It happens and we all know it. There are kids on all level teams that it happens with… not the reason certain teams are better. The top teams just prioritize lacrosse first. Could lacrosse do something to change it- yes. Will they- no. It’s all about recruiting kids in the same graduation class.
Every Other sport figures it out, and it Absolutly makes a difference especially at the younger ages. Don’t think it doesn’t really matter or you are part of this problem of incentivizing cheating and stealing spots and coaching from appropriate aged kids. I think it is hysterical that m&d wont(can’t) play in certain tournaments because it goes by us lax rules and not Chris Robinson’s rules We all should be loud about this to Chris to change Ngll rules or the problem is just going to get worse
Agreed, we all know those M&D NGLL championships have big asterisks there.
As a parent of a “hold back” not on M&D, some of you all will really complain about anything. Born in August, we could have made her the youngest in her 2026 Kindergarten class or oldest in her 27 class. We chose 27 and I can confirm lacrosse had nothing to do with it at age 5.
I almost held by our youngest because of Covid and remote learning which was a wasted year.
It all evens out by high school, you’re freaking out about 7th grade lax, get a life
What people often miss in this discussion is that There are enough of these older kids to form 1-2 “elite” teams in any age group/region. But there aren’t enough to support a whole top tier division.
So what happens? M&D and Heros (or the Hawks and Crabs) all dominate their divisions against teams that don’t have the same number of older kids and that same advantage.
And the lacrosse simply isn’t competitive. As a result, kids in the top half of the talent curve simply dont develop as well.
And this, lacrosse continues to be a small, regional-sport. Not growing the way others are.
This is one thing soccer gets right. Age-based is the way to go if you want to grow the game and raise the bar for the sport as a whole, across the country. That only happens with ensuring competitive games for the bull of the kids and pushing the top kids to challenge themselves by playing up, not down.
