Holdback Troll: You can't just register your kid for a random age group. He has to be in that grad year. To play for the 29s, he must be a 6th grader this year. For 28s, has to be in 7th. Very few, if anyone, actually holds their kid back for lacrosse. There are usually other reasons. Being a holdback IS an advantage, but it usually doesn't last long. The best kids play up, not down.
I had 4 boys play. When you register they ask, “what grade is your child in?” You can register your kid in any lax “class” you want.
No one ever asks again or checks in. Just sign up for whatever team you want.
You only have to worry about age in high school. Your kid can’t hold back more than once and still play his senior year.
That's accurate in my experience, no one's ever actually asked for a school transcript or anything else to prove my son's grade.
However kids who go to the same school know who's in what grade so if any team is likely to get busted it would be that way.
If it is your experience that nobody gets caught and nobody cares, then your experience is limited and your son probably plays in lower tier events. Generally the more competitive the league, the more closely they check. At one extreme, the world series checks roster eligibility (by age, not class year) incredibly closely. At the other extreme, there are probably B and C level events that are informal and nobody cares. (they should care, since it is a safety issue). At typically competitive travel events such as the HoCo league and big tournaments like NAL and NLF, they do take seriously the requirement that players be in the right grade. Do people break this rule and get away with it? Probably so, but it is harder than you think because families on opposing teams all know each other, and parents will tell their son's coach to challenge opposing teams who have players that parents know are ineligible. Nobody likes cheaters. Two examples that I happen to know is that a MadLax 2026 team was disqualified from HoCo playoffs a couple of years ago for using players that were 2025's, and Cavalier 2027 was disqualified from HoCo playoffs last year for using a goalie that was a couple of grades too old. MadLax has been DQ'd from Hogan tournaments on the same basis. In each case, and opposing team turned them in. Trust me, you do NOT want your son to be known as the cheater who got his team kicked out of the playoffs or a tournament.
