Coaching
Coaches are trained parent volunteers, varsity high school girls lacrosse players, and adult women coaches.
Please contact your location director if you’re interested in volunteer coaching. If you are unsure of who your location director is, please fill out the Coaching Application or the Coach and Ref form. You can also check out our Volunteer Page for more detailed information.
Yes, IGLA will run a background check on all coaches and volunteers who are 18 years of age and older. Filling out the Coach and Ref Form gives all the information we need to run a check.
Weather
Practice and games will have a 30 minute delay for any thunder or lightning. Severe weather may cause cancellations. Cancellations will be posted on the home page (iglax.org). IGLA also uses a text message service for any cancellations within one hour. Please ensure that the cell number you indicate on your daughter’s Player Information Form is the number you wish to be contacted on for weather-related texts. Park District weather hotlines are also listed on your Community Page.
Learning the Game
IGLA hosts parent meetings and coaching clinics throughout the year. Parents are also encouraged to observe practices and games and ask questions. US Lacrosse is the governing body of lacrosse and has many great resources.
Equipment
Each player must have a girls lacrosse stick, goggles, and a molded mouth guard for all practices and games. IGLA loans equipment for FREE for the Little Laxers (PreK – K) program so no equipment is needed!
– 2nd/3rd/4th Pink and 5th/6th Pink may have a modified pocket, meaning the ball does not need to be visible over the sidewall, allowing more give to ease catching.
Dick’s Sporting Goods is a partner and offers discounts, including Preseason Equipment Days. IGLA also loans equipment for Little Laxers (4yrs – Kindergarten) and the Preseason Clinics.
Program Choices
IGLA offers two levels of league play: Pink and Purple. Pink is for all players regardless of skill level. Purple is for players with advanced skill. If your daughter is considering Purple, she must first attend an assessment where participants are assessed on stick skills and game play. Purple teams practice twice a week, have a higher participation fee, and may travel more for games.
League Format / Game Schedule
The season begins on a Sunday with a 1.5 hour practice and then practices are during the week– once a week for Pink teams and twice a week for Purple teams. All practices consist of skill development, scrimmaging, and team building.
Games begin the second Sunday of the season. Each team will have 1-2 games on Sundays between the hours of 12pm and 5pm. Pink games run 20 minute halves and Purple games run 25 minute halves. Both the Fall League and the Spring League include a Tournament where games run all day with teams assigned either a morning or an afternoon time slot. In the spring, Purple players have the opportunity to participate in an additional tournament on a Saturday.
Your Location Director will communicate details for all practices and games via email. You can also view practice and game information on your location’s Community Page.
Your location director will send out game schedule reminders weekly. To view the schedule on-line at any time, click HERE.
Your daughter will be placed on a team based on her age: 8U (1st/2nd graders), 10U (3rd/4th graders), 12U (5th/6th graders), and 14U (7th-9th graders.) We accept teammate requests during registration; while we cannot guarantee that these requests will be granted, we will do our best. Please note, requests will only be considered if they are reciprocal/mutual and both girls have the same names on the form.
Heath & Safety
All practices and games will start with ACL/MCL prevention practices exclusively for our young ladies. For more information on injury prevention, please visit US Lacrosse’s Healthy and Safety Page.
US Lacrosse does not mandate the use of helmets in girls lacrosse given research that indicates a greater incidence of concussions when helmets are worn. In order to minimize stick contact with the head, US Lacrosse has implemented checking rules in girls youth lacrosse, at each grade and skill level. Please also refer to US Lacrosse Concussion Awareness Page.
Payment Questions
The Illinois Girls Lacrosse Association understands that occasionally a player needs to withdraw from a program. Reasons include serious illness or injury. Please notify us as soon as possible. Refunds will not be given for missed practices, games or tournaments due to personal schedule conflicts, weather or acts of god. Refunds will be reviewed and processed within 7-10 business days. Following are the guidelines for refunds. Please note, Park Districts have their own Refund Policy that would take precedence over the IGLA refund policy.
- Up to 7 days after the first day of program – refund pro-rata based on days of attendance less a 2.5% processing fee.
- No refunds will be issued after 7 days of program start date unless due to injury or illness. This applies to spring league, summer purple and fall league. In the case of injury or illness, a note from the doctor is required and refunds will be issued on a pro-rata basis less a 2. 5% processing fee. Doctor’s notes can be sent to: Illinois Girls Lacrosse Association, 20 Danada Square West, Suite 289, Wheaton, IL 60189 or to carolyn@iglax.org
- Pinny’s will be refunded less a 2.5% processing fee when requested.
- Summer camp, purple assessment and pre-season clinic refunds will not be given on or after the program start date. All refunds prior to start date will incur a 2.5% processing fee.
- Purple Play Day, Youth Fest and Fall Fest Fees will not be refunded after 7 days before tournament date. Refunds will be only given for serious illness or injury.
- In the event of inclement weather, an act of God and/or unplayable field conditions, IGLA reserves the right to alter schedules, fields, and playing time, and/or cancel any and all games impacted by weather conditions to maintain safe play conditions and/or keep on time.
Tournaments have fixed expenses relating to field rental & facilities, staging and set-up costs, insurance, personnel and other matters regardless of cancellation due to weather. As such, family or player fees will not be refunded due to weather or unplayable field conditions. - Questions or inquiries can be sent to Carolyn Barnes, IGLA Controller, at carolyn@iglax.org.
Yes, you may pay IGLA fees with a personal check. The IGLA Non Sufficient Funds (NSF) Check Policy is as follows: IGLA charges a $25.00 fee for each check that has been presented as payment and has been returned unpaid by the issuing bank. IGLA will notify the customer by email or phone of the NSF check and fee. The customer will have 5 business days from the date of initial notification to submit payment of NSF fee and participation fee.
Yes! We want to give every girl who would like to play the opportunity to do so, and offer scholarships for this purpose. If you would like to request financial assistance, please contact IGLA Controller Carolyn Barnes at carolyn@iglax.org. All correspondence will be kept confidential.
Yes! As a non-profit, IGLA greatly benefits from donations of any amount. This allows us to provide financial assistance to those players in need. Please indicate your donation amount during the registration process, or click here to donate directly to the IGLA .