After playing in and watching A LOT of lacrosse games over the past 40 plus years I can honestly say that the level of officiating on the boys and girls side is AMAZINGLY HORRIBLE.

I think it's time these officials be held accountable for their lack of understanding of the rules.
I witnessed many games get out of control (boys games) due to the fact that the officials didn't properly control the game and call blatant fouls when they happened. These games ended with kids hurt, parents really upset, coaches really upset and complete chaos on the field.

Find out the NAME of the official you feel should be reported, their association (Nassau or Suffolk), tournament NAME and/or game DATE and send it to me.

wondering what you will be doing to hold them accountable?will you be outing them by name or going after the certificate they earned to supplament their income?phillax

The biggest issue with the officials on the boys HS side to me is that they don't actually call the game according to the rules. Lacrosse is a contact sport but if there is any contact and the hit player falls down a flag is thrown. 99% of these hits that I have seen have been clean according to the rules.

Yeah but you see the same at the college level.

Flopping or falling almost always gets the call with weak officials in all sports. Nobody reaally knows lax rules especially the girls rules. They change from game to game quite a bit

really hop? you are the referee of BOTC and you miss a lot, you try to let the posters go too long and sometimes the thread gets out of hand - you are inconsistent in many of your rules interpretations from one thread to the other but at the end of the day you are doing the best you can and most of us appreciate what a hard and thankless job you have - much like the hard working and under appreciated lacrosse officials of Long Island - that was for you Campy

FYI.. The Hop is not the only referee here at BOTC and is probably not missing anything.. Like you, he is entitled to his opinion.. not really.. he is MORE entitled than you, he is not anonymous.

Maybe both.

actually I saw some excellent officiating in the summer league.

Ok Mr Official. Lol

Actually no, I'm a coach. lol u big mouth dad hanging over the fence yelling loose ball push!!!!

You are going to take parents skewed opinions and go tell on the refs ? What a joke.

no I said refs in south shore summer league were pretty solid. no issues. that's all.

Actually I will be reporting these findings to US Lacrosse for review. Control of officials may be shifted as the level of officiating from some is far below standards.
Some are great....some are really bad. Bad ones will be eliminated.

But thanks for the stupid response.

Question....as in other section 11 sports....when it's play off time in lacrosse, is there the same selection for post season officiating. in other words I believe let's say in football or basketball the refs are rated by coaches throughout the season and the best work post season games. also I'd like know....these club tournaments I figure are held to a higher level than let's say a PAL game. are the officials specifically selected for those tournaments as well. I mean is there a selection committee for tournament play where officials are chosen?

and I agree with a previous poster a bit. a glaring difference between lacrosse of the past and of present day is the calls due to a big hit. there was a time when defensive players were told in so many words not to let anyone within a foot of the cage. I understand stick skills and poking as well as stick checking have taken over a bit but why is the defensive player no longer allowed to lower his shoulder and deliver a hit without obviously striking his opponents head?

now a days an offensive player gets hit and falls on the turf and the flags come out. even if it isn't a dangerous hit. just asking that's all.

US Lacrosse is woefully inept on so many levels - coaching education, officiating, player eligibility, not advocating with the NCAA to stop these 7th grade verbals and the best is their butt kissing of all the big travel programs.

The travel programs run this sport. Sorry.

Larry - I know that none of us are anonymous to you and Hop only too each other whether or not we are registered but how are you and The Hop not anonymous as well? we only know your screen name. I am being serious about this, why is he more "entitled" because he has a screen name (only referring to opinions not content, I agree you have right to content)

Good Morning, Dickie.. First, let me just say that I am not anonymous. My name is Larry LarryMiller. I have been around for many years in the soccer venue and it is common knowledge that my screen name is my name. Second, You are not anonymous when you register and sign in no matter what you use as a screen name. That is my opinion. We tend to be more careful when we post, tend to be kinder and don't throw B.S. around as fact. You have to know that yourself when you come in as Dickie Dunn as opposed to coming in anonymous. As for The Hop, he is a great fan of the game and is very knowledgeable. I respect him and so should all of you.

One more thing.. As for content, I do not delete posts as easily from registered users for content. I have more "respect" for them. In my mind, they are more entitled.

Hi Again Dickie Dunn. As we discussed before and you agreed I am entitled to an opinion regarding any number of topics on this board. My over four decades of lacrosse experience and current roles within the game give me an in depth perspective into the state of our sport which is most likely what Larry was referring to.

While I appreciate the hard work many officials do (and there are many good ones) it's the many sub par officials that are a real problem. I witnessed first hand how two officials lost control of several games during a two day tournament that resulted in injuries, coach arguments and parent fights at the end of each game where these two were "officiating".

I am sure you will agree that the good refs deserve good feedback and the bad ones need retraining or dismissal. Currently there is really not enough feedback and oversight of these officials especially at the club tournament level.
The safety of the boys is at stake and the integrity of the game is in question when certain officials take to the field.
That's my point.

Here is a question about safety, and how officials should react: At Hershey shootout, it looked like a kid caught the end of his shaft into his own neck during a braveheart game chasing after the opposing player. The opposing player went on to score, but parents were frantic about the injured player. I don't recall seeing the officials rush over, and it took the ambulance a long time to get there.

Should the officials have reacted faster? Stopped game? Ran to Tourney organizers to get assistance? Hope the boy is ok?