Lacrosse needs some sort of sanction. No one knows who's really on the team, how old they are or what grade they are in. Until this sanction happens, cheating will continue.
I agree whole heartedly about sanctions centered around age and grade. I don't agree about the Who's on what team. I also disagree that US lacrosse only lets a player play for one group (had be brought up prior years). As you get older you will want to have the flexibility to play for multiple groups or have the option. That helps you son grow and gain different perspectives and training.
These tournaments are not a part of some sort of league where there needs to be consistency. One weekend to the next, you are feeding another programs tournament. If there were a series and league involvement then Id say a static rosters. if not they are truly all independent tournaments.
Each weekend is mutually exclusive to the last or future weekends games. Who cares who you played for.
a good coach wont limit you as well he will promote you playing across clubs. A real coach will support you playing outside your club (when it doesn't conflict with you club).
The above works for those kids that are lax 24/7 and who are elite players where D-III is basically their worst case scenario. It does not, however, create an ideal environment for the more casual player - the good athlete who plays multiple sports who will likely be nothing more than a decent HS lacrosse player. I have spoken to parents of kids who have dabbled in the summer travel lax scene but who have not returned - finding it unorganized, overpriced, and with uneven competition. Seeing kids play for multiple teams in the same tournament is a major turnoff for the large majority of parents. The opinion expressed above is certainly the minority one - maybe not the minority one amongst people who live and breathe this stuff - but its the minority opinion amongst prospective customers I am sure. Parents who are exposed to other youth sports find travel lax clownish. Parents who are all in with lacrosse don't realize this - they don't talk to others outside their lax cliques.
What the owners of these clubs are missing is that if they structured things more like USA hockey (and what some other sports do as well), they would make more money. They already have the lax freaks. By making certain changes (enforcing age and participation restrictions, etc) I believe they would grow their numbers and teams, and capture the more causal families. For a 24/7 elite laxer, playing against double holdbacks from MD may seem like a rite of passage that will get the kid better. For the more casual family, its "screw this, we will not be back".
My kids love lacrosse and hockey. With regard to hockey, they play about 50 games over 6 months - usually 2 leagues plus 2 weekend travel tournaments. Almost all games are competitive. You know all opponents are on age and belong on that team. Schedules are set, leagues are joined, and tournaments are entered based on the strength of your team. The clubs almost always get this right, in large part, because the opponents are always on age, and no one is using guest players that would tip the competitive balance. Also, no one is seeing their kid lose ice time to a guest player - nor their kid being bossed by older kids.
And USA hockey does have spring elite teams and summer events where kids get to play with other clubs/coaches/kids to obtain the benefits (exposure, competition, coaching) that such provides. But it is done outside the season.
One impediment that lacrosse has is that it still honors the Town season. Prime lacrosse time (March-early June) is hands off for travel lacrosse.
