Originally Posted by Anonymous
i am happy that my youngest is going to be out of lacrosse by the time US Lacrosse ruins the summer travel circuit by going to age based instead of the correct and working grade based system. My son is a 2018 born in 2000 (age appropriate) and I want him to play against other kids in his grade for recruiting purposes. Playing against kids his age but in the grade below him will not help him get recruited or become a better player. if it's not broke don't fix it and don't change the rules because of a bunch of whiners who's kids can't compete. IMHO going to an aged based system will hurt kids that are age appropriate because they will play against kids in the recruiting year below and not improve and not get recruited.


There will be no prohibitions against kids playing up. If your kid is super elite he can play up if that is what you want from him.

The above quoted comment makes no sense. No matter what system is used, elite kids will get recruited. Are the coaches at Hopkins, Syracuse etc. blind and stupid?Please explain how a great player won't get recruited under an aged based system. These coaches are more than capable of watching a game with a roster list and noting which kids are 2018 and which kids are 2019. In fact, I would think age based games would be favored by the coaches. This will allow them to truly compare kids. Watching 14 year olds dominate 12 year olds just because their expected grad years are the same tells them little about the 14 year olds. It does not translate well to projecting the same kids when they are 20 vs 18, which is what the coaches should ultimately care about. But if they see a 14 year old dominate other 14 year olds, than they know with a much greater degree of certainty that said 14 year old is a D1 player. It doesn't matter much what grad year the kid is. If he projects as a D1 stud, offer him a position in whatever grad class he happens to be in.

The bottom line is that by going to an age based system, recruiting is IMPROVED for both the coaches AND the kids. Coaches can watch kids play against kids their own age, which is the best way to compare them, and therefore, project how they will perform when they are 18+. This is the best system for the kids for the same reason. A coach can go to a game and watch 14 year olds. They can then identify maybe 3 kids that they believe are sure bets to be good D1 players. They can then offer them. The fact that 2 will be offered in the 2018 entering class and one will be offered in the 2019 class is meaningless to them. The coaches are more than capable of managing multiple classes at once. They do it now.