This is why we need age based lacrosse and a company like Player Authenticate or similar to oversee it.
You know what, that's all good and fine, but all it took was a Southwest Airlines computer meltdown, and suddenly the Circuit event in FL was full of double rostered kids, kids who showed up on game day who the coaches had never even heard of or met (, kids playing down (actual 2028s playing on 2029 rosters, 2029s also playing on 2028 rosters), etc. Some of the teams had to combine age groups just to run a full practice and 6v6 drills the night before. The integrity of that setup was crashed, totally. The only thing fair about it, was that each team seemed to be substantially affected, and the best run teams were in constant contact with the tournament folks about "how to handle it."
Until directors/coaches/holdback parents stop clutching their pearls over the embarrassment and indignity of a roster verification ("how dare you ask! get me my fainting couch!") before each game AND pre-season roster authentication, this sport will remain the wild west of athletics age compliance.
And before anybody starts, I don't mind holdbacks and my son is comfortable playing with and against them. But it's amusing how evasive the holdback parents are about what age their kid is, sometimes when directly asked. If it's no big deal, then shouldn't it be no big deal?
