WELCOME!

Welcome to Kent Youth Lacrosse, 2010.  It is has been a very busy spring, with the players and coaches working diligently to prepare for the beginning of our season, set for  Sunday,  March 28, 2010.  There have been some changes since last season, and I’d like to bring you up to date on the progress we have made during the past 9 months.

First and foremost, we have switched from the Eastern Shore Youth Lacrosse Association to the Delmarva Youth Lacrosse Association.   This change was made for a number of reasons, with one goal in mind – to provide our young players with a positive experience playing organized lacrosse.  The move to DYLA is expected to result in a more convenient schedule, especially with regard to travel distance and time.  A number of the associations in the new league are less than an hour drive from Kent County.  We already have been rewarded with more home games this season, a direct result of our multi-field venue at Worton Park.  We also anticipate a more consistent level of competition during the course of the season which can only help our children become better lacrosse players.

The DYLA plays on Sunday afternoons, a big change from the Saturday morning play time we endured with the old league.  I hope you will give this change a try before criticizing it.  Some of the advantages include no more early morning wake –up calls for a two hour drive to a 9 A.M. away game; a clear schedule on Saturday for work around the house; and, not missing any of the many college games that are played on Saturday.  None of our games will start before 1 P.M. on Sunday which, hopefully, allows everyone enough time for Sunday services.

The DYLA operates under the rules and guidelines of US Lacrosse.  I encourage you to visit their website at: http://www.uslacrosse.org/ .  It provides a number of resources, including rules for both men’s and women’s lacrosse.  Be sure to review the rules specific to boys and girls lacrosse when you visit the site. For those relative newcomers to the game, I highly recommend the parent’s guide, which can be found at : http://www.uslacrosse.org also, for everyone, please take a moment to read the guidelines  for the Positive Coaching Alliance at: http://www.uslacrosse.org

The ultimate goal of Kent Youth Lacrosse is to provide our players with a positive experience playing lacrosse.  I believe that our coaches are second to none when it comes to achieving that goal.  But they need your support.  If you can provide any assistance at all, please let your coach know that you can help.  While you’re at it, please be sure to thank our coaches for their time and effort. 

The Washington College lacrosse teams, both men and women, have been wonderful with their support of our program this season.  Both teams hosted evening clinics for our players during the pre-season, free of charge.  If you see Coach Blankenship, Coach Clarke, or any of the Washington College players around town, please thank them for their help.  They would love to have our support for their games too.  Please try to attend one or more of their remaining home games. The men’s schedule is at: http://washingtoncollegesports.com.  The women’s schedule is at : http://www.washingtoncollegesports.com.    

Finally, a few basic guidelines for everyone:

1.   Emphasize the positive and minimize the negative.  Derogatory comments directed at the players, coaches or officials are not acceptable.  I have asked our coaches to stop play if anyone disrupts a game with inappropriate behavior and not to resume play until the inappropriate behavior stops.  Likewise, if an opposing player or coach jeopardizes the safety of the players or the integrity of the game, our coaches will pull the Kent Youth team from the field until the situation is resolved.

2.   Players and coaches will be on one side of the field, spectators will be on the other side of the field.  This rule is set forth in US Lacrosse; we have plenty of room at Worton Park and, quite frankly, neither the players nor coaches should have to worry about anyone else looking over their shoulder during the game. 

3.   No one will be permitted to stand in proximity to the ends of the field while a game is being played.  Play will stop until the person moves.  This is a safety issue – there will be no exceptions.

4.   Please let the coaches coach your child during the game and limit your cheering to positive encouragement.   Too many times, overzealous parents will shout instructions to their son or daughter that run counter to the coaches’ game plan.  It is confusing to the players and detrimental to the game

Last, but not least, please drive slowly while in Worton Park.  If you have not noticed, our player numbers have surged over the past two years.  We want all of them to be safe.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.  We are looking forward to a fun and exciting lacrosse season.  I will be on site for most of the games this year, if you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to bring them to my attention.

Sincerely,

Walt Steffens
Kent Youth Lacrosse
March 27, 2010