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Youth Girls Program

STMA LACROSSE SEASON UPDATE

Greetings STMA Lacrosse Families,

I trust this message finds you and your loved ones in good spirits and eagerly anticipating the upcoming fall season.

Firstly, a heartfelt thank you from the entire STMA Lacrosse Association for your unwavering support and patience as we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of youth sports. Our commitment remains steadfast in ensuring a balance between offering valuable playing opportunities for our young athletes and providing clarity for families to plan their schedules.

With that in mind, I'm excited to share the latest updates for our 2023 Fall Season:

**Fall Schedule Kick-off**: Our fall season will officially commence on the 21st of August. Here's a detailed breakdown of the practice schedule:

For 12U Girls

  • Dates: Tuesdays & Thursdays from 8/22/2023 through 10/12/2023 (no practice on Labor Day)
  • Time: 6:00 - 7:00 pm

**Practice Venue**: All practices will be held at the upper rec fields, ensuring ample space and facilities for our players.

**Tournament Alert**: Mark your calendars for October 14th and 15th! We are thrilled to announce our participation in The Great Pumpkin Shootout in Farmington, MN. This promises to be a fantastic opportunity for our players to showcase their skills and for families to enjoy some thrilling lacrosse action.

For those of you who are new or considering joining our STMA Lacrosse family, we warmly welcome you and encourage you to reach out with any queries or for further information.

Lastly, our association thrives on the active involvement of our community. If you're interested in coaching, serving as a board member, or contributing in any other capacity, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Your involvement will undoubtedly enrich our association and the experiences of our young athletes.

Thank you once again for being an integral part of the STMA Lacrosse journey. Your trust, patience, and support are deeply appreciated.

Warm regards,

STMA Youth Lacrosse Association

Parent Volunteers are the Foundation of the Girls Lax Program

The strength of the STMA Girls Lacrosse program is 100% dependent upon parent involvement. STMAYLA is calling for volunteers to:

  1. Run the program as Girls Director on the Association board
  2. Coach a team
  3. Advocate for lacrosse to recruit players from the community

No lacrosse experience is necessary for any of these roles. As is the case for most non-profit community organizations, if volunteers cannot fulfill these three fundamental roles then the girls lacrosse program will be on hold as the program cannot run itself.

If you would like to volunteer or are interested in more information about girls lacrosse, please contact the board at volunteer-director@stmalax.com.

Girls Program Update - May 1, 2023

Overview

The STMA Lacrosse Association runs both girls, boys, and co-ed lacrosse programs for players in the community. The Boys (Co-ed) program participates in the Great Northern Lacrosse League in box lacrosse (Mar-Apr), spring field lacrosse (Apr-Jun), and fall field lacrosse (Aug-Oct). The Girls program participates in the Minnesota Schoolgirls Lacrosse league in summer (Jun-Jul).

Differences

Boys and Girls Lacrosse are very different sports, and multiple videos can be found on the internet describing these differences. Basically, in addition to different seasons and different leagues, the differences can be summed up:

  • Different equipment (sticks, gloves, headgear); goalies wear similar gear, all players wear cleats (https://www.uslacrosse.org/safety/equipment)
  • Fields are similar dimensions (girls is slightly larger) but have different layouts; goals are game size (https://www.uslacrosse.org/rules/field-diagrams)
  • Boys lacrosse is contact; with increasing contact in the older age groups. Girls lacrosse does have some incidental contact but is significantly limited compared to boys.
  • Number of players on the field for 12U and up are; Boys: 10 / Girls: 12. Teams are similar in size.

Although the two games have different styles, girls and boys lacrosse both require stamina, full body strength, hand-eye coordination, footwork, speed, aggressiveness, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

STMA Programs

STMA Lacrosse runs a coed Boys program, as do most associations in Minnesota, but refer to this as the “Boys Lacrosse” program because it plays under the Boys Lacrosse rules. As expected, the Girls program plays under the Girls rules. Both boys and girls programs are governed by US Lacrosse (https://www.uslacrosse.org/) which sets the rules for each age group within each sport. The Upper Midwest Lacrosse Officials Association (UMLOA), Minnesota Lacrosse Umpires Association (MLUA), and the respective leagues govern rules of play in Minnesota and may be more restrictive than US Lacrosse guidelines.  

STMA Girls Program Update

Athletes who wish to participate in the STMA Girl’s lacrosse program will register for  Summer seasons run through MS Lax. Registration typically opens in late winter. 

During the off-season, the youth association will hold occasional clinics and open houses that are open to all players in the community. These are great opportunities to introduce the sport to local athletes new to the sport. Typically, these events are run by coaches from the program based on coach availability. In addition, club teams that are not affiliated with STMAYLA run programs year-round for interested players.

The STMA Lacrosse Association has had widely varying numbers of players in the spring/summer seasons. Some years in the past multiple teams have been fielded.  In the years where we do not have enough players to field the appropriate number of players per team, the association either allows players from nearby communities to fill the team or we direct players to a neighboring association who has space on the roster.