Framingham Youth Lacrosse – Coaches Handbook
(www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.org)
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Framingham Youth Lacrosse – Coaches Handbook
(www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.org)
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Framingham Youth Lacrosse – Coaches Handbook
(www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.org)
Philosophy .......................................................................................................................... 4
How to become an FYL Coach........................................................................................... 6
Education / Certification ..................................................................................................... 7
Child Safety Issues.............................................................................................................. 7
Communications ................................................................................................................. 8
Team Assignments .............................................................................................................. 8
Complaint Resolution Policy .............................................................................................. 8
Coaching Responsibilities................................................................................................... 9
League Affiliations ........................................................................................................... 10
Procedures ......................................................................................................................... 10
Appendices........................................................................................................................ 12
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Philosophy
The philosophy statement of Massachusetts Bay Youth Lacrosse League
(MBYLL) printed below is an accurate representation of Framingham Youth
Lacrosse’s (FYL) philosophy for both boys’ and girls’ programs.
There are no standings kept, no league championship or
playoffs. We play all players as equally as possible with the
goal of teaching the sport and providing a fun experience for
all involved. We police ourselves in the effort to provide an
outlet for kids that has not been swept up in the pressure
filled, win-at-all-cost mania that is too present in today's
youth sports.
Safety
 Coaches will ensure safety of all participants by
o Ensuring the field is free of dangerous obstacles
o All players wear the required safety equipment
o All activities are conducted in a safe manner
o Will be at the field at the scheduled start of practices and games and
remain until all children have been picked up
Behavior
 Coaches treat our constituents (players, parents, officials, volunteers,
spectators, other coaches…) respectfully at all times; and teach our players to
do the same
 Coaches will remember that coaches are not family members and that
interactions between player and coach should contain a professional (but
concerned) level of detachment.
Participation
Cross-sports Participation
 FYL encourages youth athletes to participate in multiple sports (this is
essential to healthy core development). To this end:
o FYL sponsors lacrosse activity mainly in the spring (mid-March to midJune) and an abbreviated fall season (October, one practice per week).
o When a player’s multiple sports occur in the spring season, FYL requests
that the player give 50% of his/her time to his/her lacrosse team.
Practice
 Practice times will not exceed 90 minutes per session (75 minutes for the
developmental program)
 Practice sessions are limited to:
o Three per week for U15
o Two per week for Developmental, U11, and U13
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
All players will have an equal opportunity to participate at each practice with
the following exception
o Players whose behavior poses a danger to themselves or others
o Players whose behavior disrupts the learning process for themselves or
others
o The above players will be required to sit-out a portion of practice or games
to be fair to all concerned
Games
 All players demonstrating a commitment to their teammates (by attending
practices, listening to coaching, and giving a good effort) will be given an
equal opportunity to play – regardless of demonstrated ability – with the
following exceptions:
o Often times a team may have only one goalie, and in that case the goalie
will play the entire game
o Disrespectful or disruptive behavior will cause a player to loose playing
time.
 Being that this is a developmental league, FYL discourages having more than
three games in a week to the exclusion of practice time (jamborees being the
exception)
Specialization
 At the developmental level early in the season scrimmages are played 6v6,
7v7 or 8v8 without specialized positions.
 At the U11 level all players will play all positions (except goalie)
 At the U13 level players may begin to specialize but are encouraged to
continue to play multiple positions
 At the U15 level players tend to specialize but are allowed to play multiple
positions
 Goalies: the goalie position is the most specialized of all positions. Not every
player will want to play goalie; to address this issue FYL offers specialized
goalie only clinics on a regular basis to develop these players
Planning
 Head coaches are expected to prepare a season plan that ensures that all
skills appropriate to the level are introduced and practiced
 Head coaches are expected to prepare a practice plan for each practice to
ensure a smooth efficient practice
Development
Developmental Team Goals
 Introduce concept of teamwork
 Introduce limited lacrosse vocabulary
 Learn to scoop, cradle, pass, and catch
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U11 Team Goals
 Introduce basic offensive concepts (space and movement)
 Introduce basic 1-on-1 defensive concepts (finding your man, position,
footwork)
 Introduce clearing
 Introduce shooting
 Learn Sportsmanship and Teamwork
 Learn basic lacrosse vocabulary
 Learn the basic rules of the game
 Learn the field layout
 Learn the field positions
 Learn to stick check (boys only 7” bubble for girls)
 Learn to face-off or Draw
 Learn to dodge
U13 Team Goals
 Introduce 60” sticks for defensive specialists
 Introduce ridding
 Introduce sliding
 Introduce EMO offense and defense
 Learn clearing
 Learn body checking
 Learn feeding and cutting
 Learn playing without the ball
 Learn to shoot
U15 Team Goals
 Learn riding
 Learn sliding
 Learn EMO offense and defense
 Learn Settled Offense/Defense
 Learn Transition Offense/Defense
 Learn Stick Checking (Girls)
How to become an FYL Coach
To become a coach (or assistant coach) in the Framingham program you must:

1.
Have the ability and willingness to coach children following all program
and league guidelines
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2.
Submit a volunteer application form (see appendix)
3.
Complete a CORI consent form (see appendix)
4.
Be appointed by the Board of Directors
Education / Certification
Framingham Youth Lacrosse supports and pays for the education of its coaches
and assistant coaches. The following courses / clinics are required:


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FYL All coaches meeting
MBYLL certification clinics (boys coaches only)
MBGLL rules clinics (girls coaches only)
FYL further recommends the following course / clinics:

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FYL Fall Ball
FYL Girls New Coaches Clinics
US Lacrosse’s Certification courses / clinics
Child Safety Issues
Child safety is a primary concern for FYL; to that end:
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All FYL Coaches and Assistant Coaches must be CORIed
FYL coaches must attend 1st aid / CPR courses (or show proof of
certification) every two years.
A 1st aid kit and information regarding local emergency care facilities must
be present at all games and practices.
FYL Coaches will ensure that all players wear the appropriate safety
equipment during practices and games.
FYL Coaches are responsible for keeping spectators from interacting with
players during practices and games.
FYL Coaches must ensure that playing / practice fields are safe for
players
At least one FYL coach will be present at the scheduled start time for all
practices and games and remain there until all players have been picked
up.
All player safety issues must be reported to the Board of Directors within
24 hours of occurrence (see incident report form in the appendix).
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Communications
Coaches have a responsibility to effectively communicate with: the Board of
Directors, Players, their Parents, opposing Coaches, and Referees. Before the
season begins each coach should familiarize him/herself with FYL’s primary
communications’ tool, its website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.org). Another
significant communication forum is the Parent / Team meeting. Each head coach
should plan for and hold a Parent meeting prior to the first team practice (see
appendix for a sample Parent meeting agenda).
Team Assignments
FYL strives to create fair, enjoyable, balanced teams for all players and coaches.
In some cases, players may need to be re-assigned at some point in the season
to maintained the best interest of the players and the teams; such reassignments
(if any) are made by the coaches using their best judgment.
Players are primarily assigned to teams based on their gender and school grade.
When there are multiple FYL teams for the same gender / grade level the
following factors are considered:


Team balance – FYL will strive to have teams at the same gender / grade
level to be balanced with respect to ability and lacrosse experience
Logistical issues – Children of coaches will most likely be assigned to the
parent’s team, and in some cases players with a special need to be play
together will be assigned to the same team.
FYL will attempt to have teams at the same gender / grade level will practice
together on the same field at the same time in order to maximize the learning
opportunities for the players and the flexibility of the coaches. Additionally the
rosters will remain ‘fluid’ so that players may move between the two teams in
order to maintain competitive balance (and fill a need when there is a shortage of
players).
Complaint Resolution Policy
FYL seeks to resolve complaints in a respectful and ‘non-antagonistic’ manner.
FYL’s complaint resolution policy (see appendix) focuses on communication
between the parties and mediation where necessary. Complaints that cannot be
resolved amongst the parties will be resolved by the Board of Directors.
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Coaching Responsibilities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Communicate with Players, Parents, Coaches, Board, officials
Organize and run parent meeting
Recruit team parent / manager
Organize and run practices
Coach games
Pre-season
Before the first practice begins coaches have the following responsibilities:
 Submit volunteer application form, US Lacrosse Application, and CORI
consent form to FYL
 Update required education / certifications
 Inventory assigned team equipment and notify the equipment manager of
missing / needed equipment (see appendix for list of team equipment)
 Meet with other coaches and assistant coaches for your team and devise
a season plan
 Hold Team / Parent meeting
 Recruit Team Parent
 Distribute Team Uniforms
In-season
During the season duties include:
 Work with coaches to assign players to teams where multiple teams exists
for the same gender / grade level
 Plan and coach practices
 Plan for and coach games
 Communicate with opposing coaches
 Field set-up (if you are the first coach on the field)
 Field break down (if you are the last coach on the field)
 Report issues to the Board of Directors
 Work with Team Parent to organize team outings and parties
 Attend team outings and parties
 Participate in program fundraiser
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Post season
After the season (including jamborees) coaches should:
 Encourage parents to fill-out end-of-year surveys
 Send season summary comments to the Board of Directors (including an
indication of whether or not you will be returning the following year).
 Inventory and return team equipment
League Affiliations
Currently FYL is affiliated with Massachusetts Bay Girls Lacrosse League (MBGLL)
and Massachusetts Bay Youth Lacrosse League (MBYLL). MBGLL governs our girls’
teams and MBYLL our boys’ teams. Additionally all players and coaches are required to
be members of US Lacrosse (FYL pays this fee for coaches) for insurance reasons.
Procedures
Game Scheduling / Rescheduling
MBGLL and MBYLL currently schedule 8 games per season for each team
registered with the league. These games take place on Sundays (mostly
between 12:00 and 5:00). The league games are automatically scheduled and
the schedule can be found on the MBGLL and MBYLL websites respectively as
well as our own website. Additional games can be arranged by the coaches and
will be included on the master schedule if the arrangements are made at the
league scheduling meeting and the league notified. For all of the above games
fields and referees are automatically assigned. The week prior to a game, FYL
head coaches are required to contact the opposing coach to confirm:
 Date, time, and location of game
 Any special considerations (rule modification requests)
Referee confirmations will be made by our league liaisons. For games that are
rescheduled or added after the final league master schedule is developed, the
head coach must work with our scheduler to arrange a permit for a field (if it is
to be a home game) and with our league liaison to arrange a referee.
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Field Set-up / Breakdown
The first coach on the field on game days must ensure that the field is properly
set-up. The field will be lined (by Parks & Rec.) but we have to set out the cones
to mark:
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End-lines
Restraining lines
Midfield line
Substitution area
Placing extra balls at each end-line to speed up the games
A game box with cones dedicated to this purpose is available from the equipment
manager. The box should be left on the field for succeeding coaches.
Referee Payment
For MBYLL (boys’) games the home team is responsible for paying the referee.
Once the referee has been confirmed for the upcoming week (by the MBYLL
liaison for pre-scheduled games and by the individual coach for ad hoc games)
this information will be passed on to the Treasurer. The Treasurer will ‘cut’ a
check and either mail it directly to the referee or have it included in the game box
for hand delivery to the referee by the coach of the first game of the day.
Incident Reporting
Each 1st aid kit includes incident report forms. These forms should be used to
report to the Board of Directors any accident that requires a player to be removed
from a practice or game or that requires medical attention.
Complaint Resolution
The complaint resolution process (documented in the index) is design to be an
equitable, consistent, and efficient method of resolving conflict between parties.
FYL’s complaint resolution process emphasizes communication between the
parties.
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Appendices
FYL Volunteer Application Form – this document can be found in the
documents section of our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com).
CORI consent form - this document can be found in the documents section of
our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com).
Emergency Contact Information – this document can be found in the
documents section of our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com).
Incident Report Form – this document can be found in the documents section of
our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com).
Sample Parent / Team Meeting Agenda
Introductions
Philosophy / Expectations
Equipment Check (including labeling player helmets)
Game / Practice Overview
Team Communications
Team Outings
Fundraiser
Field diagram for boys’ lacrosse – a diagram of a boys’ lacrosse field can be
found at: http://www.uslacrosse.org/pdf/mensfield.pdf
Field diagram for girls’ lacrosse – a diagram of a girls’ lacrosse field can be found
at: http://www.uslacrosse.org/the_sport/pdf/womens_field_setup.pdf
Complaint Resolution Process – this document can be found in the documents
section of our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com).
Team Equipment for Boys’ Teams – this document can be found in the
documents section of our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com) on the
‘Hey Coach’ page. .
Team Equipment for Girls’ Teams – this document can be found in the
documents section of our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com) on the
‘Hey Coach’ page.
Game Equipment – this document can be found in the documents section of our
website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com) on the ‘Hey Coach’ page.
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Season Plan Template – this document can be found in the documents section
of our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com) on the ‘Hey Coach’ page.
Season Plan Example – this document can be found in the documents section
of our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com) on the ‘Hey Coach’ page.
Practice Plan Template – this document can be found in the documents section
of our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com) on the ‘Hey Coach’ page.
Practice Plan Example – this document can be found in the documents section
of our website (www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.com) on the ‘Hey Coach’ page.
Coaching Resources:

Minuteman Library Network
https://library.minlib.net/search~S1?/dlacrosse/dlacrosse/1%2C22%2C89%2
CB/exact&FF=dlacrosse&1%2C35%2C


FYL Hey Coaches Page

http://www.framinghamyouthlacrosse.org/HeyCoach.asp?snid=119690845&or
g=framinghamyouthlacrosse.org
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