Category: Coaches

by Stephen Perez

View from the 3rd Team

I have just finished my 25th year as a high school and collegiate official. I wonder where the time has gone, and even though I have been working for a long time, I still want to be better.

After a season, I have found it to be helpful to think about what I did to improve myself over the last season – did I study the rules, more? did I attend a clinic? What did I do to become a better official?

If the answer is nothing, then, while experience helps, just working year after year, may not make you a better official. If you want to be better, you have to practice at being better, and to do that, one must educate him/herself.
Being an official is an incredibly difficult hobby. You invest your time away from family, and you invest money in all the accoutrements that are necessary to be prepared and play the role of an official.

We do that, why?

When people ask me, why, I say that it feels really good to be able to administer a highly competitive game, where the players, play, and the coaches are able to coach. In the best games, there is a sense of trust between the two teams and the officiating crew. The players, play. The coaches, coach.

Each of the three teams are able to do what each has prepared themselves for. Yet, those games do not happen by chance, they are the result of your willingness to be a constant learner.

First, read the rule book. More importantly, develop a common sense and fair play understanding in how to apply the rules. Next, attend more trainings and clinics. I learn something at every clinic and because of that, I have more arrows in my quiver of experience, to draw out, when I’m in the middle of a game. Last, want to get better. None of this matters, if you do not want to improve.

One conclusion that I have come to after all these years is that the better I am, the easier my games will be. Simply put, It is to my benefit to improve.

 

Stephen Perez is the President of the Wisconsin Lacrosse Officials Association 

 

Read more: Become an Official

by WisconsinLacrosse

Level 2 Coach Development Program
Upcoming Coach Development Clinic in Wauwatosa
We are pleased to announce a Level 2 Coach Development Program (CDP) Clinic being held in Wauwatosa. The instructional clinic is one of several components to obtain Level 2 Certification.

Level 2 Clinic
November 12, 2016 | 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Wauwatosa East High School
Cost: $95 (A 50% subsidy by the Wisconsin Chapter is available for state of Wisconsin residents) – includes lunch and clinic materials
Registration: Men’s Game | Women’s Game
Learn More

by Randy Kohn

The Crease – a note from the WLF President

Hello Lacrosse Enthusiasts!

The MLB Playoffs are starting, along with the Regular Season of the NHL.  The NBA is starting their preseason games and the NFL has completed its fourth week and we are under six months until the 2017 Lacrosse Season starts.  Don’t blink too long because it will be here before you know it.

One more year in the books and we (WLF) have experienced another double digit growth of our game.  THANK YOU to all who have done the “heavy lifting”!  Most of your efforts will never be recognized, but you should know that what you have done is very worthy.  None of us own the game because we are merely “renters” of the game until our time has come to pass it on to those behind us.  So, I say to you all… remember that we are the Ambassadors to the future of our game.

Whether you are an Administrator, Coach, Official, Umpire, Player (or the fee and equipment paying parent… been there, done that) we all have a mission to do to make sure that those who are playing today “fall in love” with the sport and carry on the game after we “retire”.  They are the next wave of Administrators, Coaches, Officials and Umpires.

We have more new Programs looking to join the WLF and are always looking for more Coaches, Officials and Umpires.  Also, a lot of local Programs need Board Members to help out.  Some folks wear so many hats in their area to make sure that the game is played, it sure would be nice to give them some help.  We are Wisconsin residents; we know how to get things done!

I wish you all a fun filled Fall Season.  In all honesty… Can any State hold a candle to Wisconsin in the Fall?

See you on the field,

Randy Kohn

On Wisconsin!

by WisconsinLacrosse

Building a Team Offense

What do you do first? Plan your strategy and try to make it work or evaluate your players and determine what your strategy should be?

There’s an old saying something along the lines of “You can’t make chicken salad without chicken.” Keeping that in mind consider the following as you begin to plan for your next season:

Who are my players?
What skills do they possess?
Basically, you need to know if you have “the chicken” needed to make the salad you want.

Once you have determined who your players are and what skills they bring to the field, it’s time to plan your strategy. This is what great coaches do. At the college level, many coaches go out and look for players with certain skill sets that fit the mold of the program. Most coaches are not lucky enough to be able to recruit kids to their program and as such have to “do the best they can with what they have.” The following is a list of skills you may observe as a coach, and how you can use them within your greater team strategy:

Skill — If the player… Ideal Position — Play team at … Strategy — using this strategy
Speed Midfield Play fast in transition and try to capitalize on odd number situations.
Feeding Attack Use off-ball movement to create scoring opportunities with passes into high-percentage shooting areas.
Dodging/Change of Direction Midfield or Attack Use dodging and change of direction to create defensive rotations and move the ball to open players for high-percentage scoring opportunities.
Outside Shooting Midfield Use offensive strategies such as fades and pops away from the defensive rotations to get the ball into the sticks of your outside shooters.
Field Awareness Midfield or Attack Use this player as a distributor. Put them into a position where they can read the defense and the ball movement accordingly.
By carefully evaluating your players, you can begin to build groups of players that complement each other and put them into systems that will work for them. Ideally, all your players would have all the noted skills, but as we know that’s not always possible. Having a mixture of these skills, organized into a system, will give your team the best chances for success on the offensive side of the field.