I wonder how long it will be before a parent or a coach goes up to a tourney director and asks for a roster check. And how that tourney will handle it.
For the record, the boy in question is not a 2024. He is a legitimate 2025; not even a holdback. He just happens to have an early birthday.
However, even if a situation like that arises on a team, I'm not sure a parent has much of a leg to stand on. If they are not happy with the team, their are some 40+ other options for them to choose from on LI. That parent has to make a decision. Do they want what's truly best for their child (ie: find another team that allows the player to start) or do they stay on the team for the sole reason of having the ability to tell people that their son is on the best team.
Furthermore, since the only tournaments that actually require age/roster verification are age based tournaments, I don't see how this will ever come up. 95+% of the quality tournaments on the East Coast are grade based tournaments. I've had 3 sons go through the travel process and never had to produce a birth certificate, report card or notarized document. To ask a single team to produce such documents without asking every other team would be unjust.
Before you counter with, "Then they should ask every team", understand that it's not going to happen. Directors cheat, coaches cheat and parents cheat. That's the world we live in. Parents will doctor birth certificates if they think their kid will obtain an edge. I don't agree with it. As a matter of fact, I wish the whole system went to age-based like football/soccer/hockey. But, there's just too much money being made right now for club directors or tournament directors to change anything.
For the record? Your sources are incorrect. The boy in question is in 6th grade. Fact! Again I don't care what grade he is in as long as he was born after the Aug.31st 06 cutoff date. He is small, and yes he is good.but make no doubt about it, unless they held him back this year he was in the 5th grade last year.And I don't think anyone should use his name on the site. Thats just wrong.
