Captains tend to say very little at the pregame coin toss. As an official, we talk first to the coaches and then the captains, asking if they have any questions before we start. Usually, that’s greeted with silence. But this year, one school’s captain asked a great question: “How can we tell you … [Read more...]
Jaffe: It’s time to mark our calendars to celebrate our game
If you love lacrosse, you can celebrate it any day. The start of the season — college, high school or youth — is a reason to rejoice. Head to a pro game for a party in the summer, or in the winter if you prefer box lacrosse. Club players get jubilant around the summer season. Old guys like me live … [Read more...]
Jaffe: The abuse of referees is never OK. End of story
My phone and Facebook feed blew up at the end of December with national news made in my small eastern Massachusetts town. At a high school basketball game — apparently angry over a call made minutes earlier — a visiting player sucker-punched a referee. Friends who were at the game said the … [Read more...]
Jaffe: Why the pleasures of lacrosse are wonderfully eternal
My youngest daughter, Whitney, is getting married at the end of December, which means I will be giving a father-of-the-bride speech that I have been preparing for since I held her for the first time in a Pennsylvania hospital in the summer of 1993. Dancing around the delivery room with my newborn … [Read more...]
Jaffe: How NIL will change the face of lacrosse recruiting
Within five years, the talk of the lacrosse recruiting world will be less, “Where is that player going?” and more, “What did he/she get for signing there?” That’s already happening in college football and basketball, and the trickle-down is starting. It’s completely unclear how Name, Image and … [Read more...]
Hall of shame: Coaches behaving badly the new normal
Before the 2022 lacrosse season started, officials in eastern Massachusetts were told about sportsmanship initiatives regional youth leagues had put in place. If it were up to me as a veteran referee to decide the fate of youth lacrosse coaches, about one-third of the coaching pool would be thrown … [Read more...]
