It is pretty easy to get a team started! Here are some helpful tips to guide you through the process.
- Find a group of girls who love to play lacrosse. Text your old high school/college teammates, ask your colleagues, your workout buddies, girls you coach with, etc...you can always find people that love the game. To remain competitive in the league, I would recommend asking that all players have some sort of collegiate lacrosse experience, whether it be club or varsity. Try to get at least 25 girls on your team (maximum 35 per team). That way you have enough for home and away games and don’t have to worry about having to forfeit games due to numbers. Unless you have too many players that are interested, I would avoid having ‘tryouts’ (that can turn a lot of people off), at least until you get your team up and running for a few years!
- Find a place to play! WMACLL does require turf fields for the games. Call or email local private schools and high schools early since soccer teams book turf fields very fast (the schedule should be out by November/December). Ask other teams which fields they use so you can use the same ones. If you having trouble finding a field, please don’t hesitate to ask for help from the league! Field rental fees can vary, but in general expect to pay around $200 an hour. Book a couple of practices before the season starts as well as your home games.
- Get a team name and uniforms. If you are lucky to find a bar/restaurant or other business to sponsor you, they might pay for it to get their name on your jerseys. If not, charge each teammate for the uniform, which they can keep. Nothing too fancy for the uniforms. Many teams stick with reversible jerseys and shorts/kilts.
- Factor the dues for each player. Some teams are able to have awesome fundraisers to pay for the season, but many are not. Add up the cost of the field, refs for the season ($150 per game x 8 games =$1200) and leave some extra for out of season tournaments, money to put down payments for next season, etc. Most teams charge between $100-$150 for dues.
- Get people to the practices/games. Use Evite or other social media sites to ensure players attend practices and games. Stress to the players how important it is for them to respond to invites so your team does not have to go through a forfeit. That is rare, but forfeits can be very expensive (you have to pay for the other team’s field rental if it is an away game and the refs if the game isn’t canceled in time).
- Give your teammates the schedule before the season. Double check you have a goalie for each game, or at least a goalie kit if you goalie can’t make it so one of your players can hop in the goal.
- Hold one or two practices before the games start. Your team can bond and learn how to play together. It might be hard to have practices during the season but you can sure try!
- During the season, send out the game invitation (through evite or other social media site) one week before the next game. That way you have enough time to follow up with people and ensure you have enough for each game.
- Make sure your team is having fun. The purpose of this league is to bring girls who love lacrosse together in a laid back, but competitive atmosphere and it is also supposed to be social! Have an end of season party! Go have lunch after games!
