Guest Commentary - Game Must Act (on Concussions)

Concussions shouting warning to powers that be
Mike Preston
April 23, 2008

As Conor Finch lay on the field Monday evening, convulsing, I kept asking myself when the sport of lacrosse is going to do something about the growing number of concussions.

Ask any player these days, from the youth leagues to the professional teams, and everybody seems to have had one. They are as common as tattoos, almost as synonymous with lacrosse as faceoffs and body checks.

It's getting scary. Worse yet, most of the sport's governing bodies appear to be ignoring the issue. It will continue that way until the inevitable happens, when a player suffers paralysis or, worse yet, death.

We all understand the nature of lacrosse, that it's a physical game. And with contact come injuries. But with the injuries, there also has to be prevention, which hasn't kept pace with the evolution of the players who are bigger, stronger and faster these days.

But here are just a few suggestions to the lords of lacrosse and some actions that parents and schools need to adopt to possibly reduce the growing number of head injuries.

First of all, any blow to the head should result in a penalty. Any head-to-head shot should warrant an automatic ejection. There should be no room for discussion. No debate. Goodbye. . . .

Click here for the full article at BaltimoreSun.com.

Time for some lax dads to shut up and sit down - guest commentary

by John Weaver of E-lacrosse and the Baltimore Sun

Covering a D3 game recently, I was appalled by the behavior of about five or six of the home team players’ fathers toward the officials. It is not the first time this year I have encountered such conduct, and the identity of this particular school is not important. I took particular notice this time because it was so out of place in the otherwise perfect lacrosse environment. Unfortunately, I am constantly editing E-Lacrosse video to eliminate loud and nasty jeering by a parent or group of parents. I can tell it’s getting worse.

Click here for the full commentary.

(Laxtown note: John is right on with his assessment, as we've seen similar actions at all levels of New Jersey lacrosse from youth to college. If you think you know the game as well as the officials, why don't you become an official? Some perspective: In NJ there are roughly 4000 games at the high school level in the Spring, and there are roughly 400 certified officials to cover these games. 4000 games x 2 officials per game = 8000 slots to fill. Of those 400 certified officials, maybe 200 have any kind of availability to work a full schedule and get to 4:00pm starts. These numbers don't include college and youth games in the state.

As the sport continues to grow these numbers will only get more out of whack. Seriously, if you think you know the game and you want to support its growth, become an official. There are classes offered in the fall/winter, and you can find more information at the NJILOA website.)