Role of a Sub

A player who shows envy or jealousy toward the starting team is often judged to have a poor attitude. In truth, envy and jealousy are natural feelings. It’s how a player handles her feelings that determines whether she is team-oriented.

Not wanting to sit on the bench is perfectly acceptable. If you’re a player who has given everything you’ve got, and it’s not good enough to be a starter, you can either quit the team and take on another challenging project, or accept the role of being a substitute, knowing you will have opportunities to contribute to your team’s success.

A substitute must learn to take satisfaction in performing steadily and reliably each time she steps on the floor including 100% effort in practice. A team can only be as good as the players they practice against. If the starters practiced against a group that was not giving it their best shot, they’d have a tough time improving. But if they have to scratch and fight every day to beat the subs, they’ll improve easily.

How a substitute handles feelings of jealousy or disappointment determines her attitude and her team spirit. A substitute should never:

Start or listen to gossip that alienates the team against another team member

Sulk or act disinterested while on the bench

Put a damper on everyone’s spirits after a game because she didn’t play, or

Grumble about having to practice with the weaker players.

The role of the substitute is difficult to master, but its rewards are worth the effort.

Women’s Lacrosse – Participation in High School and College

Women’s Participation – High School
Over 15,000 women participate in lacrosse at 600 high schools which currently sponsor programs that are either sanctioned by the athletic department or are recognized as school affiliated club teams.

Lacrosse programs began in eastern preparatory schools and have expanded to public and parochial schools nationwide. Since January 2000 alone, four states (California, Georgia, Illinois and Minnesota) have sanctioned lacrosse. The NFHS reported 74,225 male and female students played in 2001, a 20 percent increase from 2000 and better than a 100 percent increase since 1995.

More than 450 high schools sponsor varsity programs.

Approximately 150 high schools are building towards varsity by offering structured interscholastic “club” programs.

More than 125 schools have junior varsity and freshman programs.

The average team consists of 20-25 players.

Women’s Participation – College and University

Over 5,500 women participate in lacrosse programs at 240 colleges and universities, sanctioned either by the athletic department or the club sports department.

248 participating NCAA Division 1, 2 and 3 universities and college teams compete for the national championships.

Over 50 participating NCAA Division 1, 2 and 3 universities and colleges are building towards varsity programs offering structured intercollegiate “club” programs.

The average program has 20-25 players.

Varsity Girl – Lettering in a Sport

Do you know what it means to “letter” in soccer or swimming?

The varsity letter for most schools is awarded for both talent and effort. It is designed to be a valued award for hard work, dedication, and ability.

The achievement of a varsity letter is not a right, but rather the result of a personal responsibility to act and behave all season in a “Varsity Manner,” meaning, an above average commitment to the team, the sport, to hard work and to improvement.
To earn a varsity letter in a particular sport, an athlete must fulfull certain requirements which may include some or all of the following:

1. Finish the season in good standing with the coaches.
2. Maintain a “varsity attitude” throughout the season. A varsity attitude is demonstrated by an above-average commitment to the team’s goals, to the sport and to one’s individual improvement.
3. Finish the season with a 2.0 GPA.
4. Don’t quit. Quitting for any reason prior to the end of the season will generally disqualify an athlete from a letter.
5. Play at least 50% of the time for team sports or score points in the league championship or state meets for individual sports.

Rules vary from school to school but generally a letter can be earned by anyone from any grade level and an athlete can purchase a Letter Jacket after earning her first varsity letter. Some schools require a certain number of hours of community service or attendance at extracurricular events.

Some elite athletes are multiple letter(wo)men (e.g. if someone is a three year lettermen in both soccer and basketball, she played sufficient time on both the varsity soccer and basetball teams for three years). For the eligibility requirements of your particular school check with your athletic department.

Pretty Tough Trivia

Did you know that the birth of the varsity letter is attributed to Harvard? In 1865, the Harvard baseball team added an old English ‘H’ embroidered on their gray flannel shirts. The football team started to use the ‘H’ in 1875. It is not known when the letterman sweater came to high schools but there are examples seen in photos taken around 1910.

Making the Team – Tryouts & Training

With school back in session and new demands on your time, you may find it difficult competing for a spot on a school or club sports team. There’s nothing more intimidating than showing off your skills while coaches and trainers shout instructions and make notes on a clipboard. For most athletes, tryouts are a fact of life – so here are some tips for making the team. Read more