2023 Field Lacrosse Season FAQ
About field lacrosse
The field lacrosse season runs from September to February for most divisions.
Preseason activities such player development may also take place, starting in August.
September
Practices start for all age divisions
September – February
Regular season of approximately 20 games plus practices for Youth U9-U18 and Women's U8-U19
September – December
Youth U7 regular season & Youth U5 Thunderbits program
February – March
Provincial competition for Youth U11 - U18 and Women’s U12 & U15 Field Lacrosse
All divisions generally have 2 practices and 1 game per week. Teams have 1 practice on a field and 1 practice on a dry floor.
At the coach’s discretion, additional practices may be scheduled.
The practice schedule is provided by LMLA to teams in the second week of September. Typically practices are held on weeknights.
The game schedule is provided by the Pacific Coast Field Lacrosse League (PCFLL) and is generally sent out weekly on Wednesday/Thursday. Typically, women’s games are scheduled for Saturdays and youth (coed) games are scheduled on Sundays.
You will have home and away games. All divisions could be playing against Associations from anywhere in the Lower Mainland. U7 teams typically play Associations near Langley.
Please visit our Field 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.
Read more about Field Lacrosse on the BCLA website.
Yes, Women’s Lacrosse (U7-U19) is more of a finesse sport that focuses on stick skills, speed and strategic play. Players use a different stick and wear less equipment. On field, women’s lacrosse plays with different numbers; U9 plays 4v4, U11 and U13 play 8v8, and U15, U17 and U19 play 10v10.
Female players can elect to play in either or both the youth (coed) division and/or the women’s division.
Registration
Visit our field lacrosse registration page.
Registration fees cover:
- BCLA insurance for players and coaches
- Facility costs
- Referee and umpire fees
- Equipment (balls, cones, goalie gear)
- Coaching certification courses
- Admin (TeamSnap, website)
- Team photo
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.
There is a family discount that eligible families may apply for by contacting the Treasurer in writing AFTER the regular game 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.
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.
Residency rules are set by the BC Lacrosse Association and must be followed by all minor associations.
Evaluations
You will be contacted by your division coordinator in advance. Please check your junk folder as the email may be received there. If you haven’t been contacted by the association, please reach out to our Registrar.
All players will be evaluated however teams are formed differently depending on the division.
- U9F, U11F, U7 and U9 players are evaluated and placed on balanced teams
- U11 players are evaluated and placed on skill appropriate teams
- U13F, U15F, U17F, U19F, U13, U15, U17 and U19 players are evaluated and selected to a team/tier. LMLA has a policy to put forth the most competitive teams, and player placement and team composition are based on this policy.
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 regrouped after each session based on the requests from the evaluation committee.
Players will begin being assigned to teams after the third evaluation session and each subsequent evaluation session until all players are placed.
No evaluation procedure is without flaws. We are making changes to our procedure this year to increase impartiality and efficiency. If you have any questions after all teams have been selected, the best place to start is with your assigned coach. If you have further questions, you may contact the Director of Coaches and Officials at coach@langleythunder.ca.
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 U11 and above will begin in September (see Evaluations FAQs above).
Most divisions will not form teams until mid-September, with some possible adjustments in early October.
U7 and U9 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 and earn 4 volunteer credits per season. Different activities offer different credit values. Families will be responsible for reporting their volunteer activities and ensuring they have met the required volunteer obligation.
LMLA reserves the right to cash the volunteer cheque if the required credits are not earned.
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
- field set-up
- scorekeeping
- timekeeping
- helping at 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-field 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.