A love of gardening
It is not unusual for lax officials to come down from the cold, jagged, and sometimes barren mountain tops of college and high school lax, to officiate in the gardens of youth lacrosse. Youth lacrosse focuses on the skills development of elementary school-level players ranging from second through eighth grade. A youth lax game is a chance for mature officials — you know, the guys who have senior moments — to return to yesteryear, when their sons played among those gardens of joy. It is a chance to educate and call an “instructional” game. It is a time when you can immerse yourself in the excitement of innocence and purity, something like attending your 25th high school reunion and dancing to that special song with your first love. With the youth lax game, though, you don’t have to worry about how you look or how your breath smells! For younger officials, the slower game allows opportunities to hone their skills and train their eyes to recognize the more difficult calls like interference, illegal picks, and off-sides.
Toiling in the dirt
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