The only ones that can stop it are the tournament organizers. USA lacrosse has not mandated a universal id card for players and as a result players play wherever their parents register them. If like soccer the kids that were playing lined up with their id cards in the center of the field and the referees checked them then it would eliminate the issue. This will not happen because its about getting as many teams to register for your tournament. Why as many teams because its a business. If a tournament put in the restriction of validated age per year born not graduation year many teams would be unable to play. Issue is if one tournament is asking for age verification there are 5 others on the same day that are not and as a result teams and whole programs will go to the tournaments not requiring the proof of age. Whats interesting is that USA lacrosse has something in place but are not willing to implement it. Most kids have USA lacrosse id numbers. So if a player is registered with US lacrosse they already have an id# and a means to create a system to monitor birth year play. Its that simple. If parents held US lacrosse accountable maybe they would not turn a blind eye to it. Most tournaments and events are US lacrosse backed with insurance so it would be simple to do.
From your lips to Gods ears.There are so many parents that feel the same way. Great post!
