Crabs doesn't go out and seek older players. They come to tryouts and perform better...Again, there are no rules barring age except in some HS leagues. We abide by the rules and filed the best level that comes to try out. Every other club has the same option and it's up to them whether or not to exercise that right. We have a solid track record in placing top athletes into top programs. What is wrong with that?
You're right. Crabs as a club doesn't go out and actively seek older players. But Crabs is basically the feeder program for Boys Latin, and the reclassification phenomenon in MIAA schools is well documented, whether it's the schools or the parents pushing it.
So kids that are planning to go to Boys Latin and play lacrosse are often reclassed upon finishing 7th or 8th grade to get that extra year before high school. And probably for other reasons, along the way some of those kids started school late.
Because of that, Crabs middle school teams are made up mostly of kids one or two years older than they would be if they had started school on time and/or not been held back along the way.
Does Crabs follow the rules? As laid out by HoCo and the tournaments they attend, yes they do.
But there are a lot of people that say they're gaming the system. Others justify it by saying "all programs do it." That may be true to an extent, but Crabs as a youth program is one of the most closely tied to a private high school there is in this area, so they tend to draw more of those older kids. And that draws resentment from programs that might have, say, only one or two of those kids.
Heck, there's a part of me that wishes I could afford to reclass my kid and send him there.
