“How do we Grow the Game!? “Do what the Olympics are.” “SIXES.” “Yeah, throw some new un-athletic kid in the goal. We’ll play a format that invites them to get crease cranked from 3 yards by bad shooters, & we’ll see if they have the balls to stick w/ the sport.” “#GTG 👊”

Anyone else upset about Texas Lacrosse & where we’re at right now? The vibe I get is,”no, not really.” Troubling given how many public’s can’t field a JV team this season & how many youth programs are in dire straights. We aren’t growing. Change Course. Immediately.

The youth model is broken. Youth lacrosse as it is, feeds the club lacrosse machine. As such, only the “best” get any type of “development.” The rest will either sink or swim. VERY FEW believe that EVERY player’s experience matters. This is why you see the death of publics.

We aren’t growing. Change course. Immediately.

“Youth lacrosse as it is, feeds the club lacrosse machine…” Here’s basically how it works. Club coach takes community lax job bc XYZ parent(s) on the board have affiliation w/ club coach’s program.

All seems to make perfect sense except for the inherent bias/power those decision now makers have… How teams are formed, talent is identified, leagues are formed/run, and how success is measured is all viewed through the lenses of club lacrosse at the YOUTH/COMMUNITY level.

Over the course of just two-three years, the unintended consequences wreak havoc on youth and eventually high school programs. This is why so many High School programs lack JV teams. Club lacrosse infiltration at the youth level killed them.

It’s a complex issue so I’m not sure that there’s a simple solution. A good start might be to push the start of the youth season back to March. Better weather. Fewer cancellations. Fewer conflicts with hockey and basketball.

Make k-6 grade lacrosse local. Play in-house or team up with the next town over to create a local league. Make it rec. Modified 6s. Fast, fun, and physical.

I think making it more convenient to play is huge for recruitment, retention, and growth. Watching from a distance, the Deuces in-house league seems to be thriving.

What about kids that are already good? They have to practice and play with “bad/new kids? “ This attitude runs a lot of new players off in the current model. I blame the parents. Kids actually have the ability to be inclusive of their peers. Adults get in the way of that.

Create a culture where every player’s experience matters (even the “bad/new ones”) . Retaining players into HS should be the #1 focus of public youth programs. If it hasn’t been the focus the last 3-5 years, your HS program is likely on life support/will be in the near future.

Kyle Saunders I think it comes down to town programs being ultra aggressive getting very young players (K-4) into the sport. Long term, the best programs build a lacrosse culture in their town that draws large numbers of young players and makes it competitive with tee ball and youth soccer.

Kyle Saunders Short term, it means having (a) volunteer parents who love lax reaching out to their children’s friends and getting them out to try the sport and (b) having a robust system of scholarships and handout equipment that allows kids to try the sport without huge financial commitments.

Just a year-round Dog 🐺 #DefendTheDen