2012 Mullen Lacrosse Handbook

Mullen Boy’s Lacrosse
“Performance with Character”
Parent/Player Handbook
2012 Season

Mullen Boys Lacrosse Philosophy

Our commitment to excellence extends beyond the playing field and the Mullen campus, where the school enjoys a proud tradition of athletics and academics. Our primary mission is to provide and affirm values that will make each player an excellent student athlete and prepare them for life after Mullen. These values include:

  • Through participation in lacrosse, players will grow physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.
  • Responsibility for one's actions on and off the field, accountable to all.
  • Sportsmanship and teamwork are critical to team success, but more importantly to the growth and maturity of our players.
  • To provide the best coaching, resources, and environment, to help each player become the best player they can be.
  • That success is driven by hard work, commitment, and passion.

Student athletes, Parents, Coaches are called upon to work together in the spirit of community to assist in creating a culture in which these values can be promoted and upheld, without prejudice from any one player, parent, or coach.

Program Goals
Mullen Boy’s Lacrosse 2012

  • 1. Become Leaders of Mullen High School
  • 2. Always a positive witness and influence in our community
  • 3. Be the hardest working team in the state of Colorado
  • 4. Be the best ground ball team statistically in the state of Colorado
  • 6. Respect and support everyone on the team
  • 7. Respect the officials and accept their decisions in the spirit of competition
  • 8. Always compete in the “Holy Presence of God”

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

First I want to thank all of you who in one way or another make up our fine program through your participation, volunteerism, and support. I especially want to thank our booster club board for their hard work this off-season in developing a solid platform to help our program succeed in 2012.

Next, below is some essential information that everyone involved in the lacrosse program should know:

1.Our website, Mullenlax.com, is our primary source of information about our program.

  • It is also very important that you forward your email address to coach Brin at mdbrin@hotmail.com so we have you on our email lists and can forward you regular team updates and last minute practice/game changes in case of bad weather or emergency.
  • Contact information for the booster club and coaches can be found on our website along with game schedules, team calendars, and much more.

Important Dates:

Registration, emergency card, and physicals must be turned into the Athletic Office by February 22, 2012. Players can also pick up all required forms in the Athletic Office from the secretary. Those players that turned in a physical for a fall or winter sport during this school year do not need to obtain another physical for the 2012 lacrosse season. However, you must provide a copy of your 2011/12 emergency card to your coach. Copies can be obtained from the athletic secretary.

A signed Player Code of Conduct must be turned in to head coach of that player’s team by March 1st. See attached Code of Conduct.

A Player Fee of $75 is due by February 28th and can be paid through paypal in the Store Section of the website.

Click here to pay for Player Fee

First Official Practice and Tryouts for all levels will be held on February 27th at 3:30pm. Players are required to be there by 3:25pm with all required equipment on and ready to go. Practices are held everyday after school at the same time and on some Saturdays. The head coach of each level will notify players of Saturdays and special practice times/dates. Tryouts will be part of the first three days of practice and players will be notified on the evening of February 29th via email.

Jerseys will be handed out during the first week of practice. Player shorts will also be distributed during at this time and are $40 per short. The shorts are the players to keep, while the jerseys must be turned back in at the end of the year. Please return your jerseys, otherwise we must bill you $60 per jersey.

Team and individual pictures will be taken within the first two weeks of practice and will be available for sale. A firm date for pictures has not been determined; an email will go out with a specific date and details once we have a date for pictures.

Parent Volunteers – We need your help

As you know, it is our goal to run a highly competitive, well organized program that strives to provide our players with the very best in equipment, coaching, facilities, scheduling, and structure. In order to make these goals viable, we greatly need and appreciate your help.

Ultimately, the goal with the parent volunteer group is to obtain support from many parents who manage and participate in at least one or two tasks per season, while preventing a few parents from doing many jobs. Some of these jobs are game day operations, like: Scoring table, field set up, concession support, ticket takers and so on. These positions do not take up a lot of time but go a long way towards helping our program go.
To sign up for a volunteer position – please contact Pam Payne at (303)725.1163 or at
Pam.Payne@Mullenlax.com

Preseason Preparation:

  • 1. Lacrosse is a physically demanding sport and although we do our best to prepare and get our players in shape for the season. It is strongly advised that our players are doing at least 30 minutes of aerobic conditioning every day, at least one month prior to practice beginning. Coming into practice in shape, will help prevent injury and illness from fatigue. An important aspect of the varsity tryout process is determining which players are in shape and prepared to play at the intense varsity level. Players that are in good shape are able to make more plays, make better decisions…the list of positives goes on and on. More importantly, for the safety of the player they must be in good aerobic shape.
  • 2. Stick Skills make a huge difference. The best way to make yourself a better lacrosse player and improve your chances of playing varsity and/or improving your place on any of the 3 levels, is to work on your stick skills. The ability to catch, throw, pick up ground balls, protect your stick can be developed on your own time without the assistance of a teammate or coach. Wall ball is the answer. Find a wall and practice a routine of throwing and catching with both hands. Ground balls can be practiced by using the wall too.

General Program Policies:

Note: These policies are intended to be a general outline and to give the coaching staff the ability to be flexible in dealing with your sons. Specific instances will be dealt with in a fair manner within the spirit of these policies.

Making the Varsity Roster and Overall Playing Time: Players are not given roster spots or playing time based on any factors, other than their skills, conditioning, athletic ability, work ethic, unselfishness, and attitude. It is a mix of those factors that determine which team they are placed on and how much they play. Simply, we are looking for the top 28 to 30 players to make up our Varsity Team, that’s it. However, from time to time, seniors are given special consideration to making varsity since they can not play on the JV or Freshman team due to state high school participation rules.

Players will be moved from one level to another based on situational needs of the program. The coaching staff will not permanently move players up unless they will have the opportunity to play significant minutes at the higher level. It is the philosophy of this program that it is better for player development to play at the designated level than to sit on the bench at a higher level. As a rule, we do not move freshmen up to the JV level.

Grades are first and foremost. However, players are expected to take care of their school work so it does not interfere with their ability to practice or play in games. We expect that players use their time wisely and not put off homework, especially toward the end of the school year when our Varsity team is usually preparing for the playoffs. Players that miss any practice three days before a game usually will not be allowed to play in that game. Please see player contract for other rules and guidelines.

Locker Room & Spirit Center Hallway

  • 1. Walking through the Sprit Center with Cleats on is not allowed. Players must remove their cleats prior to entering the building.
  • 2. Each player will be expected to assist in keeping our Locker Room in a clean and orderly condition. Random inspections will be conducted during the season to make certain that the locker room is representative of our standards. Should the locker room be deemed as unsatisfactory the team as a whole will be subject to corrective measures.
  • 3. We will leave every road locker room and sideline area in better condition than when we arrived. All trash, pre-wrap and tape will be placed in trash cans prior to our trip home.
  • 4. There will be no horseplay in the locker rooms whatsoever.

Parent Interaction with Coaches and Players:

  • 1. Parents are not to discuss with the coaching staff any of the following issues:
    • a. Team placement
    • b. Playing time

    (It is very difficult to accept that your child is not playing as much as you had hoped. Coaches are professionals and our decisions are made with the best interests of both your son and the entire program in mind. Rest assured that no coach in this program is making a decision that they believe is detrimental to anyone involved in the program.)

    • c. Coaching strategies
    • d. Other parent’s issues and concerns
    • e. Other student athletes
  • 2. General rules for in-season parent/coach communication:
    • a. Please observe the “24 hour rule”. Talking with the coaches about your concerns immediately after a game simply never works. If you have issues please allow 24 hours before approaching the coach with your concern.
    • b. Please do not have extended family members contact the coaching staff on behalf of the player. Communication to resolve issues needs to be between the player, the coaching staff and the parents.
    • c. In the event of a concern please follow this sequential procedure:
      • i. Have the player discuss the situation with the coach
      • ii. Have the parents & the player discuss the situation with the coach
      • iii. Have the parents & the player discuss the situation with the head coach
      • iv. Contact the Athletic Director for a meeting on the issue

This is seldom a problem, but the importance of parents behaving as role models cannot be emphasized enough. Of concern are parents who harass officials or make comments in the stands regarding the decisions of the coaching staff. This is counterproductive to the mission of the program and displays poor sportsmanship and lack of respect for the game. Please extend the players, the coaches and officials the professional courtesy they deserve. We ask that you refrain from sitting in the stands and speaking negatively about anyone involved in the game. The players, members of the coaching staff and officials have family and friends in the same stands. Please be considerate of those around you.

2012 Mullen Boys Lacrosse Tryouts - 2/27 -2/29/12

  • Day 1 - Conditioning, Strength, and Wall Ball
    • 3 Mile Run: 3:30pm to 4:00pm
      • Middies -Less than 22 minutes
      • Defense -Less than 24 minutes
      • Attack -Less than 23 minutes
      • Goalies -Less than 25 minutes
    • *** Winning 4x4 team - 2 Mile run in less than 14 Minutes.
    • Fitness Tests: A-L (4:00 to 4:30pm), M-Z (4:30 to 5:00pm)
    • Sit ups in 60 seconds
    • Push ups in 30 seconds
    • Wall Ball Tests: M-Z (4:00 to 4:30pm), A-L(4:30 to 5:00pm)
    • Change of Direction Passing - # of times player can complete each
      rep in 30 seconds.
  • Day 2 and 3 - Skills and team play. Outside or at Foothills.
    Players need to bring all required equipment

See Athlete Code of Conduct below…

Mullen Boys Lacrosse - Athlete Code of Conduct

I __________________________________, hereby pledge to honor and support the Mullen Boys Lacrosse team by adhering to the team’s Athletic Code of Conduct as stated below.

1) I will not provide, use, or condone the use of tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, and performance enhancing or mind altering recreational drugs.

2) I will be respectful by using appropriate language in appropriate tones when interacting with other athletes, coaches, officials, parents, and spectators. I will not taunt, use obscene gestures, or engage in boastful celebrations that demean fellow athletes.

3) I will treat all athletes, coaches, officials, parents, and spectators with dignity and respect.

4) I will arrive on time for all practices, meetings, and games, with only emergencies and illnesses being acceptable reasons for tardiness or absence. I will directly inform the coach by either calling, texting (unexpected) or by e-mailing at least 12 hours in advance of an anticipated absence. Asking a teammate to pass along a message to the coach is not an acceptable method of notification.

5) As a representative of the lacrosse program, I will conduct my behavior at school and in the community with dignity and respect for others. In short, I will comport myself at all times in a LaSallian manner.

6) Players must attend 3 consecutive practices prior to a game, to be eligible to play regardless of excused or unexcused absence of prior practices. (Players dealing with an injury, who might be available to play by next game, may be excused from practice to attend therapy and allowed to play if healthy).

Date: _____________

Signature: ______________________

Consequences:

  • Violation of rule 1
    • 1st time – Minimum one game suspension
    • 2nd time - Termination from the team
  • Violations of rules 2 through 5:
    • 1st time – Player is warned.
    • 2nd time –Suspension of the first half of the next game
    • 3rd time – One game suspension
    • 4th time – 3 game suspension
    • 5th time – Termination from the team.

PLEASE NOTE: These consequences are merely the minimum consequences. Actual punishment may be more severe at the discretion of the head coach at each level. Parents will be informed by the coach of any action taken, including a warning and of potential further consequences.

To Print Handbook-click on attachment: