Sports for Your Child

This is a story of a recreational lacrosse team that developed into a national contender in just a few short years.  This Raiders team came into existence three years ago as a mid-level developmental team.  No players were turned away and we had eleven players on that team that had never played lacrosse before.  Miraculously we ended up the season at twelve wins and two losses.  It seemed like we could have produced a movie based upon that season and believe me, I thought about it.

The second year, we stepped up to a tougher level of competition at the second highest level in the state of Colorado.  With a record of nineteen wins and zero losses, (a dream season) in that second year (2008), we were compelled to try our hand at the red (highest) level this year (2009). 

Head coach Don Knobloch had a vision and methodically went about making it happen.  The regular season was a challenge as we finished with two wins and eight losses with fourteen players and were quickly eliminated from the state championship. 

As I mentioned, Coach Knobloch had a plan, though, and twelve outstanding additional players joined the team in the postseason as we attempted to win the Colorado Cup.  We finished the Cup as champions with six wins and zero losses as we defeated the state select team twice.

We encountered some challenges in the Vail Shootout and finished fourth out of sixteen teams.  The ultimate winner was a great team representing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).  Lessons were learned by all of us and we were cautioned that we were going to have challenges in the national championship as most teams would be comprised of a mixture of  ‘rising’ high school sophomores and freshmen.  Our team consisted of rising seventh, eight and ninth graders.  Oh boy!

That brought us to the ultimate goal, the U15 National Championship.  Thirty-two teams from all regions of the country descended upon Bel Air, MD for the championship July 8-10, 2009.  We started off playing against one the tournament’s top teams, Blackwolf Select.  We weren’t ready for what we encountered, lost ten to two, and stood at the verge of being eliminated from the championship bracket.  One more loss in our three games in pool play and we would go to the consolation bracket.  Ouch.  We didn’t spend all that money and time practicing to be eliminated so quickly. 

In our second game against Team Vermont we won eleven to seven and found ourselves slotted to play the Maryland Hot Stix.  We didn’t know what to expect but, hey, it was a Maryland team that had showed up very well in a prestigous tournament earlier in this year.  We started the game very apprehensively as Maryland, and the Northeast in general are the hotbeds for lacrosse at any levels in the United States.  We played a real tough game, came out on top nine to five, and thus were headed to the Championship Bracket.  WOW!  We could have stopped there and it would have been a dream come true.

The next day we began by playing against the number one seed, “Next Level Lacrosse”.  We were introduced to a brand of lacrosse that we hadn’t seen yet and lost eleven to one.  We were sure that Next Level would be the ultimate champions! 

Now at two wins and two losses, we were facing elimination from the tournament in our next game. We watched as Team Colorado was eliminated from the tournament in the losers bracket and felt lucky indeed that we might end up ranked as the sixteenth team in the tournament.

Our next opponent, the BattleLax Bombers, a team from North Carolina, with ten rising sopohomores, played a strong game against us.  Against many odds, we came from behind to win six to five after our starting goalie, Jason Cleary, stopped a point blank shot with just a few seconds remaining.  The players mobbed Jason and we were on Cloud Nine!  We now knew that we couldn’t finish worse than twelfth in the country.  It was an amazing feeling.

Although we lost the next day to a strong Ithaca team, we were very content to know that we finished our season within the top twelve teams in the country.  The ultimate winner was FCA and although the coach was the same as the Vail team, he had some new players that were rising sophomores.  You’d have to say that the FCA coach, Frank Kelly was the U15 coach of the year.  What a great coach and a nice guy as well.

It’s been a dream ride, but most of our boys are off to high school and probably ten different teams.  The comraderie and sense of family has been tremendous and these boys will be linked forever.  With a mixture of emotions, I say “Go Raiders” or ”303′ as the players would chant after huddles.  I’ll miss this group of boys.

Rich Rosdal Coaches Corner, US Lacrosse National Championship championship, game, lacrosse, Maryland, money, National, Play, recreation, team

Winning coaches understand that they need conditioned, strong athletes to win.  When you watch your child practice and you see that the coach is having the kids do pushups, run laps or run sprints just understand that they’re doing that to get the team in tip-top shape.

If you have a football player for a son, you should be aware that when they get to high school, weightlifting becomes an integral part of many days.  It’s important for your child to pack on muscle if they’re going to be able to endure the physical pounding that is a part of football.

What if your child plays another sport like: soccer, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, swimming, tennis, golf, rugby, softball, wrestling, volleyball, badminton, ping pong, etc? Did I say ping pong?  They should do anything that will make them stronger, have more endurance and realize greater speed.

Working hard can make up for deficiencies.

Rich Rosdal Parents Parlor Add new tag, athlete, badminton, baseball, basketball, football, golf, lacrosse, ping pong, rugby, soccer, sports, swimming, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling

Please Note:  These position primers are intended for the youth level of lacrosse only.

A seventh grade defenseman with his long pole.

There are three dedicated defensive players positioned on the field when a team is at full strength. Now this isn’t totally true as the three middies also play defense and they should be dedicated. The distinction is that the three defenseman primarily play defense. In most cases these defensemen will use a stick that is longer than the other sticks on the field. This longer stick is, fittingly, called a long pole.

The primary responsibility of the defenseman is to prevent the offensive team from scoring. The defensive player can be positioned on any offensive player in a man to man scheme. In a zone defense, the player will be responsible for an area or zone and will do their best to guard that territory.

Very often, coaches will place less athletic players on defense. This doesn’t work out very well since a good defender should have quick feet and be able to mirror the offensive player’s movements. As kids get older, it becomes apparent that good, athletic long poles are critical to the success of the team.

Strength is very important, as the defenseman will want to check the opposing player to disrupt the flow of a play. Since lacrosse is a team sport, it is necessary for a long pole to “slide” over when a teammate loses control of the offensive player. The sliding player becomes the secondary defender when this occurs.

Defensemen Attributes at a Glance:

Quick
Strong
Adaptive
Selfless
Physical
Aware

Rich Rosdal Lacrosse Positions aggressive, athlete, ball, block, catch, Child, defense, Fast, hit, lacrosse, pass, Play, player, position, Power, primer, Quick, reflexes, run, skills, sports, Strong, throw, tough, vision, youth

The attack player is primarily responsible for offensive production. There are three attacks on the field when the team is at full strength. Two of the attack players (wings) are usually positioned on the imaginary line from the front of the goal toward each sideline, which is called the Goal Line Extended (GLE). The other attack player should be at the X position, which is behind the goal.

The wings can be used to get an angle on the goal and score when they have an open shot. The X Attack player is similar to a point guard in basketball because they can create goals by finding the open player. It could be one of the wing attack players or one of the middies. This doesn’t mean that the X player can’t score, but it will be the second option after finding the open player.

Another responsibility of the attack player is to run after the ball, after a shot, since the closest player as it goes out of bounds will maintain possession. If the ball goes out of bounds on a pass, the last player to have touched the ball inbounds will forfeit possession.

There are many potential formations in lacrosse and the locations mentioned above, for the attack players, will be different in some other formations.

When the ball is turned over to the other team all offensive players become defensive players. If the attack players excel on defense there is an opportunity to recover the ball.

Attack Attributes at a Glance:

Quick
Great Stick Skills
Excellent Shooter
Good Passer
Vision
Tenacious

Rich Rosdal Lacrosse Positions athlete, Child, lacrosse, pass, Play, player, position, Power, primer, Quick, run, skills, sports, throw, vision, youth

The goalie is the last line of defense in lacrosse. This position requires a courageous player with a temperment durable enough to accept that goals happen sometimes regardless of how well the goalie plays.

The goalie must have quick hands and feet in order to stop a speeding bullet (the ball). The ball is made of rubber and while it is about the size of a baseball, it is heavier. Getting hit by a lacrosse ball can hurt and certainly can cause a bruise. At younger ages, goalies can be found wearing shin pads and every other kind of pad imagineable. I have seen goalies that resemble Robocop, but they were slowed by all the padding. Competitive goalies in field lacrosse typically do not wear shin pads, although they do protect themseleves with a helmet, gloves, shoulder, a mouthguard, elbow pads, a cup, a chest protector, a short stick with an oversized mesh head.

This player must be aware of the location of the ball at all times which can be challenging. It’s important for the goalie to cut off angles and minimize the visible area where the offensive player can shoot. For instance, if the attack player at X comes around the right side of the goal, the goalie should move to that side and position their body right next to the goal post. It would be very difficult for the attack player to score from the side of the goal since the open area of the goal would be very narrow.

There are times when the offensive player is shielded, from sight, by the defensive player. Since shots can come from many angles, it becomes very difficult for the goalie to stop every shot.

Goalie Attributes at a Glance:

Quick Hands and Feet
Courageous
Short Memory
Aware
Leadership Abilities
Ability to Meet an Offensive Player

Rich Rosdal Lacrosse Positions athlete, attitude, lacrosse, pads, Play, player, position, primer, Quick, reflexes, save, sports, tough, vision, youth

Lacrosse is rising in popularity across the United States and in other parts of the globe. Boys are leaving baseball to play a sport that they feel is more fun and utilizes some of the skills that they have learned in football, hockey, basketball or soccer. The most common statement that I hear from boys that play lacrosse, who once played baseball, is “I got tired of waiting for the ball to come to me”.

This blog is intended to help you to understand the sport of lacrosse and determine if it is appropriate for your son or daughter.

It’s no mistake that I mentioned the four other sports as they all have something in common with lacrosse.

Just like most sports the primary objective is to score more points than your opponent. A lacrosse game begins with a faceoff just like hockey. The field is slightly larger than a football field and slightly smaller than a soccer field. There is a goal positioned close to either end of the field, but there is room for players to play behind the it. Typically, most of the players play in front of the goal because that is the best (only) place where the player can score a goal. Usually one player is positioned behind the goal to either: “cut the crease” (a circlular area around the goal) to shoot or to make a pass to a player who is cutting towards the goal.

The equipment required for boys lacrosse is a helmet, shoulder pads, elbow pads, thick protective gloves, a cup, a mouthguard, one ball and a stick. Players pass and catch the ball using a mesh pocket in the head of the stick. The boys play a physical game within the framework of the rules. Injuries happen much less frequently in lacrosse than in football, but it’s always best to be safe.

The equipment required for girls lacrosse is goggles, gloves, a mouthguard, a sports bra/support bra for older players, and a stick. Goalies can wear shin guards and knee pads if they choose. The girls game is much less physical which is why there is less required equipment. The modified checking rules are designed to protect the player.

The ball is typically possessed by the offense and passed from offensive player to offensive player until:

1) The ball is thrown or caught poorly and the other team’s defense takes the ball away
2) A goal is scored
3) A shot is missed and the defense gains possession
4) There is a penalty against the offense

There are three methods of scoring a goal:

1) One player will drive and shoot the ball past the goalie and across the goal line.
2) A player will receive a pass, either on a set play or on an improvised basis, and then will shoot the ball past the goalie and across the goal line.
3) A goal crosses the goal line by accident

There are several types of checks that are allowed, but if executed incorrectly they will result in penalties.

Defensemen typically use a longer stick, called a long pole, but otherwise the equiment is the same as a player who uses a short pole.

In boy’s lacrosse there are four basic positions:

1) One goalie who attempts to stop goals from scoring
2) Three defenseman who protect the goalie by trying to prevent shots from being attempted
3) Three midfielders (middies) who can play on the offensive or defensive sides of the field
4) Three attackmen who focus primarily on offensive plays. There is a misconception that attackmen do not play defense. This is incorrect because when the defense takes the ball away they become the offense. This mean that attackmen must play defense until the ball crosses mid-field.

If you would like to go further and read the rules of the game, check with your league to determine which rulebook is used.

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