Our 2010 season will kick off with Orientation on Sunday, March 7th from 2:00 to 3:00pm at Darien High School (location tbd).This will be mandatory for all players. The schedule for Orientation will be posted on the website.
Weather permitting, the 3rd-8th grade boys will hit the field starting on Saturday, March 13th. Please always check the web site for date, time and location of practices and games as they can change due to weather and other situations beyond our control. It is also a good idea to call the DYLax Weather Hotline at 203 352-3266 if the weather looks questionable. The 3/4 House League season ends with a round robin championship tournament and the DYLax Bar-B-Q Extravaganza for all players (house, intramural, travel) and their families on Sunday, May 23.The 5/6 House program will conclude on Saturday, June 5th following a 2 week round robin play down.
The boys program has been carefully coordinated with Jeff Brameier, the DHS Boy’s Varsity Lacrosse Coach. This curriculum has been designed to maximize the skill development of players at each respective level in a progressive fashion. In so doing we will attempt to increase the continuity of the experience between coaches and between age groups. The focus of all of our programs, house and travel, is to encourage growth and development in a fun environment.
* Blue Wave Buddies (1st and 2nd grade boys).Clinics will be held once a week on Sundays from 5:00- 6:00pm at DHS. Eighth graders will assist the coaching staff in teaching the fundamentals of the sport while striving to maximize player enthusiasm and a love for the sport. The emphasis here is on fun.
* 3rd and 4th Grade Boys- All House League- No Travel: Practice will be in a clinic format on Fridays, with games on Saturdays and Sundays. The games will be 7 on 7 on a shortened field. The benefit of this format is that it will maximize the number of "touches" that each player has with the ball, thereby improving skill development. In the games all players will play all positions, rotating in pairs from defense to midfield to attack and then off. Players take turns playing goalie, and each team is given a full set of protective goalie equipment.
* 5th and 6th Grade Boys-
House League: The boys will be divided into teams following initial evaluations. Practices will be held on Wednesdays in a clinic format. As opposed to cross-field games in 3rd/ 4th, the 5th/6th graders play full field games on Saturdays until early-April when travel teams have been selected. As with the 3rd/4th house program, we consider our house program to be a major contributor to the success of lacrosse in Darien. All players get equal time, everyone gets to try all the positions, and teams are small enough where players get plenty of “ball time” to develop their skills. The same rotation through the positions described in the 3rd/4th section applies to 5th/6th except the boys rotate through the positions in groups of three.
Travel: Tryouts will start Sun., March 21st, and conclude Wed., March 31st, and will include a total of six sessions. 5th Grade is the first year that boys can try out for travel lacrosse. We have two equal-weighted 5th grade travel teams, and an A and a B travel team in 6th grade. Travel team placement is based upon the 3 A’s: Attitude, Aptitude and Attendance. Initial tryouts will be held at the end of March and beginning of April. Please note that if you play travel you must also play house! Failure to attend house clinics and/or games can result in removal from the travel roster. Also please read and take note of the Travel Commitment language at the bottom of this page.5th grade travel will practice on Sunday and either Mondays or Tuesdays. 6th grade travel will practice on Sunday and Mondays. There will also be home and away games scheduled. The travel season ends in mid-June. All travel rosters will be flexible and DYLax reserves the right to move players when deemed appropriate.
* 7th and 8th Grade Boys-
Travel: Tryouts will start Sat., March 20 and conclude March 31st, and will include a total of nine sessions. DYLax will field a total of 5 teams in the 7th and 8th grades.There will be A and B teams in each 7th and 8th grade, and a Senior 7/8 team.Initial travel rosters will be posted prior to the April break, following mandatory tryouts. Travel team placement and playing time will be based upon the 3 "A's": Attitude, Aptitude and Attendance. DYLax expects that if you play on one of the A or B travel teams, you will make lacrosse your PRIORITY this spring. All travel rosters will be flexible and DYLax reserves the right to move players when deemed appropriate by the coaches. The season consists of conditioning (running) on Thursday nights, practices and games. The 8th grade teams will practice on Saturdays and Sundays, with the 8A and 8B teams also practicing on Mondays and Wednesdays and the Senior 7/8 team practicing on Fridays.On Sunday after practice or games, all 8th graders are expected to stay to help coach the Blue Wave Buddies from 5:00 to 6:00 PM. The 7th grade teams will also practice on Saturdays and Sundays, with the 7A and 7B teams practicing Tuesdays and Wednesdays.Home and away games will also be scheduled. The season will end in mid-June.
Conditioning: Conditioning for the 7th and 8th grade boys is scheduled for Thursday evenings. Conditioning will be by invitation only and will not be mandatory. All of the coaches (travel and intramural) will be selecting those players who show consistent effort during practice and a desire to improve their physical conditioning. * Travel Commitment – All players selected for A and B travel teams must agree to make lacrosse their priority sport for the entire course of the season. Given the number of highly qualified players we have at each grade level, it is not fair to have roster spots go to players who are less than 100% committed to lacrosse in the spring. We expect and encourage all of our athletes to play other sports during the rest of the year, as it both increases athletic development and, more importantly, adds to players’ enthusiasm for all of the sports they play. But we do ask that during our relatively short season that where there are conflicts, you choose lacrosse over other sporting events.If you are not prepared to make lacrosse your priority, we offer house (5th and 6th) and our Senior 7/8 team where players can develop their skills and have fun but where there is more flexibility regarding attendance.
* Communication – In order to encourage players to develop as young men, players should communicate directly with their coaches, and by the travel level this is a requirement. This includes concerns or questions regarding playing time, positions, team placement and suggestions for improvement/feedback. An exception is for health issues such as allergies, asthma, ADD/ADHD, diabetes, etc., which parents should communicate directly with coaches if they feel the need. All health issues will be kept strictly confidential. If parents have issues with a coach, they should discuss those with the boys’ house or travel coordinator, after observing the 24 hour waiting period. Please remember that all of our coaches are volunteers, and, in the case of our travel coaches, they do not have children on the teams they are coaching. Please respect their time and dedication to creating a fun, learning experience for all of our players.
* BOYS REQUIRED EQUIPMENT:
~ Lacrosse Helmet (Blue Wave Buddies may wear a properly fitted hockey helmet);
~ Mouth Guard;
~ Shoulder Pads;
~ Elbow Pads;
~ Protective Cup;
~ Lacrosse Gloves;
~ Boy's Lacrosse Stick
