2024 Box Lacrosse Season FAQ
About box lacrosse
The box lacrosse season runs from April to July.
Preseason activities such as evaluations and player development may also take place, starting in January.
There will be a tiering break (no league games scheduled, practices will be scheduled) April 29 - May 5, 2024 for U11-U17 Co-ed and Female Divisions.
Mini Tykes typically have one practice and one game per week (usually alternating between home and away).
Tykes will typically have 2 practices and 1-2 games per week (usually alternating between home and away).
Novice - Junior Female will typically have 2 practices and 2 games per week (one home and one away). At the coaches discretion, additional practices may be scheduled.
The practice schedule is generally provided by LMLA to teams in the last week of March. The game schedule is provided by the Lower Mainland Minor Lacrosse Commission – generally a few days prior to the start of the season.
Please note that LMLA has control over the assignment of practice slots, but the Lower Mainland Minor Lacrosse Commission creates and sets the game schedule.
Games and practices could be on any weeknight or day/evening on the weekends.
You will have home and away games. Novice - Junior Female divisions could be playing against Associations from anywhere in the Lower Mainland. Mini Tyke and Tyke teams typically play Associations in close proximity to Langley.
Please visit our Box Lacrosse Equipment page for details.
Lacrosse is called “the fastest game on two feet” so playing lacrosse will provide your child with great cardiovascular exercise. Given that lacrosse is a team sport, your child will learn the values of working together to achieve success. Lifelong friendships are part of the game.
Take part in Canada’s National Summer Sport by registering today!
Registration
Visit our box lacrosse registration page.
Registration fees cover:
- BCLA insurance for players and coaches
- Facility costs
- Referee fees
- Equipment (balls, cones, goalie gear)
- Coaching certification courses
- Admin (TeamSnap, website)
Please note: team fees are determined by individual teams.
Once your player is placed on a team, it is up to coaches and managers to determine team fees required to cover the cost for tournaments, travel, apparel, or other. This is a requirement of being on a team. The manager will share the proposed budget with the team.
Eligible families may apply for one (1) of the following discounts per season by contacting the Treasurer in writing AFTER the season begins:
- Family Discount of 25% off all registrations may apply when one family registers three (3) or more children living in the same household and all players must start the regular season.
- Goalie Discount may apply for those registered and placed on a Box Lacrosse team as a goalie. The goalie must not use ANY association equipment – they must provide all of their own BCLA approved gear, including goalie stick – to receive a partial refund of their registration fees.
There are assistance programs whose purpose is to provide financial assistance to help all kids play sports. It is the responsibility of the registering family to complete the application for financial assistance with one of the below recognized assistance programs:
If you do not qualify for financial assistance through one of the above programs and would like to discuss the option of a payment plan, please contact the Treasurer.
Yes, all players registering with LMLA must have their primary residence in the Township of Langley, Langley City, or Aldergrove.
The boundaries of LMLA are:
- N: Fraser River
- S: 0 Avenue
- E: 276 Street (Westside)
- W: 196 Street (Eastside)
Any player with a primary residence in another area must register with their home association.
Evaluations
February 2023
Approximately 3-5 sessions spread over 2-3 weeks.
A combination of fitness, individual skill sets and game situations will be evaluated by multiple evaluators.
All players will attend the first session where individual skills and fitness will be evaluated. From there, players will be grouped and re-grouped after each session based on the requests from the evaluation committee.
Evaluators are asked to evaluate all players that are in attendance. If you are not in attendance, you will not be able to be evaluated. This may result in the assignment to a lower team.
All questions regarding development and placement should be directed to your assigned head coach. Your head coach may not know the answer right away (especially if they were not involved with the selection or are newer to the group); however, they will have the ability to do the research and help identify any gaps that can be developed throughout the year. If you have additional questions that your head coach cannot answer, you may contact the Director, Coaches & Officials for assistance.
If you have concerns about your assigned head coach, please see below, “What if I have a question about the evaluation process?” or under Teams & Coaches, “What can I do if I have a concern about my assigned head coach?”.
There are many factors that may be included in the decision, such as: evaluation data, right/left hand, commitment level, attitude/effort, team numbers/requirements, team strengths/weaknesses, etc. Unless your placement is in the top team for your division, it is likely that the bulk of the decision process was made by the coach of the next team above. Your assigned head coach is in charge of developing your child be able to make it to the highest level. It is in everyone’s best interest that we follow this procedure so that all coaches and players can work together in a goal oriented manner to reach that next level in a unified effort.
Questions about the evaluation process may be directed to coach@langleythunder.ca; however, it is important to note that while all feedback is appreciated and taken into account for future consideration, questions regarding the specific placement of a player will not be addressed.
Teams & Coaches
Your division coaches and coordinators will work together to form teams. Evaluations for Novice and above will begin in February (see Evaluations FAQs above).
Most divisions will not form teams until the end of March, with some possible adjustments in early April.
Mini-Tyke and Tyke teams will be balanced, so further movements may happen as the season starts.
We cannot guarantee that your child will be placed:
- on a specific team
- with a specific coach
- with specific teammates
- on a team that fulfills individual scheduling needs
In addition, we may have to move players between teams, even after the season is underway and games have been played.
If you determine that lacrosse does not fit into your family’s schedule or your child does not like it, please refer to our refund policy, within our Operating Policy.
Any concerns of player safety/abuse should be immediately reported to the LMLA or directly to the police, depending on the severity.
You may submit concerns regarding coaching ability, experience, preparedness, etc., to coach@langleythunder.ca, keeping in mind that it may not be possible to immediately address all concerns. Please also see under Volunteering, “How can I help with the development of my child through on-floor personnel”
Volunteering
LMLA relies on volunteers for the success of our programs thus all members are expected to volunteer a minimum of 5 hours per season.
LMLA reserves the right to cash the volunteer cheque if the required hours are not fulfilled.
As LMLA is a volunteer based organization made up of parents just like you, help is always needed and appreciated!
Once your team is set there are many ways to help out:
- coach
- assistant coach
- manager
- bench helper
- scorekeeping
- timekeeping
- helping with tournaments
Please proactively reach out to your coordinator, coach or manager if you can volunteer! It makes us a stronger community and you get to broaden your circle of friends!
We are always looking for more qualified volunteers who can help our kids make it to the next level. Unfortunately, we have a very limited number of non-parent helpers and this means that our teams without parent helpers often suffer.
If you know of any experienced lacrosse players (18+) who would like to begin a career in coaching, we would love to have them join LMLA in a non-parent role to work with teams that could use the extra help – no coaching experience is required. Please have them apply directly through our online link and/or reach out to coach@langleythunder.ca to begin the process. All on-floor helpers and bench personnel must have a clean Criminal Record Check and must be approved by LMLA for insurance and player safety reasons – no exceptions.
Reffing
Minimum 13 years of age to referee. Must be 13 years old in the calendar year.
Please complete the Referee Registration/Interest form or contact our Referee Allocator.
Questions?
Please submit any questions about the upcoming box season that have not been addressed above.
Thank you for your question. It will be forwarded to the appropriate person who will follow up with you directly.
ʔi ʔə tə n̓ɑ tәmәx ʔә ƛ̓ šxʷq̓ic̓əyɑʔɬ ʔiʔ šxʷq̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ɑʔɬ, mәsteyәxʷ
We respectfully acknowledge that our operations are on the unceded traditional territory of the Katzie and Kwantlen people.