I was at the Piggly Wiggly the other day and a young employee wearing a green apron, was stacking canned corn.  It was clearly his first week on the job and I could tell he was doing the best he could.  What caught my attention to this was a few adults standing about 20 feet from him, right there in aisle 5, screaming at the top of their lungs, “You’re doing it wrong! Learn how to stack cans! Go back to produce!”

Completely insane, right? Someone should call the cops.

Did this really happen?  Sort of.  But instead of a green apron and aisle 5. It was stripes and a lacrosse field.  Short of the canned corn, the story is true.

Next time you are at your son’s or daughter’s youth lacrosse game.  Take look at the young person who is officiating.   He or she, has taken the effort to learn their sport from an entirely new perspective.  They’ve passed the rules test and have spent multiple days in classrooms and field education for the right to wear the US Lacrosse patch on the sleeve of their stripes.

While most of these high schoolers only have a handful of years left to play the game, if they can master the art and science of officiating, they can stay active in lacrosse for the next 40.

Most of the young athletes who take the leap into officiating do so for lots of reasons, they can make a little money, their high school coach has encouraged them or they are looking to get a better understanding of their sport. Maybe they just want to work with younger players.

Every year we have a roomful of kids wanting to be officials and by the second season we’re lucky if a handful have returned.

So how come?

To be perfectly honest.  It’s you.  (yeah, I’m looking at you).

Think about it, the most important people in a young athlete’s life are parents, adult family, friends and of course coaches.  But when they put on the stripes it’s those very same people screaming non-constructive feedback.

Like anyone new to the job, there’s stuff to learn. Nobody’s perfect on day one. (Heck, I have yet to be perfect after day 1400)

But here’s the deal.  Lacrosse needs those kids.  Not only to officiate the youth games of today and the high school games of tomorrow.   These are the soon to be men and women who will officiate future national championship games.

Or not.

Please don’t crush them before they get started.   Instead, do something completely unexpected.

Thank them.

Mark Jamieson is the Communications Director for the Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation and a Certified US Lacrosse Level 3 Official.

Earlier this season he spent 2 completely miserable, cold, rainy, early Wisconsin spring days helping with the field training of the youth officials. Not once did any of the young people complain or quit early.