For those of you who have never seen girls lacrosse before, it is completely different from boys lacrosse. There is no contact in girls lacrosse - except at the 7th/8th grade level which has a modified check of the stick - and there are different rules. It is closer to the pure lacrosse the Native Americans once played.
We have just a few rules for the girls that we expect from them and all the coaches as well:
1. Follow safety rules at ALL TiMES!!!!
2. They respect their teammates/coaches and the opposing teams’ coaches, players and the referees.
3. NO GIRL at any time may walk home or leave the practice area. Each girl MUST enter a car with an adult in the parking lot of the practice area. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS.
If you tell a coach it is okay for your daughter to walk home or ride their bike please make sure the coach knows BEFORE practice or the game.
4. If you are going to be late and the coach needs to wait please let them know before practice OR if you are running late leave a message on their cell phone.
5. Every girl should show up to practices and games to play with the proper equipment and uniform.
6. They should dress for success. It is very cold when we start in March and very hot when we finish in June. They should come dressed for the weather!!!
7. They come to have a lot of fun!!
Each girl should have the following equipment for each practice and each game:
1. GIRLS lacrosse stick
2. eye protection - cage is probably the best choice
3. COLORED mouth guard (not white or clear)- MANDATORY - nothing hanging out of the mouth - make sure they fit properly. HAVE MORE THAT 1 MOUTH GUARD AND KEEP IT IN THE CAR!!!!!
4. Cleats - soccer
5. Girls lacrosse gloves (OPTIONAL) they offer little protection
6. water bottle or two (Please have the girls come already hydrated and not hungry. This will help them immensely out on the field)
g. hand warmers for those frigid practices (practices only) (OPTIONAL)
h. NO JEWELRY ALLOWED AT ANYTIME - ESPECIALLY GAMES!!!! NO EXCEPTIONS AT ALL!! If they want to get their ears pierced they should wait until after the season ends. No covering of pierced earrings are allowed.
We play an (8) games season, starting on Sunday, April 7th. Each team will usually have (4) home and (4) away games. The first games of the day are usually the 1st/2nd grade at Noon/1:00 depending on what town we are playing. Then 3rd/4th, 5th/6th and finally 7th/8th. Your coach will send an email out each week with the game arrival time, game time and game location. The arrival time will be at least 30 minutes prior to the game.Your coach will have their cell phone with them at all games/practices if you need to contact them. They will send their cell numbers and e-mail addresses to their respective teams before the season begins.
For the 7th/8th grade teams their home games are at Walton Field. When 7/8 plays at home the first teams' game will begin at Noon.
Please let your head coach know if you cannot make a game or if you will be late so that they can prepare the game roster accordingly. You will be able to view the game schedule soon. The full game schedule will be posted on the wakefieldlacrosse.net website under Girls Travel.
SELECT TEAMS
Both the 7/8 and 5/6 teams will be forming Select teams.
The 7th/8th grade team will play a full (6) game schedule and the 5th/6th grade team will play a (2) game schedule.
Select games are for the more advanced players who want to compete with their town teammates at a higher level of lacrosse. For the 7th/8th grade games, if there are two referees, full checking will be allowed. If there is only one referee modified checking will be allowed. 5th/6th grade games do not allow checking.
We will be having a Select meeting for grades 5th-8th to see how many girls are interested. A few notes about the Select program:
a. Players MUST attend their Classic League games/practices or they cannot attend Select practices/games.
b. Games are on Friday nights.
c. We will be holding try-outs for the Select team
CELL PHONES
NO CELL PHONES ARE ALLOWED TO BE CHECKED TO TAKE/MAKE CALLS DURING PRACTICE OR DURING GAMES. BEFORE PRACTICE STARTS THEY CAN CALL YOU, BUT ONCE PRACTICE OR A GAME STARTS THE CELL PHONES MUST BE TURNED OFF AND PUT AWAY.
UMPIRES/CHEERING
We ask that during games everyone sit in the stands and cheer on both teams. The girls are expected to respect not only their own teammates and coaches but also the opposing team, coaches and umpires. Before the game if the coaches have questions about rules/situations they will chat with the umpire to clarify. After that, if the girls or the coaches have any questions about a call the umpire makes we can ask the umpire during halftime or after the game. At no time is anyone to yell at an umpire. They do their best and like all of us make mistakes.
TURF FIELDS
Wakefield is fortunate to have new TURF fields that we need to show some love. We are asking that ONLY WATER IS BROUGHT TO THE FIELDS. NO FOOD, CANDY, GUM OR ANY OTHER FORM OF DRINK. If we all take care of our new fields we will have them for a long time!!!
EVENTS
For our annual Pasta Party on Friday, April 5th the food will be nut free. We will probably have broccoli/ziti, macaroni with red sauce, mac and cheese, bread, salad and nut free desserts the 8th graders will provide. If your child has allergies or is gluten free feel free to bring your own meal. Don't not come because of allergies. If your daughter wants you to stay please do. If you have a little one that insists on staying please stay. The girls will sit with their teams. Everyone else will sit somewhere else.
On Sunday, June 9th we have our annual Melrose-Wakefield Jamboree. We are hosting the Jamboree this year. All of our teams will play AT LANDRIGAN. After each game we will have pizza and Popsicles for everyone.
On Saturday, June 15th Mass Bay Girls Lacrosse hosts their annual Jamboree for all teams in all divisions at Chelmsford High School. It is a lot of fun. All the teams set up tents, bring food, chairs, dogs, families and watch their teams play 3-4 shortened games. There are vendors selling all sorts of lacrosse memorabilia. and food. Some of my best lacrosse clothing is from the Jamboree. This is truly a fun event that everyone enjoys.
Zach Frank Scholarship
This year for the second year in row the Wakefield Girls Travel Lacrosse program will be raising money for: The Zachary P. Frank Lacrosse Fund, c/o The Wakefield Scholarship Foundation.
This Scholarship will annually be given out to a Wakefield Memorial High School student who will be playing lacrosse in college.
Zach grew up in Wakefield, attended Wakefield schools then attended Plymouth State University. Zach played lacrosse in Wakefield's youth program, was a stand out lacrosse player at Wakefield Memorial High School then again at Plymouth State University. Zach also helped coach the Wakefield youth program. Zach was a really hard working and nice young man. He died in June 2017 after suffering cardiac arrest at the age of 24.
In Zach's memory we are asking all the girls to recycle bottles and cans to raise money for this scholarship If you want to recycle yourself you can give me the money. If you don't want to recycle, just give me the cans and I will be happy to recycle for you. Last year we raised about $130. Let's recycle more cans so we can add to that total to be donated to the Zachary P. Frank Scholarship.
Let's recycle for Zach!!
Dates To Remember
Pre-Season Practice - Tuesday, March 5th and Tuesday, March 12th - FEE $25.00 Grades 1-8
Pasta Party - Friday, April 5th - 5:30 - 6:30 - All Girls Travel Teams Grades 1-8
First Game - Sunday, April 7th
Memorial Day, Sunday, May 26th - No Games
Last Game - Sunday, June 9th - Jamboree with Melrose at Home
MBGLL Jamboree - Saturday, June 15th
Also, for those of you who need to buy equipment:
Play It Again
Dicks
Lacrosse Unlimited
Lacrosse Monkey
Target
Walmart
Borrow from friends
Before signing off, all of the coaches in our program are wonderful!! I could not ask for a more dedicated group of coaches. Before practices they are creating practice plans. Before games they area creating game plans. They give up a lot of time to coach practices and games for our program. Much of that time includes doing in person and online training required by Mass Bay Girls Lacrosse. They treat your daughter(s) as they do their own. We are blessed to have a top notch group of coaches teaching your daughter(s) the game of girls lacrosse!!
My home phone number is 781-245-7734 and My cell phone number is 781-264-4500. If at any time you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or e-mail Debbie at
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All of the coaches look forward to FUN lacrosse season with you and most especially your girls!!!
Make sure to check the wakefieldlacrosse.net site for Girls Travel updates/news.
