For the past 18 years the Eastern Massachusetts Lacrosse Officials Association has been developing and supporting a comprehensive training program for boys’ youth lacrosse officials. EMLOA took over the endeavor from the Massachusetts Bay Lacrosse League and has refined the training program into a combination of in-person classes, online testing, and mentoring to prepare high school age players to officiate local youth leagues, often with fully certified high school officials working side-by-side.
The program has been developed by the EMLOA’s president, Darrell Benson, with regional assistance from Jon Izzo, Randy Wong, and Rick Catalano.
“We started with a full day of training in a classroom setting and have since refined it into our current itinerary of a pre-test, a two-hour classroom session, and a final rules test," Benson said. "From there, the first game on the field is with a high school official which includes an initial evaluation, and we fine tune from there.”
In 2023, there were 15 different classes covering Eastern Massachusetts, with over 300 participants. The Associate Officials need to be sponsored by their local towns that have availed themselves of the program. There is a nominal fee for the training which includes the class, online information, a rules hand out, and testing. Participants must purchase a striped shirt, hat, flags and whistle, with some towns picking up the tab for these items.
Each town has a coordinator who works with the EMLOA assigner to schedule the AO trainees for games. Senior AOs, who are generally high school seniors with a year or two of experience, can officiate the youngest levels alone, otherwise the associate official works games alongside a fully certified high school official.
Massachusetts Bay Lacrosse Director Bob Thompson has been a huge advocate of the program for the 12 years he has been involved. “We are teaching the kids about the complexities of officiating, and the importance of it,” said Thompson, who encouraged his two sons to be AO’s.
“They have gained a new perspective, as both players and now officials,” said Thompson, who is keenly aware of the need for more officials. “We hope the AO experience will be positive and that they continue on to be full officials in the future.”
Bill Wallace, president of the Old Colony Lacrosse League, spoke in equally glowing terms. “The AO program has been extremely successful in teaching the high school players how to referee and interact with the youth programs. The adult referees are always extremely helpful in teaching the rules of the game and how to promote sportsmanship,” Wallace said.
The benefits of the AO program are multiple.
“It saves the youth leagues money, as the AOs earn half the pay rate of the certified officials," Benson said. "We are able to educate the AOs on the rules and finer points of officiating, which they often take back to their high school teammates, which benefits everyone. And the program has laid the groundwork for many to eventually become fully certified officials during and post college.”
In a different scenario, an AO’s father decided to officiate with his son, rather than just driving him to his games. The father, a local high school head football coach, got fully certified as an official and now works a full high school schedule yearly.
Jacob Banks is currently a junior playing lacrosse at UMass-Boston. He started officiating as an AO for EMLOA and is now an Apprentice Official, eligible to officiate all sub-varsity high school games and youth games as a certified official.
“I got into officiating during high school and started off in my youth town lacrosse program, Banks said. “Playing lacrosse all my life, I have seen both sides of the lacrosse field, as a player and now as an official.” 
While continuing his collegiate lacrosse career, Banks admits having a greater appreciation for officials. “As I play, I watch their technique and how they carry themselves throughout games. Officiating has created a different kind of passion for me and how I look at the game of lacrosse. I look forward to continuing my officiating career after college and helping to continue to grow the sport of lacrosse,” he said.
While many Associate Officials move up the ranks, others concentratee on their collegiate careers and studies, with plans to return to officiating after graduating.
The AO’s often introduce themselves to the officiating crews of their high school games, which creates a very unique camaraderie. The questions on the field both before, during, and after the games help formulate an atmosphere which breaks down the usual “us vs them.” And it generally trickles down through their teammates and coaches, highlighting the human side of the dynamic between players and officials.
Mason Thompson is a freshman at King Phillip High School in Wrentham, Mass., and in his second year as an AO. “It has given me a completely different perspective of the officials,” Thompson said. He noted that he has been able to educate some of his teammates about the rules of lacrosse. “I am learning more about reffing all the time.”
The AO is generally placed on the side of the field opposite the benches. This gives them a little protection from the coaches. Occasionally the certified official has to remind the coaches that the AO is only in high school and new to officiating. The certified official may have to cover a little more ground than usual, but generally everyone is aware of the situation and a proper perspective is maintained. The certified official will generally support the AO's on-field training but is also careful not to overwhelm him.
EMLOA is one of the largest officials groups in the country. It has strongly supported the development of new officials through the Associate Officials program as well as training and mentoring fully certified officials. “The task is never ending,” Benson said.
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Doug Davenport serves as the Eastern Massachusetts Lacrosse Officials Association's vice president of compliance and recruiting.
