IYL Laxers - this Friday night, April 9th, is IYL Night as the Issaquah Lacrosse HS team takes on Mercer Island for a repeat of the 2009 Washington State Championship game! Varsity game time is 8:00 PM. The winner will emerge as the front-runner for the top seed in the 2010 playoffs.

Love great Lacrosse? You do not want to miss this game, and do not miss the chance to show your IYL pride at school and at the game by wearing your IYL game Jersey. This is one of the few times each year when you can wear your game jersey at a non-game event; so get it on and get in the game!!

The Issaquah High School club has designated this Friday as their annual "IYL Night" to recognize all the up-an-coming lacrosse players in the entire IYL system, both young men and women, and no matter what High School they may ultimately attend.

Want more Friday night Lax action? The Issaquah Lacrosse JV takes on the Mercer Island JV just ahead of the Varsity game: 6:00 PM @ IHS Stadium. Make it a double-header Lax evening!!

Parents & Players --

Tomorrow marks the first week of regular season games for the 2010 Lacrosse season. Good luck to all!

Our players have the privilege of playing lacrosse on excellent turf (synthetic) fields for many of their games, both home and away. Our teams' have home games at the City of Sammamish Skyline Community Fields, and at Issaquah Central Park in the Highlands. We must take care of these fields and treat them well, or we could lose our access to them. The rules for turf fields are very similar among all the facilities in our region, and these rules or their equivalent are posted at each field:

* No food or drink of any kind allowed on the turf, except water. This means no coffee, sports drinks, energy bars, fruit, etc. Water only.

* No animals on the field ever.

* Rubber cleats only. No metal cleats.

* Carry off what you carry on. Do not leave any water bottles, paper, clothing, etc.
Never walk on the field occupied by another group.

In addition, the City of Issaquah has an additional rule which we must strictly enforce for all games at Central Park:

* Spectators are not allowed on the turf before, during or after the game. Only players, coaches, and officials (including timers, spotters and scorekeepers) are allowed inside the fenced area. The spectator area for Central Park #5 (boys field) is at the far south end of turfed area along the low chain-link fence.

While these rules may cause you some slight inconvenience in the moment, losing access to the fields would be even worse and could be the consequence of our collective failure to honor the rules. So please do your part.

Good luck Saturday. Honor the Game!

Everett Hearld Online Poll - Should WIAA Sanction Lacrosse?

The Everett Hearld's online site HearldNet is conducting an online poll and the topic is dear to Washington laxer's hearts: Should the WIAA add Lacrosse as a Sanctioned Sport?

Let's get out the Lacrosse community and make our voices heard ! Click here to vote in the HearldNet Readers Poll.Lacrosse proponents have repeatedly brought WIAA sanctioning to a vote only to have the fastest growing sport in Washington (and America) shown the door. This year their are two Lacrosse proposals before the WIAA Representative Assembly. One to add Lacrosse for girls at the middle school and high school level, and a second to add Lacrosse for boys at these same levels. The WIAA Assembly will vote on these proposals when they meet on April 23.

Vote in the HearldNet Poll and help create a data exclamation point!

If you would like to learn more about Lacrosse and the WIAA, take a look at the excellent piece created by the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association: Why Isn't Boy's Lacrosse a WIAA Sanctioned Sport?

WSU Shutters Lax Program for 2010 - Huskies Now Playing CWU Wildcats

UW Huskies vs CWU Wildcats

The "Lax Apple Cup" match between the UW Huskies and WSU Cougars scheduled for February 20th has been replaced by a UW - Central Washington University Wildcats matchup. The Huskies/Wildcats matchup is same time/same place - Feb 20th at 7:00 PM at Eastside Catholic School.

We still have Dogs & Cats playing together and this should be some great regional college lacrosse! Be there!!

IYL Senior Boy's Clinic and Skill Assessments

The 2010 annual Senior Boy's 3-day Skill Assessment and Clinic begins Friday, 5th February at Skyline Community Fields in Sammamish and continues on Saturday, 6th & Monday, 8th.

All eligible* Seniors participate in a series of drill stations, running and agility tests and scrimmages. This is a high-intensity beginning to the 2010 Spring season for all Seniors. The League also uses these sessions to select the two IYL "A" teams and assess the general skill level of all players so that regular team rosters can be assigned to create teams that are at rough parity for regular season play.

All eligible* registered Senior (7/8 Grades) Boys should attend all three clinics, and must attend at least two of the three clinics. The second clinic will be held on Saturday, 6th from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM and again on Monday, 8th from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. All clinics are held at Skyline Community Fields.

Note: Players should arrive with full gear and be dressed & game ready at the clinic start times. Registration opens at 5:00 PM on Friday and 5:30 PM on Saturday and Monday. Players & Parents must turn in a signed Concussion Awareness Form before joining the clinic drills.

*Eligibility Requirements: Players must be registered, have all IYL registration fees paid in full, have a valid US Lacrosse membership, and have provided a signed Concussion Awareness Form to league officials as required by Washington State law.

Apple Cup LAX in Sammamish: UW Huskies vs WSU Cougars

UW Huskies vs WSU Cougars

Put the Apple Cup of Lacrosse on your calendar!! The University of Washington Huskies face off against the Washington State Cougars @ 7:00 PM on the Eastside Catholic School stadium turf Feburary 20th.

This is a free event!! Do not miss this opportunity to watch some spirited college lacrosse!!

Washington Stealth Inaugural Season Opener this Saturday!!

The Stealth open this Saturday against the Colorado Mammoth; come watch Stealth Captain Jason Bloom & his teammates rock the box at our Washington Stealth season opener this Saturday, 9th January!! The Stealth have brought professional lacrosse to the Pacific Northwest and it is our turn to step up and show our support by attending this inaugural season opener!!

Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-877-MY-75TIX. Directions to the arena and game info can be found on the Stealth Website.

Stealth General Manager Doug Locker has this message for all WA LAX fans:

"We need your help to make the first Professional Lacrosse Game in Washington a huge success! I am making a personal appeal to each of you to help spread the word and encourage those you know to attend the season opener this Saturday night at 7:30pm vs the Colorado Mammoth. As you know its important that we kick off the season with a huge bang and we need everyone to come out for this game to not only show our area that we can support lacrosse, but show the NLL that Washington lacrosse is behind their team."

Get your tickets and get in the game!!