YOUTH OFFICIALS

IMPORTANT - Youth officials are assigned locally. (That means...by the local, hosting club. MLA does not assign officials.)

Officials for Youth level games are NOT assigned by the Montana Lacrosse Officials Association.  The MT LOA assigns officials to all High School Boys contests.

How do to find local lacrosse officials?

1) Recruit future officials early - to be trained by Montana Lacrosse Officials Association - MT LOA

• Statewide training starts in February. Annually the MT LOA trains Boys game officials online and at local clinics. There's even on-field training to get a new official ready.
  • Officials can choose to become USL certified, qualifying them for High School assignments (if they are older than the level of the players), and for higher pay for Youth games than that paid to non-USL certified officials.
  • MT LOA Training is open to
    • Both High School and Youth officials. 
    • Those seeking USL Certification, and those who are not seeking USL Certification.
• If you live near a college with a Lacrosse club - contact that team. (U. Montana, Montana State, U. Great Falls and MSU-Billings each have teams / clubs.)
• Your city may have an informal "Men's Club" that hosts casual drop-in games.  You can find former players there. Often these players can be reached through the college team in your vicinity.  Many have facebook pages.
• A request to Montana Officials Association (MOA) at the Montana High School Association office in Helena for a list of local Football or Basketball officials may identify experienced officials from other sports who want to jump in.  The MHSA can be reached at 406-442-6010.  
• Your local officials can become a resource for both High School and Youth game assignments and boost the local knowledge of the game!
• See the Officials section of this web site for more details.

2) Recruit parents, players, friends of the game - former players in your region.

• You know your community best. Use the local communication network to find officials for your youth events,...just as you reached out to potential players and coaches.
  • ANY High School player can officiate Youth level games.
  • Reach out to your local HS teams & coaches 
• Of course, those who know the game are the easiest to prepare to officiate. However, spectators of the game may love the opportunity to contribute. 
• Try to assign those with limited knowledge of lacrosse to the lower age contests.
• If you have a trained official in your region, ask them to conduct a "Crash Course Clinic"  (see below.)

MT LOA Can Help:

1) "HELP WANTED!"  -- In the event you wish to invite HS officials to help with Youth level games, please make a request to to send out an "Help Wanted" announcement on your behalf.  We will also send the communication to those who participated in training, but did not intend to become certified officials.

Please include:

1. Schedule and location of your event
2. Key contacts
3. Any other details that officials may find helpful

We STRONGLY recommend you contact us a few weeks in advance. Our officials are heavily booked during the seasons.

2) "CRASH COURSE CLINIC"  -- If available, a local, certified official may be able to conduct a short course to train your officials.  This should be considered - a Bare Minimum - training.  Just enough to help those who have some knowledge of the game and are officiating very infrequently.

We STRONGLY recommend you contact us a few weeks in advance. Our officials are heavily booked during the seasons.

PAYING OFFICIALS: 

See "2015 Season Officials Fees" section on the MLA site. (table copied below)

• MLA maintains a payment rate schedule for Officials.  It is posted on this web site.
  • PLEASE NOTE - Rate are higher for those who are Current, USL Certified officials.
  • Consistent pay, helps us keep officials coming back year over year.
  •  
• Local events can arrange their own payment process.
  • RECOMMENDATION - Local events pay officials onsite at the conclusion of the contest. Most clubs have a payer available with a check book at the event for this purpose.  Others hosting clubs choose to mail checks out following an event. 
  • Tracking actual games officiated, not just games assigned helps to avoid payment errors.
  • Please communicate your process to the officials.

2015

Season Officials Fees

TRAVEL

• NOTE - There is a fee that HS Boys teams pay per game to cover Official's mileage.
• You may wish to compensate for mileage - to attract officials.