"The Line-Up"
A Message from Editor-in-Chief, Joey Picard
Adults who coach and administer youth lacrosse often presume to know what young athletes want and need out of sports. But often times a rule or policy, a format or structure is designed and implemented based on what the adults want.
As people who dedicate so much time and energy to youth lacrosse, we all have to do a better job of asking the athletes for their input, including the coaches, town leaders, and league administrators at Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse League.
Speaking personally, as someone who is all three of those things, I passionately support and speak on behalf of MBYLL and champion its mission because I believe as a whole, this
league has prioritized the athlete experience better than most. We have asked the hypothetical question: “What would happen if a few dozen kids showed up to a park with their lacrosse sticks and there were no adults present? What would those games look like? What would be important to them?” And then we try to replicate that, but with the critical addition of experienced and trained coaches to mentor, teach, and facilitate their enjoyment.
We could poll each of the 13,000 youth athletes who play for an MBYLL town to find out exactly what they want out of their spring lacrosse experience, and while we may not get a consensus, I think we’ll find some common threads:
Kids definitely like competition. Whether it’s a shiny trophy and a picture on the cover of a magazine or simple bragging rights on the school yard, playing for some level of stakes is important. But young athletes aren’t as zealous about the final outcome as some of the adults can be. They have the enviable ability to move on to the next thing.
But kids also want to play with their friends. All of their friends. Not just the ones who’ve been put on a pedestal. Kids will play games and sports with anyone and everyone. And that’s a skillset that will serve them for the rest of their lives: being able to collaborate with those who are more advanced as well as those less developed. That, in a nutshell, is why we believe in balanced teams.
And “balance” is the theme of this summer issue. A number of our stories focus on championships, whether it’s the tremendous New England-heavy NCAA Championship Weekend that came to Boston this past May (page 37), the MIAA Championships and how youth programs play a serious role in those (page 16), and our own Mass Bay Select Championships (page 24).
But we also have prime examples of how playing for the sake of playing (fun, friendship, fitness, etc.) can be the ultimate reward, as demonstrated by the Friendship Games (page 20) and the MBYLL Jamboree (page 28).
While the adults certainly have a major say in shaping the landscape of lacrosse, I hope we all never forget what it was like being a kid. What mattered to us when we were. And how our coaches and mentors allowed us to enjoy our adolescence and strike that vital balance between healthy competition and jovial innocence.
Wishing you all a youthful summer!
Joey Picard, Editor-in-Chief
4 The Scoop / Summer '18