We still need coaches for this spring at some beginner levels. So, please come out and learn how to coach the sport. You will not regret it.

THANKS TO ALL OUR GREAT COACHES. YOU ARE THE REASON OUR KIDS LOVE LACROSSE!

Mark

Location: The school address: 201 W Holly Ave, Sterling, VA 20164. The field is actually a few hundred yards away from the school in the middle of the track and next to the Knights of Columbus building.

Coaching Testimonials:

Thank you to everyone that has reached out to help coach. We have a great foundation of coaches but always want to get as many as possible involved so we can continue to grow lacrosse in Loudoun County. Below are two letters from ELL coaches that had no prior knowledge or experience with the game of lacrosse but are now very good coaches in the league because of their dedication to learning something new. Good coaches do not always have to come from a playing background. We will give you the support to learn then game. So I encourage you to read the letters and get involved with this great sport.

To any prospective new lacrosse coaches out there:

My name is Stuart McCusker, I've coached several sports over the years, but recently started coaching Lacrosse. Let me share with you what I know about the sport, why I think it's easy to pick up, and why I recommend you give coaching it a try.

Before last Spring, I did not know anything about lacrosse other than my son wanted to play it, and a good friend of mine Gerard Oswald, highly recommended we give it a try. We did, and we found the sport to be very exciting, and very easy to pick up, even if you've never been involved with it before.

My lacrosse experience: (before last year):

None. Never even saw a game until last year. While that may seem a bit nuts; the sport is very similar to hockey, combined with the running of soccer, and an occasional jolt like football. (all of which I have played). It has 10 players against 10 players, broken out the following way: (3) lines with (3) players in each line. One line stays near your own goalie (Defenders), the next line starts in mid field (the Middies, who can run anywhere), and the 3rd line stays near your opponents goalie (attackers). The ball is a hard rubber one that's passed forward and shot in a goal similar to hockey; the Middies and Attackers are your scorers. Much like soccer, there is off-sides if defenders or attackers go over midfield. If you know soccer, you'll know off-sides in lacrosse; if you understand hockey & shooting the puck, then you know how to pass & shoot in lacrosse.

What worked for me:

I took a small amount of time to get the technical pieces down (on line), and also had 2 great assistant coaches, Michael Haraszkiewics (who played high school lacrosse), and was a great technical resource and Darrin Eaton, who helped run the team. Both were invaluable to me, b/c our practices were technically accurate, and organized. We ran drills emphasizing how to pass, catch & shoot; then we'd scrimmage. The kids always wanted to scrimmage; my comment was "when we get through our work, THEN we'll scrimmage." We had our share of hi-jinks (pizza parties on field, passing contests among the team, and even a water balloon fight on a hot day), so our practices weren't 100% work; we focused on having fun, learning lacrosse, and it worked. We had nearly a month of practice before our 1st game, so we really had time to get ready.

So, not only is this sport exciting and easy to learn, by coaching you'll have fun and enable more kids to play. I assure you this sport is not difficult to learn, and the league will support you with help if you need it; coach and you'll be glad you did. I was.

Sincerely,

Stuart McCusker

Stuart_mccusker@hotmail.com

(703) 430-2798 (H)

My oldest son Victor came home from school with a passion for a sport I had never seen before in my life. He was carrying a stick and trying to keep a really hard ball from falling out of it while spinning the thing back and forth. I was afraid for the T.V. set and sent him downstairs, hoping this would be a passing fancy. I grew up playing the BIG 3, football, baseball and basketball. It is now 5 years later, I have coached the sport of lacrosse at the U11 to high school level, I read lacrosse magazines and look forward to the college lacrosse season MORE THAN the beginning of NFL football in the fall. I am a season ticket holder for the Washington Bayhawks pro team, and I spend hours recruiting boys to a sport I have never played.

Vic signed up for Lacrosse with Eastern Loudoun and at the first parents meeting we were asked to raise our hands if we had coached ANY sport before. I innocently raised mine and was promoted on the spot to assistant coach, lacrosse, boys U-13 B team. I left the meeting with a mixture of fear and excitement about tackling a new challenge. I immediately hit amazon.com and purchased a book on coaching youth lacrosse. What I can tell those following in my footsteps is that the lacrosse community welcomed me with open arms and offered help at every step of the way.

Starting with a head coach that has done it before is imperative. The fundamentals of lacrosse are so similar to basketball, football, soccer and hockey that any familiarity with those sports will make you immediately comfortable in your new coaching role. I started with defense, as it was less complex. I learned basic drills by watching the head coach, and when all else failed, I relied on good old boyish instincts to create fun games to keep all 18 kids moving. The knowledge I have acquired has come primarily from being on the field. The books have been ancillary, but necessary to gain confidence in what I was saying. My kids have been the victims and beneficiaries, as I have taken them out in the back yard countless times to try new drills on them. As I learned more about the sport I found myself watching and appreciating it at all levels, hence the new found enthusiasm for the spring college and pro leagues. I can't express how thankful I am that I stepped up to coach. It has enriched my life and solidified my relationship with my boys. They are starting to reach levels of play beyond my ability to coach, but my time on the sidelines has me looking forward to years of watching and appreciating this sport that I feel rivals all others in excitement and team work.

Dr.John Farrell