As a parent, your behavior around your athlete matters. If you're yelling at the referee or blaming the coach for a bad outcome, you're teaching your athlete to do the same.

On the other hand, when you model healthy behaviors around practice and competition, your athlete learns by observing you. It's not always easy, but it's an important part of being an involved sports parent.

Derek Reinhold sat in his car while his oldest son, Alexander, practiced with the Junior Waterdogs team ahead of the PLL Junior Championships round robin earlier this month.

While sitting there, the North Wales, Pa., resident completed USA Lacrosse’s age verification for his younger son, Dimitrios.

Reinhold opened his USA Lacrosse account on his phone and scrolled to Dimitrios’ profile.

He clicked “Edit Age Verification.”

He loaded a saved image of Dimitrios’ birth certificate.

It took less than 90 seconds.

We know that sports are hugely beneficial to children and young adults, from both a physical and mental standpoint. But sometimes, the sport systems don’t promote the healthiest practices for all athletes, and that can be difficult for families in youth sports to navigate.

A little over a year ago, USA Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse Federation announced a partnership to bring age verification to boys’ club lacrosse. After launching with pilot events run by Prime Time Lacrosse and MADLAX last fall and winter, USA Lacrosse’s age verification program has made significant strides in the first spring and summer of implementation in concert with the NLF.

WHAT IS AGE VERIFICATION?

If your athlete has a bad competition, game, or practice, it can lead to a tense car ride home. Often, parents and caregivers are well-meaning in their efforts to soothe grumpy athletes with advice and reassurances. Unfortunately, we often end up creating a more stressful, angst-filled situation in our attempts to help our athletes.

TrueSport expert Kevin Chapman, PhD, a clinical psychologist, shares a few simple strategies to help your athlete move on from a bad performance in a way that's productive.

The 91st annual USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament is headed to the WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh, N.C., for the second consecutive year. This year’s event will take place from May 25-26 and feature more than 1,000 of the nation’s top high school players, from 27 states, playing on 53 regional all-star teams.

Over the last several years, True Lacrosse has evolved into one of the largest organizations in the sport. True Lacrosse now has more than 500 teams in 23 states – stretching from coast to coast.

USA Lacrosse, the governing body for lacrosse in the United States, and Veo Technologies, a leading innovator in sports technology solutions, have announced a strategic partnership aimed at revolutionizing lacrosse technology and player development across the country. Veo Technologies will be the Official Automated Camera System for USA Lacrosse.

USA Lacrosse and the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) have announced six training dates for the 2024 College Player Officials Academy (CPOA), a joint venture between the two organizations designed to recruit and train current lacrosse players to become the next generation of women’s game officials.

Coinciding with select summer tournaments, the CPOA events provide candidates with hands-on training and live game action to supplement classroom instruction.

USA Lacrosse, the governing body for the sport in the United States and a Recognized Sports Organization by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, has announced a renewal of a partnership with Stack Sports, the leading provider of sports technology solutions, for an additional two years. As part of this continued collaboration, Sports Connect will serve as an Official League Registration Partner of USA Lacrosse. As an official league registration partner, Sports Connect is helping to streamline registration and league management processes for associated leagues.