Boulder Valley Lacrosse parents:
Welcome to the 2019 BVL Spring season! Later today, we will email team assignments (coaches, rosters, practice days & times, locations, etc) to everyone.
We ask that you read that email- as well as this one- very carefully. It will contain basically everything you need to know about the upcoming season. Practices will begin either the week of March 4th or March 11th, depending upon our field permits.
As one of the largest youth lacrosse organizations in Colorado, we will have 21 teams, nearly 60 coaches, and about 350 players participating in BVL this spring. Our goal is to develop an inclusive youth sports community which grows the great sport of lacrosse in a positive manner.
The values of Boulder Valley Lacrosse:
- Sportsmanship: We expect all of our players, coaches, and parents to exemplify respect for each other, our opponents, and the officials at all times.
- Development: We seek to foster the individual development of ALL players in our program. Our goal is to maximize the number of players who will go on to play high school lacrosse, by creating a fun, motivating athletic atmosphere for everyone.
- Competition: We strive to win, but recognize that winning is not the only- or the most important- aspect of playing youth sports. We want players learning how to compete with abiding respect for the rules and for others.
- Life Lessons: We are strong advocates of the Positive Coaching Alliance. Along with the value of competition, we view youth sports as an avenue to teach and promote life lessons.
It’s important to note that not all of these life lessons will be easy or enjoyable to learn. Every year, we receive many requests related to team placement. While we do our best to honor as many requests as possible, it is simply not possible for us to create “perfect” rosters. We know that every parent would like to have his or her son play on the same team with his friends, who are all equally talented and experienced as him, with practices at the school right around the corner. The realities of registration numbers, coaching resources, and the scarcity of available fields in Boulder County make this impossible.
Therefore, it is very unlikely that we will be able to change your son’s team assignment this spring. In rare cases, we may be able to make “trades” to accommodate compatible requests. The process of team formation is complicated and imperfect- we appreciate your understanding of this. To learn more about it, click here: BVL Team Formation
Let this be your son’s journey—not yours—and an opportunity to develop resiliency. If one of you feels that he should have been placed on a different team, then I would challenge him to become the best player on his team this spring- and demonstrate his skill for everyone to see. Although we elicit a significant amount of input from our coaches about player assignments, I will admit that sometimes we make mistakes or overlook players. At the same time, I have no patience for parents who blame their son’s lack of progress in the sport on his coaches, teammates, or team placement- this sport rewards those players who get out every single day to practice and play wall ball by themselves. As our friend Bill Tierney of Denver Pioneers Lacrosse likes to say, “Water always finds its own level”- over time, players will rise to their proper station in the sport.
We have another exciting season of lacrosse on deck for BVL players, coaches, and fans. We have already enjoyed BVL Day with DU Pioneers Lacrosse team (a solid win over Cleveland State), and will have upcoming promotions for Colorado Mammoth and Denver Outlaws games.
Save the date of Sunday March 17th in particular, as we will hold our fourth annual BVL Field Day at East Boulder Community Park turf fields. Some BVL teams will have preseason scrimmages there (which will double as CYLA officials’ training), and we will host free clinics on the East field (details to come).
We look forward to seeing you and your family at the lacrosse field soon- thank you for being a part of our Boulder Valley Lacrosse community. Andrew
Andrew Davies
BVL Executive Director
