Here is an update with highlights below.

http://www.laxmagazine.com/high_sch...mens_game_committee_approves_youth_rules

The boys' youth rules include language governing play on the field, such as a reduction in the distance in which legal checks, holds and pushes may occur from 5 yards to 3 yards, and equipment, such as a requirement that goalies wear cups and the elimination of long crosses at the U9 level. Among other highlights include a removal of take-out checks and blind side hits and considerable penalty time for any check involving the head or neck.

"Many of the rules adjustments will help foster player development, and that's something we'll gladly incorporate into the US Lacrosse Coaching Education Program going forward," said Chris Snyder, manager of coaches education and training at US Lacrosse.

Off the field, one noteworthy section of the rules deals with team organization. Youth leagues will organize teams by age, with Aug. 31 as a cutoff date.

"Under the old way of fielding teams by grade, in some cases you could have kids as many as four years apart competing together," Silcott said. "That type of circumstance is greatly reduced when organizing by age, and doing so also aligns us with the rules of the Federation of International Lacrosse."

Lacrosse Magazine will continue to follow the progress of the rules passage online and in future print editions. A vote on youth girls' lacrosse rules by the US Lacrosse Women's Game Committee is scheduled for Monday evening. For more information on US Lacrosse's youth rules and best practices initiative, visit the project's homepage at uslacrosse.org.