While it was exponentially better than playing MD, FLA, PA and Mass teams with their 50% holdback rosters, let's be honest, very few teams there were completely made up of 7th graders (REAL 7th graders). There were teams constructed for this tournament and there were 7th grade team. Express had multiple 8th graders, Igloo did, Legacy did, Prime Time did, Preds, Eclipse and Express North did. And, all of the 8th graders on the teams were impact players that don't normally play on those teams. With that being said, they were all well within the rules to bring those players on the team (provided they play in at least 2 tournaments that they are entered into the 2022 bracket before the WSYL in Denver). Therein lies the problem. No event is going to be completely legit until the sport goes completely age-based. For example, are those teams playing those rosters all season in grade based tourneys? Are they playing in NLF events? Laxfest? Is that justifiable? Or is it cheating because they're 2022's playing in a 2023 bracket? It was definitely a step in the right direction though; of that we can all agree; however, more needs to be done. Hopefully more people will recognize the benefits of age-based events moving forward.
Please do a better job fact checking. Not all those teams have 8th graders, it really delegitimizes your argument. [/quote] I gather your sons' team lost to some of the above teams & you need an excuse for their poor performance.
