Plainview Hawks Lacrosse

TRAVEL POLICY:  Travel Players are required to attend ALL lacrosse games and practices.  Practices are as important as games.  Players should be fully dressed, on the field and ready to play — on time.  1st-3rd grade attendance is more flexible to accomodate a child’s interest in other sports and activities at this young age. 

CONSEQUENCES:  Players who miss travel practices or games without good reason (school, religion, family, health) will receive reduced or no game time at the discretion of the head coach.  Please call or email your manager or head coach at least 2 hours BEFORE practice or game if you are going to be absent.  Any absence without prior notice, regardless of the reason, will be deemed “unexcused.”

Can My Child Play Lacrosse AND Do Other Activities during the Spring?

We make all possible arrangements to schedule around Baseball in the Spring so as to avoid conflicts. Soccer is a Fall sport and we will not schedule around another sport in its off season (See article below regarding danger of playing one sport year round). Except for 1st-3rd grade, conflicts with other sports (including other “select” lacrosse programs) are not an excuse for missing lacrosse practices or games. Such absences will be treated as unexcused absences at the travel levels of Plainview lacrosse. 1st-3rd grade  travel practices may be missed for Baseball games. We encourage participation in other sports. Youth players can learn a lot as athletes playing basketball, soccer, football and hockey, that carries over into lacrosse and helps them become well rounded people and athletes.  

TRAVEL TEAM PLAYING TIME POLICY

The Hawks Youth Lacrosse believes that all youth lacrosse players need ample playing time during both practices and games to develop in a sport and to get the most enjoyment out of the game. All players will need at least 16 hours of practice time before being allowed to play in a game (Excluding 2nd grade and 7th grade).

We follow a simple equation:

Attendance + Effort + Attitude = Playing Time

Players who attend practice, try hard and follow the Code of Conduct will receive ample playing time. Players who do not attend every practice, do not show up on time, do not try their hardest and do not show respect for coaches, officials, opponents, and teammates will not get as much playing time as teammates, if at all. A coach has the discretion to bench a player for poor attendance or poor behavior. Please discuss this policy with your child. Please read the Code of Conduct section of the website and discuss it with your child. We take our obligations seriously and we expect all players and parents to abide by the rules.

Interesting article on playing one sport year round

New Jersey Youth SoccerYouth Soccer’s Dilemma: Is more actually better? by Rick Meana – Director of Coaching

Is more actually better? 

Nope, the direct opposite according to sports medicine doctors is actually the case. No two words have raised more concerns amongst those in the sports medicine field recently than overuse injuries.

According to most of the Sports Medicine Professionals I have spoken to recently report that just 15 years ago, overuse injuries accounted for 20% of patients visiting their clinics, now it’s up to 70% and increasing year after year! What is interesting to note is that over training, early specialization and too little rest and recovery all contribute to overuse injuries. What is even more interesting to note (and very troubling) is that they point to the “youth soccer club mentality” for the “epidemic” that is affecting all youth sports across the board!

Overuse injuries develop when tissue is injured due to repetitive loading of a muscle, bone, tendon, ligament, that is too much physical activity and too little rest and recovery. It is also defined as the cumulative effect of many tiny injuries that cause pain and loss of function. Close to half of the injuries reported regarding youth soccer are overuse injuries!

So Why Are Kids Being Pushed To Play Sports So Hard?

Parents? Coaches? Or a combination of the two? Are they being lead to believe they can get a college scholarship?

”It’s amazing how many parents project their children at professional levels,” says Vern D. Seefeldt, director emeritus of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State. Coaches feed the frenzy too. When a soccer guru urges playing another tourney or ratcheting up practice time, parents often don’t object. They’re being told by the coach: “Your son has amazing potential and needs to continue to improve”.

“There are few people guiding the parents who have the welfare of the child at stake,” says Dr. Eric Small, head of the Sports Medicine Center for Young Athletes in Mount Kisco, N.Y., and author of “Kids & Sports”. Here is what Dr. Small says, “Making the injury list even longer is the trend toward sport specialization. A decade ago a peppy 10-year-old might divide his play among soccer, basketball, and baseball seasons. Now more are being channeled to one sport that they play year-round. The extra training improves skills but adds to the wear and tear.”

One of the most popular women’s soccer stars Mia Hamm’s parents encouraged her to play a variety of sports. When high school soccer season ended, she played as a point guard on the basketball team. ”I was a terrible shot, but fast,” says Hamm. ”My dad never said: ‘Go out and work on soccer.’ The decisions about playing came from me.” Hamm tells parents and kids to avoid early specialization.

All over the country Sports Medicine Professionals are advising parents to closely monitor how much time their children are putting in to organized sports. Be leery of the number of hours that coaches may be demanding to play and train. Parents are so focused on their kids being superstars that they think they’re doing a service when training jumps from 10 hours a week to 30. They love their child, but they have blinders on. Dr. Small goes on to say, ”Often those blinders don’t come off until a youngster gets hurt, but by then a youngsters sports career could be over.”

A Watch List for Parents, Coaches and Administrators

More Is Not Better

Many injuries occur when organized practice time is ratcheted up from two days a week to five. A good rule of thumb to follow is physical activity should not be increased to more than 10% a week.

Be Aware Of Growth Spurts

As kids grow, muscles can become less flexible and more susceptible to injury. Parents should watch for periods of rapid growth.

Early Specialization Leads To Muscle Imbalances

Kids who play one sport year-round develop certain muscles to deal with the demands of that particular sport while others remain weak. A well balanced conditioning program of playing a variety of different sports and proper rest in between activity is healthy.

When There Is Pain There Is No Gain

Child athletes and parents shouldn’t ignore the warning signs assuming that injuries will magically go away. Have a doctor check out any minor pains in joints or bones before they become major ones.

Signs of Overuse: Weakness, Loss of Flexibility, Chronic Pain, Inflammation, Swelling. The inflammation is actually a degeneration of tissue caused by the micro trauma Some others: Loss of Performance, (Hard to differentiate between a ‘bad day’ and overuse injury). “I don’t know, its just a little sore”, “I don’t remember getting hurt”

Soreness after workout is normal but it should dissipate after a day or 2 and soreness, aching and limping lasting 3 days or more may indicate overuse. The overuse injury is a process, and will take time to develop, starting 3 or 4 weeks into a season. Muscles affected by overuse injury tend to be tighter, more irritable and will become prone to an acute injury.