Click on the question/topic below for answers to some commonly asked questions.
Oak Mountain Area Girls Lacrosse is a group of girls lacrosse club teams in the Oak Mountain, Alabama area. We currently offer 12U, 14U and High School teams.
Because lacrosse is not yet an official Alabama High School Association-sanctioned sport, all lacrosse teams in Alabama, including ours, are club teams. We play under the name/mascot of our local school system (Oak Mountain), as do many of the other teams in the Greater Birmingham Youth Lacrosse Association (GBYLA), though we are not technically a “school team.”
Girls do NOT have to live in the Oak Mountain school district to play. We are proud that our teams have included girls from Chelsea, Helena, Briarwood, Our Lady of the Valley, home school, and more. If your community does not have a team, GBYLA will assign you to the team whose practice field is closest to your home.
We have amazing coaches who lead our teams. Some of our coaches are paid, and others graciously volunteer their time. All have backgrounds in lacrosse and/or coaching, and provide a positive atmosphere in which the girls learn new skills and are challenged to grow as players.
The teams are supported by parent volunteers who jump in and help with everything from game day activities (like setting up the field and keeping score) to recruiting/promotion (like helping run “Try LAX” events in our area or maintaining this website). Our girls have fallen in love with the game of lacrosse, and we do what it takes to help grow the game and make sure they have every opportunity to play!
Greater Birmingham Youth Lacrosse (GBYLA) is the governing body of youth lacrosse in the Greater Birmingham Metropolitan Area. Oak Mountain Girls Lacrosse plays in the GBYLA league.
Girls do NOT have to live in the Oak Mountain school district to play. We are proud that our teams have included girls from Chelsea, Helena, Briarwood, Our Lady of the Valley, home school, and more. If your community does not have a team, GBYLA (our governing body) will assign you to the team whose practice field is closest to your home.
We currently offer 12U, 14U, and High School teams. If 10U players register but we do not end up fielding a 10U team, they will play with the nearest available 10U team.
The fee for the regular spring season varies from year to year, and covers the cost of things like practice field rental, stadium rental, high school coaches’ salaries, referee fees, uniform rental, and some types of equipment. Fees for the 2025 spring season are:
- High School: $399
- 14U: $350
- 12U: $350
- 10U: $310
Registration is open November 1 – December 31. Learn more about how to register here.
Our coaches and volunteers try to keep fees as low as possible, and historically, we have not required any sort of fundraising. In addition, several of our coaches graciously volunteer their time, helping defray costs for our participants. It is our goal to keep the sport as accessible as possible. Please let us know if you have questions about fees.
In addition to the team fee, you will probably also have some initial costs for equipment. You can find detailed information about required equipment on our Cost & Equipment page.
Required equipment for field players includes a girls’ or women’s lacrosse stick, goggles, mouthguard (must be a visible color other than clear or white), cleats, sports bra, and shorts to go under the kilt.
Required equipment for goalies includes a goalie stick, helmet with a face mask, a separate throat protector, mouthguard (must be visible color other than clear or white), padded gloves, a chest protector, and leg pads that protect shins and thighs.
You can find additional info about equipment on our Cost & Equipment page.
To register your child for the regular spring season, you will need to follow a two-step process:
- Purchase a USA Lacrosse membership. This is required for participation on any team in the Greater Birmingham Lacrosse Association (GBYLA) league.
- Register for the spring season on the GBYLA website. Registration for the spring season opens November 1, and the deadline to register is December 31.
If you have registration-specific questions, please email GBYLA Operations Manager Susie Margotta at: susie@gbyla.org.
Practices
Practices are held at various locations within Heardmont Park. Heardmont Park is located in northern Shelby County at:
Heardmont Park
5458 Cahaba Valley Road
Birmingham, AL 35242
Games
Home games will be held at Heardmont Park. The 14U team typically plays on field H3, and the High School team typically plays in the stadium. The location for 12U practices and games is TBD.
We typically play each team in our league twice (one home game, and one away). Away games are held at our competitors’ home fields at various locations around the greater Birmingham area. Auburn also plays in our league, so each of our teams will typically have an away game scheduled on a weekend in Auburn, as well.
Practices begin in early-mid January and follow a set schedule week to week.
Regular-season games begin in mid-late February and run through the end of April. Our coaches strive to schedule games on the days/times their teams would already be scheduled to practice.
Youth teams up to age 14U end the season with a tournament style “Jamboree,” typically on the last Saturday in April. High school teams compete in a playoff in early-mid May.
After registration ends, your coach will provide the finalized schedule for practice times and the schedule for games.
USA Lacrosse, the governing body of lacrosse in the United States, has an excellent resource on girls’ lacrosse on their website.