He's going into 8th. A very talented kid who doesn't need to play down to build confidence or get more playing minutes. Sometimes plays down to help out and takes playing time away from other kids in that team. Pathetic. I feel bad for those kids who work hard all year only to see that kid come in a take playing time away. Sorry but - a 2004 birth year should be playing 2022. Many true 2023s are still only 11. It's a safety issue and leveling the playing field issue. Lacrosse should change the tournament rules nationally like soccer did this year to a U(age) format. Especially since WsYL enforces birth date. Kids should only play birth year only. Kids should have photo ID cards from US Lacrosse with birth date checked by refs before each game and coaches submit rosters. At the end of the day, the kids just want to play fair, in competitive games and get better each season. With dreams of playing D1 lacrosse, just like every little leaguer dreams to play in the MLB. Fair play = conitinued growth nationally of Lacrosse. Hopefully, the new recruiting rules will start to help this problem.
While I agree with an age based premise your dates are wacky....there's no need to copy soccer and you need to have a much wider field of vision than just your one state.
The fact that you think the dates are wacky is further proof that age-based divisions are needed. Grade v Grade, MD, PA, MA, ect kids are older than NY kids. If kids from different states are going to play each other, than a nationally recognized and enforced year needs to be used. Whether its Sept-Aug, or Jan-Dec, or something else, something needs to be implemented, used nationally, and enforced.
I am a big fan of going age-based nationally for incoming kids going further, leaving current teams in tact. I think a lot of resistance comes from clubs, parents, and even kids, who don't want to see current teams broken up. So just do it for the kids starting out. So, for the 2017-18 season, have a 2009 (BY) division, along with a 2026 (GY), 2025 (GY), 2024 (GY) and so on. Than for 2018-19, have 2010 (BY), 2009 (BY), 2026 (GY) etc. The grad year teams will eventually cycle out. Personally, I would prefer moving it all at once, but I am a realist, and see that phasing it in may be more acceptable and achievable in the short term.
