CCS vs Calverton

#9 Joe Moreno Class of 2013

#9 Joe Moreno Class of 2013

Short Pump Middle School Lacrosse

Short Pump Middle School Lacrosse.

US Lacrosse Risk Management Manual

Here we grow again! The Spring 2013 season is here and youth and high school lacrosse programs are no doubt heading off into the season a feverish pace. For the coaches, volunteers, players, and supporters this is an awesome time of the year.  For the directors and officers of the teams and the leagues this is the most important time of the year when it comes to ensuring that all of the proper safeguards are in place to protect you, the coaches, and most importantly the players.

It has been my experience and the opinion of others that team officers, directors, and committee chairs spend far too much time and energy focused on fundraising and not enough time on corporate governance. There is little doubt that for many lacrosse clubs that fundraising is an important issue but it should not take the place of protecting the welfare of the players.

In my opinion as well as many others, protecting the welfare of the players is your most important job as a director or officer of a youth athletic organization. The position carries a great deal of responsibility and depending solely on your league just isn’t enough, every member of your organization should be fluent and vigilant in protecting the players. There are just far to many issues to contend with to ignore and probably some of the most important issues are obvious, injury prevention, proper hydration, and concussion awareness. Others are not as obvious, prevention of abuse, physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional  are just as important and your team/league needs to have a policy to deal with those issues. It is my suggestion that you adopt and implement the policies and guidelines offered by US Lacrosse. It is also my suggestion that you purchase Director and Officer Insurance from Bollinger as well as understanding the mandatory reporting statutes and laws in your area. Maybe it’s time to turn one of those committee chairs into the safety chair, it’s also may be time to have a preseason meeting with all of your parents to keep them informed on the steps that you are taking to protect the welfare of the players.

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Free Lacrosse Clinic – University of Richmond

Free Lacrosse Clinic – University of Richmond.

 

HCPS Gives Conditional Approval for VHSL Lacrosse

HCPS Gives Conditional Approval for VHSL Lacrosse

by Bill Karn posted 01/31/2013
 
Blackhawk Nation -

I attended the school board’s budget review session tonight and left with good news.  The school board committed to approving lacrosse for the spring 2014 season provided certain details can be worked out.  Procedurally, this was not an official yes vote, but the chair of the school board did say on the record that we could let the lacrosse community know VHSL lacrosse is a go for the 2013-2014 school year.  Hopefully, the details can be worked out soon and we can celebrate an official yes.  For now, though, this is the most positive statement we’ve gotten from the school board to date, and that’s certainly progress.

Regards,
Bill Karn

by Bill Karn posted 02/01/2013
 
Blackhawk Nation -

For those of you rightfully concerned about the budgetary constraints faced by our school board, I wanted to clarify that the move to VHSL lacrosse tentatively approved by the school board will have no impact on the County school budget.  The cost of the lacrosse programs will be paid through a mix of player fees, gate receipts, booster and team fundraising, and donations from the community, including Blackhawk Lacrosse.  The school board would not have considered the move otherwise, and they deserve credit for exploring new ways to deliver meaningful extra-curricular opportunities to our kids without impacting the budget. 

While we here at Blackhawk Lacrosse are passionate about this move to VHSL lacrosse, we are also mindful of the economic climate and the importance of our fine schools, particularly the excellent teachers that make those schools what they are.  We would not have pursued this move were it to come at the expense of academic programs.

Bill Karn