I tend to allow it...to a point. I tell them, "I don't mind chiriping, as long as its funny. And I'm the arbiter of funny. If you drop an f bomb or anything about someones mom or mom's mom, we got issues."

The one thing I will flag (and penalize hard) is anything racist. I've had them a couple times were someone's told someone to "go back to basketball" or "don't you have a math problem to solve"? Non starter.

Any funny or over the top stories about coaches, parents or players?

SoccerRef: I love reading your posts. I ref lacrosse at both the youth and HS levels and got into it for the same reasons, will call out "rocking chair" fellow officials and admit mistakes when done. I used to engage parents, but found now it doesn't help unless its a quick, "that's a youth lax rule not HS." as your running. I don't know about you, but I tend to write down the first name of the head coach and refer to him/her by name and cover my mouth while talking to them from the side not directly in front of them. We're fortunate in Lax that many parents don't understand the rules as much as soccer, so we don't get as much harsh critics. I will agree additionally, the retention rate is low and our schedulers critique us on everything from hand positioning to the number of seconds we hold our out of bounds call. One question, do you let the kids "chirp" at each other?

We've got both in the house as well. Son is a U16 goalie still playing a Tier 1 season which juggles with Varsity WCAC lax. Hard as both want first dibs status on commitment. Really like two sport kids as they don't get burned out on one. Younger son plays JV at a different HS and I ref lax. We also have seasons for the caps in our 9th year and go annually to the Frozen Four, so we love both sports.

My son plays travel hockey at a Tier 1 level. We shut him down right after his season for a month (except for his private lessons 1x per week) and let him enjoy Lacrosse. I found that he's way more refreshed when he comes back to the ice vs. the year round kids.

If you think you're kid might miss out on making the upper team by not playing in the spring league, sometimes the opposite is true. The kids flaws get noticed during spring and it can taint the coaches vs. the kid who comes in fresh at the tryouts and looks like the shiny new object.

I also worry about wear/tear on joints and burnout, so letting them play something different is really great. A couple of years ago, Syracuse had a lax midfielder who was also Mr. Ohio in hockey. Syracuse coach commented on how much he loved that because 2 sport athletes can balance/time and pressure really well.

I'm 50 and definitely need to become flexible and it would be nice to wear a non-XL shirt again. Heard so many good things about Yoga and its benefits with core strength and overall well being. I get easily frustrated with learning new things especially if everyone around me is killing it. Is it better to get private tutor to learn the correct posture/poses or are there classes that cater to beginners?

Live in Falls Church and work in Herndon, so either would work well for recommendations. Should I go to youtube/videos first or best that I start from scratch at a facility or trainer?

I'm not trying to adopt a lifestyle change, just want to be stronger and more flexible. Thanks for suggestions.

As a referee (worked over 50+ games last spring), I notice the "sticker" kids (those with helmet stickers from these clubs) are just better players than the ones that don't play travel. IMHO, the kids who play indoor box pass, cut and move more effectively than the ones who play outdoor alone. In fact, I would encourage 8th-9th grade kids to play travel instead of JV HS. It's really hard to legislate a JV game with only 2 referees on the field. I run really hard, but I know some of my peers don't in a JV game saving it for Varsity contest that follows. Football players often play JV lacrosse and love that big hit from 5+ yards away which produces concussions and keeps kids from playing this great game.

From my perspective, does the coach make your kid a better player and team mate. My son was the worst attack man on a mad lax roster, but he became a much better player during practices even though he rarely the field during games.

As for the yelling coaches, they really don't add any value. The more a coach yells and screams at his players or officials, it's less about the kids and more about them and their egos.

BTW... I don't mind interested parents. I rarely hear the yelling as I'm too busy trying to get in the right position to make/not make the call.

One thing I will say, travel coaches let kids get away without mouthguards or wearing them as fishing lures and not properly in the mouth. Even if it doesn't look cool, please get your kid to wear it. It really does make a difference and in youth lax it's a 1 min penalty if we see them without it in properly.

I love my gym and work out 3-4 times per week at 24hour in Falls Church City. Awesome wifi and a bargain for everything you get for the price. However, first world problems now appear at this location, which is the 4th most profitable in their portfolio. The Spin classes are terrific, but the number of bikes out of service are starting to approach the same percentage as metro escalators.

Any other member noticed the number of "suppliment bag" toting people on the gym floor now? This gym definitely curtails weight slamming and grunting, which makes life better, but I see so many people toting around duffel bags of protien bars, supplements and special shake/water mixes. I never knew that these bags were the must, because a water fountain or water bottle isn't good enough and you never know when you need a 3rd set of weight lifting gloves or instant bar.

Yep, I've got a 1st world problem. if this is my only worry in life, I got it real good.

At 4 straight wins, he's going to get paid at the end of this season. He's probably better than half the other starting QB's right now. Someone will throw money at him because he's a stable face of a franchise and has gotten better each season.

Loved Detachable Penis. Almost as much as Bitchin' Camaro, or All I Was a Pepsi (Institutionalized).

"Woke up this morning, with a wine glass in my hand.
Who's wine?
What Wine?
Where the hell did i Dine?"

Peter Frampton -- Do You Feel Like We Do. (opening line).

Oh please, Oh please, post his name. The social media world would have a field day and you two would probably make all the talk shows. We'd even set up a "go fund me" page to make you whole. People Magazine would love this. Think of the law firm he works at and how they would just love the publicity.

The racoon stripe down the middle of the head with sporadic grey hair jetting out in multiple directions. Agree with the sweatpants. Also, the huge moo moo.

I took my 13 yo to ZBB in the lawn. Perfectly fine. Big difference between ZBB crowd and FGL,
JA or LB crowd.

Wear baggy cargo shorts.

Great line from Dale Carnegie's Influence book, "better to be interested not interesting." However, getting there is tougher.

#1 Nothing beats a Smile: You smile at people, they smile back. They also feel warmer with your smile.

#2 Give Compliments: Notice something about them on their person. If it's a woman, jewelry like, "that's such a beautiful necklace, how did you get it? I was thinking about getting one for my sister/mom/friend." People love compliments about their style -- it validates their good taste and they'll reflect that on you.

#3 Take Notice about What Makes People Tick: I tend to ask questions that will always bring a second response and follow up question. They usually start with "Tell Me what was..." For example, Tell me what was your best concert ever? Tell me what your best moment of the year was in 2015? Best moment of the summer? Whatever they come up with, that gives you a vision on what is important to them. Could be family, heavy metal music, traveling or whatever... it totally becomes a great vision into it. Follow it up with a question like, "wow always heard Zac Brown puts on a great show. What makes his concert so over the top for you?"

Above all, notice their body language. If they don't turn more than their head towards you, even when it's a subject they love to talk about, they're not interested in talking to you, or at least not right now. Don't take it personally.

If you're dating and talking to people at bars, etc..., be happy with quick rejection. You never spent time money or energy on them. And you got to move on to the next opportunity fast.