How to Start a Team

A work in progress ...

EQUIPMENT

WHAT TO DO FIRST - Have a meeting.

You have to find out if you have the interest. You may be the only nut who wants to play lacrosse at your school. You need to find out if there are others who want to join in the fun.

      COLLEGE: Colleges have procedures for clubs or groups to get started. In the case of lacrosse at WVU, it was the Recreation or Intramural Department. Ask the director there if there is a lacrosse club. There may already be one, but no one knows about it because of poor leadership or some other reason. Ask. They should be able to direct you who to contact about setting up a meeting room.
      In the case of WVU, it was the Recreation Department and our first meeting was held in the WVU Mountainlair (WVU's Student Union) in January 1971. WVU played Michigan State's varsity 2 months later So, things can move along rather quickly, if you put your mind to it.

     HIGH SCHOOL: The person to contact at your high school to have your meeting is the principal or assistant principal who handles scheduling meetings at the school..
     When you have your meeting, make sure the parents show up. As a student, talking amongst your friends, you already know if you have interest. Nothing will happen unless the parents are involved.

     WHAT TO COVER AT THE MEETING: (What parents will want to know)

• How much is it going to cost?

• What equipment will we need?

• Where will we play?

• Who will coach?

These are all questions you may or may not be able to answer at the meeting..

What to do if your principal will not let you have a meeting at the school?

If any of you are having difficulty using a school facility or scheduling a meeting, you might point your administrator to the WV State Code.

WEST VIRGINIA CODE §18-5-19. Night schools and other school extension activities; use of school property for public meetings, etc.

". . . County boards shall have authority to provide for the free, comfortable and convenient use of any school property to promote and facilitate frequent meetings and associations of the people for discussion, study, recreation and other community activities, and may secure, assemble and house material for use in the study of farm, home and community problems, and may provide facilities for the dissemination of information useful on the farm, in the home or in the community."

ADVERTISE FOR A COACH - This might work, but  no one is going to move to your town to get paid nothing or next to nothing to coach your team. Your coach will probably be somebody that knows somebody, that knows somebody on your team. What you hope will happen is, someone sees the add that knows someone in your area, that used to play lacrosse and that someone tells him.... or her.

Put an ad on LAXinWV.com. Send info to:

admin@LAXinWV.com

 Keep checking. This is gonna take awhile............. Updated: Oct. 31, 2011

US Lacrosse now has various grants available.
Go the US Lacrosse site here to get started.

Here is a breakdown of needed equipment:

PERSONAL EQUIPMENT - In order of need

1. Stick & ball(s)

2. Gloves

3. Shoes

4. Helmet

5. Arm & shoulder pads

STICK - Starting out you do not need the top of the line stick & handle. Beginners don't need a $300 stick. Shop for the clearance sticks on the vendor websites. Locally, you can check the big chain stores like Dick's. Lacrosse specialty stores are only in areas where the sport has been established for awhile. Don't know what size? Everybody starts out as a middie. Get a midfield/attack stick. It will be 40-42" long.
        Those that think they want to be a defenseman, because they think they won't have to run as much, are wrong. It is easier to learn to catch & throw with the shorter stick. Then, the player can either buy a long pole to plug into his stick or buy a complete new stick, with a long pole. The 2nd option is best. You'll still have your short stick to "play around with".

BALLS- The more you buy, the cheaper they are. Buy them by the case. They are about $1 a ball then. I don't think an individual will really need a whole case, but if you have a few friends wanting to play, share the expense. If they decide not to play, lacrosse balls are great dog balls... if you have a dog.

GLOVES - Again, you do not need the top of the line glove the college players are using.

SHOES - Use you head when buying shoes. If you are going to be inside, wear tennis shoes. If you are going to be in a parking lot, tennis shoes. Turf field = turf shoes. Grass field = cleats.
Once you get going, you might want a few pairs, one for each surface you play on. You want them to be comfortable, because you will be doing a lot of running in them.

HELMETS - These things are going to change every year. The helmet companies come up with a new version every year. Every one of them is better than the last, so they say. Get one that fits properly. Some are sized, x-small, small, medium, etc. Some have interchangeable inserts, sort of one-size-fits-all deal. If you are going to be on a team, find out what color the team wears.

ARM PADS - Arm pads are required now. Back in prehistoric times, I took my knee pads from wrestling and slipped them on my arms. There is a HUGE selection of pads now. Start cheap. You can "graduate" up later.

SHOULDER PADS - Same thing with shoulder pads. Beginners don't need the most expensive pad. You want something to protect the collar bone & the sternum.

MOUTHPIECE - Everyone should have a mouthpiece for playing. It is the rule now. When you are running or just doing drills, it's OK to leave it out. Once you get into full contact, even in practice, put it in.
       There are several options available: Go to your dentist & have him or her mould you one or you can get the heat 'em up in hot water and mould it yourself.

STARTER PACKAGES - Some vendors offer a great price if you buy everything at once from them. Here's a one from Sport stop

http://www.sportstop.com/Mens-Lacrosse-Equipment/Starter-Sets/STX-Stinger-Lacrosse-Starter-Package-5-Piece

TEAM EQUIPMENT - Coming soon

BALLS - Get lots of them. Buy them by the case.

GOALS

NETS

FIELD

UNIFORMS - Borrow the old football jerseys from your school if you can.

GLOVES

HELMETS

SCOREBOOK