Lacrosse is the fastest growing team sport in northern CA. Our program started in 2004 when we fielded one boys’ JV team. For 2010 we had 116 players on six teams - boys' Seniors U-15, two Juniors U-13 and Lightning U-11 and the boys' Davis High School Blue Devils JV and Varsity teams. Unfortunately for the first time in 4 seasons we did not field a girls team in 2010 but fully plan to for the 2011 season.
Players are segregated based on age/birthdays. Any player in grade 9-12 must play on a high school team. For the 2011 season, Seniors (U15) must have birthdays between 1/1/1996 and 12/31/1997; Juniors (U13) must have birthdays between 1/1/1998 and 12/31/1999; Lightning (U11) must have birthdays between 1/1/2000 and 12/31/2001; Bantam (U9) must have birthdays between 1/1/2002 and 12/31/2003. Players can not play down a category. Players can play up with the permission of the parents, coach and DLA administration.
The cost of the club program is about $350 for the season. The cost for the Blue Devils boys' lacrosse is communicated directly to players and parents before the beginning of the season. Scholarships are available.
Each player must also obtain their own equipment. Equipment for boys runs about $300 - $450 and should last 3-4 years. For girls, the equipment cost is about $75 - $100.
All club players and coaches must be members of US Lacrosse. Registration for youth players is $25/year and for club high school players it is $35. A player’s registration with US Lacrosse is an integrated feature when players are signed up for camps and seasonal programs.
Spring practices can start as early as mid-January with the season extending to mid-May. For U15, U13, U11 & U9 girls and boys, practices vary between 2 to 3 times/week for 1.5 - 2 hours/session depending on the coach’s schedule. Practices are held at community parks and school fields in Davis. The Blue Devils Lacrosse teams practice times and locations are conveyed by the Varsity and JV coaches.
A typical club season will have 12-14 games, generally on the weekends with teams as far away as Redding and Palo Alto but most away games are typically 1-1.25 hours away. Boys tend to play a single game per day while the girls play 2 games at a venue that will host 3-6 games during a day. Playoffs, championships and season-end tournaments transpire in mid May to early June and are held in Northern California.
On May 14, 2005, Davis hosted the Northern California Junior Lacrosse boys’ high school championship playoffs (JV and Varsity) at the North Star fields. In May 2006, 2007 and 2008 Davis hosted the NCJLA Junior Girls season end tournament with over 30 teams from northern California participating.
The Davis Knights boys' Junior Varsity team, in its first year (2004), was one of four teams playing for the Junior Varsity championship. In 2006, our boys' JV team was one of the top 4 teams in northern California out of 22 to participate in the NCJLA playoffs while our girls' Crosse Fire Junior B team made it to the championship game. In 2007, both our boys' JV and Varsity teams made it into the season end playoffs. The Varsity team placed 4th in a league with 19 teams. The Junior girls B team had an undefeated regular season in 2007 and made it into the championship game for the second year in a row. Starting with its first CIF team in 2008 the Davis Blue Devils Varsity have made it into league playoffs every season. The Blue Devils were ranked 15th in Northern California on LAX Power in 2008, 12th in 2010.
In 2009, four girls from the Davis Crosse Fire team were selected and played on Norcal's teams that went to the U-15 national championships held in Baltimore, MD.
We are proponents of the Positive Coaching Alliance. The Positive Coaching Alliance established at Stanford University in 1998 professes that winning is a goal in youth sports but that there is a second, more important goal of using sports to teach life lessons through positive coaching. The following video of Jim Thompson, founder of the PCA explains the concept.
Perhaps more than any other team sport in North America, Lacrosse has a rich and deep history. If you are not familiar with Lacrosse watch the US Lacrosse produced video on our website "This Is Lacrosse." In addition you can find out more about the basics of the game by reviewing US Lacrosse's Parent's Guide.
Davis Lacrosse holds free clinics in September, followed by Fall Ball. After the main season (Feb-May) we hold another free clinic in the spring (late May/early June) followed by week long summer camps. In addition to our off season programs, there are camps and clinics in/around the Bay Area, most of which are listed on our site under Camps & Clinics. Camps and clinics provide a great opportunity for beginners to explore lacrosse before committing to play for a season and a chance for advanced players to hone individual skills.
At this stage of our club’s development our focus is on three things - learning the sport, having fun and practicing good sportsmanship. The teams are limited in the number of players so those that do join have an opportunity to play and grow as lacrosse players.
This sport and our Association in particular, strongly encourage the active participation of parents in running and supporting their kids’ team. It gives the parents an opportunity to participate in an activity with their child and it also distributes the tasks required to run the team among the parents, leaving the coach(es) to do what they do best which is coach the kids. Committee and Director positions in the Association include Board member, Coaching Committee, Treasurer, Publicity, Webmaster, Registrar, Fundraising, Accounting/bookkeeping, Risk Management, DLA Equipment manager, Uniform Coordinator, Field Coordinator. At the team level positions include Team Manager, Scorekeeper, Timekeeper, Spotter, Statistician, Side Line Manager, First Aid, Transportation coordinator, Team Equipment Manager and Water/Snacks.
We hold an organizational and sign up meeting generally in late September/early October. Information on free clinics, orientation meetings, dates, times and locations can be found at www.davislax.org . Be sure we have your email address and phone number if your son or daughter is interested in playing so we can contact you.
If there is anything else I can answer for you please do not hesitate to contact me via email (
) or phone (530-750-3892)
