Pre-first is an issue. But that is mostly done for academics/maturity related. Not sports. But you can tell pretty easily who those older kids are in emlementary school.
But if you put kids on birth year, it solves all that.
The troubling part are the kids who are reclassing in middle school. Then the difference gets even greater. 6-8th grade is where the age/size difference matters a ton. Saw a ton of size mismatches in 26-27 HoCo this year across divisions. Most are reclassing in 7th and 8th grades, right before h/s.
I say put kids on age, and let them play youth lacrosse as long as they want- against kids their own age.
The club lax directors also don't realize that playing on-age is a boon for the soccer clubs. Right now lacrosse struggles on that transition between m/s and h/s. Middle school and h/s lacrosse is separate. In 9th grade many players find themselves without a home heading into hs. Soccer keeps the same teams going throughout hs. Playing on age, continuously through high school in lacrosse would boost enrollment in that 9th grade (U14, U15) age group that always struggles to fill.
Well said. The more this is talked about the finer point and greater overall perspective on this issue starts to surface.
