San Francisco City Lacrosse

The purpose of the SF City Lacrosse Club is to instill within our players a true love for the game of lacrosse and to develop lacrosse skills, good sportsmanship and the camaraderie that comes from competing in a team environment. We believe that kids learn these things best on the field rather than on the sidelines. Therefore, our philosophy is that all players, regardless of ability, should receive approximately equal playing time relative to other players at their position over the course of a season subject to the following conditions: 

• Some positions in lacrosse are rotated more frequently than others. Teams will typically have 3 or 4 “lines” of midfielders that are rotated throughout the game every few minutes, due to the amount of running required. Rotating 4 lines of middies results in each line playing roughly ¼ of the game. On the other hand, attackmen and defensemen have fewer numbers and rotate individually, and generally, may receive more playing time. If the team has only one goalie, he or she will play the entire game.

• Substitutions in a lacrosse game can also be unpredictable. There are only a few permitted times during the game when coaches can substitute (for example, after a goal, during time outs and when the ball goes out of bounds). Those situations are hard to predict and therefore some “shifts” may be longer than others.

• The Northern California Junior Lacrosse Association (NCJLA) designates divisions as A (competitive), B (intermediate) and C (developmental). The Outlaws typically field teams at the B level for all age groups. In the event that we field a team at the A level, roles for players on A level teams will be explained fully by the coaches, but players on A teams may not necessarily receive equal playing time. Players on B and C level teams are subject to these playing time guidelines.

• Because we believe that team success can help foster a beneficial camaraderie, coaches are given more latitude in choosing players during the fourth quarter of a close game or during a close playoff game.

• There are personal behavior factors that will impact playing time as well. Missing practices can result in reduced playing time. If a coach determines that a player is not willing or able to give 100% effort during a game, that player may be substituted far more frequently. Lastly, if a player presents discipline problems such as not following team rules, a lack of respect for coaches, teammates, opponents or officials, their playing time will be impacted. All of these situations will be discussed between player and coach.

Additional Thoughts on High School Playing Time:

High School Varsity teams are highly competitive, the most competitive teams in the NCJLA.  Most Varsity teams, their coaches and parents take games very seriously. Many players have years of experience and expect to play in college. In an ideal situation, a JV team feeds a Varsity team. However, many clubs because of size are not able to field both Varsity and JV teams. In this situation, much less skilled and experienced players compete for playing time with the more skilled and experienced. The gap created can be large and requires thoughtful consideration of playing time.

SF City Lacrosse on occasion has faced hard choices with respect to the interest of both the novice and experienced player. As a Club team, we endeavor to provide a team for the largest number of high school players in SF. The alternative would be to cut off registration at a fixed number or to have tryouts. Neither of these alternatives is desirable. Both would eliminate valuable players from SF City teams. If we agree to let all register, then we must set some expectations for those who play.

Playing time for Varsity players is a coaching decision to be based on but not limited to:

• Experience
• Skill level
• Physical condition which allows for speed and stamina on the field
• The ability and willingness to follow coaching instruction
• Attendance at practice
• Effort in practice and games
• Attitude toward teammates, coaches, officials, and opponents
• Continuing progress in learning plays and skills

What does this mean for a player on the Varsity team? Every minute of playing time must be earned. Potentially, some more experienced players will play much more than other players. Some less experienced players may play only a few minutes or not at all, but have the opportunity to build their skills over the course of the season with the goal of earning more playing time.