with each new lacrosse season. Change is something people typically do not like. Even if you don’t mind it, it usually is diffi cult. As offi cials, we know the rules change at least slightly every year, and I’ve used this space before to urge you to embrace those changes. This year, things are more personal for me, as I have gone through some big changes that are going to affect my lacrosse season. I had a baby in November, and I found myself physically getting ready for the season on a much shorter than normal timeline.


I hired a new personal trainer for preseason. Every time I get ready to meet with a new trainer, I’m nervous. Will I like him as much? Will she push me as hard as the last one? And then I realized that every trainer I have used has been different — and awesome — in his or her own way.


Why do I dread starting the new relationship? All of my personal trainers have given me new ideas and methods. I have been a different person with different goals each time, and they have given me their


US L acrosse


Officials education program


86 LACROSSE MAGAZINE April 2014>>


best and helped me prepare to attain those goals. New year, new season, new trainer — can’t stop, won’t stop.


Notable changes for the 2014 NCAA women’s lacrosse season included a new procedure requiring scorers to drop their sticks after a goal for a discretionary stick check, a revised rule allowing defenders to move through and/or occupy the goal circle and an experimental rule limiting teams to three


Coaches are figuring out how to win with new strategies, and as officials, we’re trying to figure out how to implement the rule in a way that is safe, fair and in the spirit of the game.


This is a dance.


players each between the restraining lines during draws. Offi ciating some


preseason scrimmages, I realized what I like about rule changes is the puzzle. Coaches are fi guring out how to win with new strategies, and as offi cials, we’re trying to fi gure out how to implement the rule in a way that is safe, fair and


in the spirit of the game. This is a dance. We have to see the players and strategies develop, and then we have to talk to each other, the coaches and the players to ensure fair play. We’re fi guring it out together, and this is really fun.


Before anyone starts keeping score or playing for a record, we’re all outside in winter weather, scrimmaging, scheming and talking lacrosse.


If the rules never changed, preseason would be really boring. We’d be out there getting ready to go through the motions. Instead, we’re out there breaking new ground together. It’s exciting and fun.


Since there’s a baby in the house, and he is the fi rst, my husband and I have been dealing with change every day of our lives since he arrived. What that means for me this lacrosse season is that my game schedule is different from years past. There are fewer games, more blocked days, and my travel will be much closer to home. I could look at this and be disappointed, but the reason for the change in my schedule brings me such joy. I look at the pared-down schedule and say, “Every game day is a championship day.” Whether you’re an offi cial,


player, coach or fan, every lacrosse season tells a different story. I look forward to riding the wave of changes through Memorial Day.


— Lucia Perfetti Clark


US Lacrosse offi cials education and training manager


A Publication of US Lacrosse


©JOHN STROHSACKER


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100