Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
If that is how you feel, you should think about moving your son to a sport other than lacrosse, or moving into a lower division where there are few or no holdbacks. Seriously. Whether you like it or not, in this region of the country, starting in 7th and 8th grade, the top teams in the elite divisions (Hawks, Crabs, MadLax, 91, etc.) will have a significant percentage of their roster with birthdays before September 1 of the appropriate year. I can't tell you exactly what the percentage is, but a conservative estimate is 25%, a realistic estimate is closer to 50%, and some would say that certain teams are well over 50%. of the players who are "on age" and are truly great players, they and their families do not care about the holdback status of their teammates or opponents. They actually relish the challenge of being on the field with good players. But if having your son go against a player who is a year older bothers you to the point where you lost the ability to be rational (yes, it is irrational to call somebody a cheater because you do not like the rule they are following) you should get out of elite lacrosse, for your own sanity and for the sake of your son. You are teaching him the wrong lessons. I hope this helps.

Totally agree with the sentiment here, but 25% is the high end. To suggest 50% of the players on the elite teams are born prior to September 1st of the appropriate year is fool.

Too many people think every 2027 kid with hair on their legs is a holdback. They're not. Some kids hit puberty before others, and those kids tend to find their way onto the elite teams because hitting puberty early gives them an advantage. It is what it is, and there's nothing nefarious about it.
Thumbs up for each of these posts. I also agree the real number is lower than what people think, and most importantly not worth ruining your enjoyment over. If your kid is good, next year they'll be playing against kids 4-5 years older than them.