Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by 429lax
Originally Posted by Anonymous
So a 7th grader or 8th grader should not play 2017/18 (of course no 8th grader should play 2017 anyway) if they play JV ball in the spring but of course who is following US lacrosse rules.

I am not sure if this should be enforced with so many 7th/8th graders on JV teams across the island.


If I understand it correctly, seems like the Tri-State tournament may be a good model. It has both a U15 age based division that is adhering to the US Lacrosse guidelines while also having a Grade based division for AA Elite Travel Clubs.

http://www.trilax.com/pdfs/523611265111019_National.pdf

This is an excerpt from the link above:
AGE BRACKETS | Age guidelines must be STRICTLY followed.
Divisions and brackets are grade or age based. For age based
brackets, the cutoff date is 08|31|11. For example, if your player
was 10 on 08|31|11 then he qualifies for the U11 division. If your
player is 11 on 08|31|11, then he does not age qualify for U11 and
must play in the U13 division. U15 players fall under both our U15
and Rising Sophomore divisions. The U15 consists of Youth
brackets and players cannot have had any HS playing experience
prior to Summer 2012 (no Rising Sophomores). The Rising
Sophomore consists of HS brackets and is for players who have had
HS playing experience prior to the 2012 Summer or have completed
their Freshman year of HS. All AA brackets require tournament
director approval. Rising Senior AA is by invite only.
At all levels, players can play up but NEVER down!


That's well and good, but how do they enforce it. I am sure there are plenty of 8th graders who get moved up to JV. Doesnt mean their travel team they play with over the summer is going to 1. Take them off their roster or 2. Moved the whole team up to a rising sophomore level. I would guess each travel 8th grade team would have more then a few JV players on each team.


I see your point. As you stated above - their are a lot of 8th graders who play JV and in rare cases Varsity for High Schools that are not lacrosse powerhouses. Although there is always the rare exceptional standout, most of these 8th graders play at the same level as the rest of their grade based travel teammates.

I always end up going back to the fact that I think the age brackets are set up wrong. Should be U10, U12, and U14. The vast majority of 8th graders would fall into the U14 category. After U14 make it all Rising Sophomore, Rising Junior and Rising Senior which coincides with college recruiting camps, etc.. The U15 bracket blurs the line between Youth and High School which makes no sense. Seems like a pretty simple and basic fix.