Frequently Asked Questions

USA Lacrosse provides lots of benefits to our players and team, in 2021 they awarded us a First Stick Grant of $15,000 worth of gear for new players and an AED for the safety of our players.  USA Lacrosse through it's membership provides insurance for our players, coaches, officials and fans that attend games and practices. For players this covers them anytime they have a stick in their hand anywhere. Your player could be doing independent skill building in the backyard and is still covered if he got hurt. For the team's blanket coverage for coaches, officials and fans it is an all or nothing coverage. Meaning if all our players are USA Lacrosse members the blanket coverage is in place. If one player is discovered to not be a member the team is not coved against injury or liability. We monitor membership closely because of that. 

Lacrosse is operated as a club team of Anderson County High School. Unlike varsity sports, clubs receive little to no funding from the school or district. The district did give us the field that we use behind the Middle School and we are extremely grateful for it. Other than that, anything the club needs or wants, we have to provide it for ourselves. A/C Lax Association works very hard to keep costs for players as low as possible. The assistant coaches receive a minimal stipend to help with fuel costs and trainings. The head coach is an unpaid volunteer. The dues that players play cover the cost of field maintenance, balls, field paint, officials, necessary equipment, tournaments and league fees. Parents are more than welcome to attend board meetings or ask for a teams budget. Better yet get involved and be a part of the A/C Lax Assoc.

Yes, we are very proud to say we have never told a player they can't play in the regular spring season because of financial situations. We have several options. There are sponsors that will help with dues, we have a few player grants, we have fundraising options and even have work days that players can earn enough to cover their dues. We always find a way to get every player on the field.

Coach Jeff is not an "it takes a village" kind of guy but the coaches can't do it all. We require parents to help in lue of paying outside people to help get everything done. If we didn't have parents help the dues for each player would be much higher to cover those expenses. 

Bearcats National is our version of a national travel team. Anytime we practice and play outside of the regular season it falls under Bearcats National. Tournaments prefer travel teams to school teams for divisional placement and it help separate budgets between the activities. 

Also, Bearcats National can base teams on birth year instead of graduation year. This is how most tournaments create their divisions, placing a team in the division based on their oldest players birth year. We can have a U12, U14, U16 and U18 team all under the same Bearcats National umbrella, which gets us registration discounts at the tournaments.

Practice times will vary some depending on the season. For the spring season, we will normally start Mustangs practice at 330 or 4 and they will last an hour and a half. Bearcats practices (when light allows) will start at the end of middle school practice and last for 2 hours.

For the Mustangs, the league sets the game schedule and it changes from year to year. Last year we played our games on Tuesdays and Saturdays. For the A/C Men's and Bearcats of the Bluegrass, the schedule is set by the Head Coach, this is generally done before the spring season starts. Most games are either on Mondays, Thursdays or Saturdays. 

That would be awesome! Start by talking with Coach Jeff, let him know how you would like to help out and he can direct you. Attend the next board meeting and offer to become active with the board. Offer to take on something that you think would help the teams. Come to practice and offer to help out. We can always use an extra set of eyes or hands in practice.

Every player will need to supply their own mouth guard, athletic cup, and cleats. We do have a small selection of extra cleats they are welcome to have. 

Every player will need a helmet, gloves, lacrosse stick, arm pads and shoulder pads. Because USA Lacrosse gave us a First Stick Grant in 2021, we have gear to lend to players. Under the terms of the grant, brand new players will get the first option to use the gear for their 1st season of play. We ask that as the season progresses and parents see the dedication and love for the game by their sons that they start purchasing gear for them. They make great Christmas and Birthday presents. If, after new players are geared up, we offer gear to any player that needs some. Gear rental per season is $50. This covers the cost of replacing gear as it wears out.

There is also a group out of Lexington called For Keeps Lacrosse that will give players gear. Ask Coach Jeff for contact information and details. 

We have 2 options on jerseys. The team will provide a player a jersey for a rental cost of $20 per season. The second option is a player can order a personalized jersey with their name on the back for roughly $65 (cost varies by year.) With a personalized jersey, players can chose available numbers of their choice. That number is then reserved for that player as long as they are eligible to play for that team.

The Mustangs will play in Lexington, Berea, Versailles and Elizabethtown during the regular season. The high school Men's team will play against teams in Louisville, Lexington, Shelbyville, Elizabethtown, and Bowling Green. Because our high school team is not part of a league Coach Jeff tries to schedule the last game of the season in Owensboro followed by dinner at one of the world famous BBQ places in Owensboro. This have become our "championship" game.

The lacrosse team has welcomed all player, whether they are a hardened athlete or a bit of a misfit. Playing lacrosse takes athleticism and brains. You can be a muscle bound body builder but if you can't react quickly or don't have fast vision of the field you won't be a good lacrosse player. High level lacrosse players come in all shapes and sizes. Coach Jeff believes every player regardless of size or skill can contribute to the team. The only thing Coach requires is that each player is coachable. That means putting in the effort to improve, listening to instructions, being positive on the field and sidelines, and being helpful. We are not a win at all costs team, we learn from our defeats and we will win the right way or we will keep learning. 

The culture of the team changes a little from year to year based on current players. The coaching staff works to insure that the players remain positive, embraces their team mates and grow into a lacrosse family each year. Like any family there are always relatives that don't prefer each others company but like family, we teach players to love their teammates anyways.    

Lacrosse has the highest player to scholarship ratio of any sport. 2.4%* of high school basketball players and 3.6%* of high school football players will get a scholarship. 12.2%* of high school lacrosse players receive a scholarship to play at the next level. For the last several years, a dozen or so colleges have been adding a men's lacrosse program and we don't see that trend ending anytime soon especially since lacrosse being added to the 2028 Olympic. 

Whether your player will be offered a scholarship or not is a question we can't give you an honest answer to. What we can tell you is that if your player works hard, learns the craft of lacrosse, keeps his grades and GPA at a high level, and makes himself noticed at showcases and tournaments, he has a good chance to get noticed. THE FIRST THING A COLLEGE COACH WILL LOOK AT, BEFORE ANYTHING TO DO WITH LACROSSE, IS A PLAYERS GPA! THE SECOND THING THEY WILL LOOK AT IS A PLAYERS & PARENTS SOCIAL MEDIA. College coaches don't want players they will have to babysit to keep their grades up and won't touch a player that could embarrass their team because of questionable or bad social media posts and likes. 

Coach Jeff has helped several players get scholarship offers. Some players have taken them and some went a different direction. Bottom line is simply play lacrosse for the love of the game and to enhance your high school experience. If playing in college becomes an option awesome, if not love the brotherhood of teammates you have today.

*Based on NCAA enrollment and player statistics.

The short answer is YES, absolutely. I've thrown brand new players in that met the requirements (paperwork) after 1 day of practice. I've always believed you learn more out about games in a game than in practice. You learn the skills in practice.

For Mustang players, the coaches make sure all the players get in the games for a minimum of 1 quarter. That may be spread over the whole game but they all get to play.

The High School teams are a little different, everyone always gets to play but in tight games less skilled players may only see a couple minutes. In 7 years of coaching I've never had anyone ride the bench for an entire game unless it was for disciplinary reasons. Extended playing time is earned based on a players skill, attitude, sportsmanship, coachability and determination. I will bench an outstanding and highly skilled player if he has a bad attitude, shows poor sportsmanship or becomes un-coachable during a game. That goes back to winning the right way not just for the sake of winning. 

After 8 years of coaching I'm still trying to understand the game. Generally though, a new players first season will be a learning and skill development season. I've seen players get almost to the end of their first year and something clicks and it all starts to fall in place for them. I've seen other that take 2 years for the same results. As a parent, when you see them getting discouraged or frustrated remind them it's a learning process and all skills worth having take time to learn. You can always text Coach Jeff and let him know your player is struggling trying to improve and the coaching staff will give them words of encouragement or some off to the side drills or instructions to help them along.