BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Messages for US Lacrosse. Rules, Age Classification or etc.

Any youth league that has a mandatory pass rule needs to require that the passes occur in the box, and that the passes, in the judgment of the referee, are productive lacrosse passes and not just 2 foot passes to just satisfy the rule. I have never seen this done in practice, but this is how I would do it if I were in charge.

Another rule I would like to see at the youth level that I have never actually seen is a rule that limits the amount of goals that a player can score per game. Another rule that I have seen in other sports is that if your team wins by a certain inflated score, the win does not count.

Yet another possible rule - again one I have never actually seen - is to have a one-dodge rule at the lowest youth levels. This would mean that a kid can dodge one opponent, but then must give up the ball with a pass or shot. He can not dodge the second kid. Maybe this rule should be limited to the offensive half, permitting kids to clear the ball with legs. Again, these rules have, to my knowledge, never been used. They are just things I have dreamed up while watching games.

Keep in mind that I am referring to town teams and leagues, where growth is needed. Leagues where any kid with a pulse gets to play. Other sports modify their rules significantly at the youth level - baseball, football, and basketball do. Lacrosse needs to do so as well. These other sports, mostly baseball and basketball, modify less when travel teams are playing where the skill level is higher.

But with lacrosse, at the town level, 2/3/4 graders are mostly playing on the same size field as older kids, with the same rules. The only exception may be the lack of man down situations (which doesn't affect game play), and more conservative whistles with regard to hitting, which affects safety but not necessarily game play. There seems to be no modification of rules that permits more kids to be meaningfully involved, and for the game to flow better and be more balanced.

A lot has to do with the coaching also. My son has been blessed to be on a Town team where the coach has stressed passing since the kids first put on pads. They now pass to a fault and pass circles around other teams. All kids get touches and they almost always win. They give up many goals by passing to less skilled kids (who drop the ball) and sometimes lose a game because of it. But the kids have been drilled since they started to pass the ball, and are reaping the benefits of it now. I have literally seen them get up something like 8-0 and have 8 different kids score - all organically, meaning the coach is not doing anything to manufacture this, other than run his program where passing is required.

By contrast, almost all of our opponents are coached by men who simply yell "go, go, go, go to the cage" whenever one of their athletic kids gets the ball, even if its on their defensive side. The parents do the same. And yes, these kids score goals, and sometimes enough to beat us (although rare), but our kids are having more fun overall, and will be better players as they get older. Its a self-fulfilling philosophy used by these coaches. They don't emphasize passing so they never get good at it, which forces them to just have athletes run to the cage to score in order to stay in games, which thusly retards their growth at passing the ball, which then requires more one on one play to stay competitive, which leads to ... And these towns, which almost always have many times more kids available to them, wind up with less players enrolled than we have.

OK,Outside of Maryland....I can not imagine all the early committs making the grade all the time to every school..Seems like alot of scrambling will be going on.

Great question! My friend gave a verbal last fall (2017) and failed math again. And she didn't take an SAT yet.

Case in point! Or the kid doesnt get the SAT Score to get into the school...For the very few a coach will go to bat for to get them in.others will be told,sorry...and rightly so..after all,they are not going to do well in school,and drag down the team GPA.

Your kid and those of his talent level are welcome to play UP and garner advanced attention that way.
Playing age appropriate does not ruin summer lacrosse. Playing down does.
Also the system IS broken that's why the change is coming.

I just posted in the 2018 thread a solution of age based to a level e.g. U15? And then go grade for the JV and Varsity years. My rationale is that at the HS level the blending the ages seems to be a lot less disparate.

Just follow USA Hockey guidelines. 1/1 through 12/31. So the 2004 team is 1/1/2004 - 12/31/2004 birthdays. Really simple. No mid year cut off dates. If you are born in 2004, that is the team you are on!

Just follow USA Hockey guidelines. 1/1 through 12/31. So the 2004 team is 1/1/2004 - 12/31/2004 birthdays. Really simple. No mid year cut off dates. If you are born in 2004, that is the team you are on!

I agree- easy clear cut off- no mid year dates. It'll never happen because parents will have heart attacks and coaches will scream, but it is a cut and dry way to go forward without all the fuss.

Instead of constructing a new headquarters building, put the money into age verification at tournaments. Get your priorities right! Unbelievable!

Exactly this. And where lacrosse combines grades when needed (3/4, 5/6 etc), due to less kids, or lower skilled teams, they would simply combine years, like hockey does with Mites, Squits, Pee Wees etc.

Lacrosse should do this universally starting with the 2009s for the 2016-17 season. That way, current teams don't need to be broken up. It will quickly become the new normal for the next generation coming up. If its done universally in all areas at all levels it will work great, will not impact recruiting, and will not impact the bottom line for the for-profit organizations.

Okay- agreed that starting with new teams this should be implemented and is as clear as can be, however, there are many years that will still have to wallow through all the age disparity among teams in tournaments. If we are leveling the field because safety is a priority, then there needs to be some sort of rules also put in place for existing teams- maybe it is not the team itself, but the tournament age guidelines for the older, already existing groups. Kids in late elementary and even early middle school still have a way to go and should also be protected and be able to play in a fair and stable experience as they continue to develop and grow. Playing up should be allowed, with waivers signed by coach and parent.

From NCAA website:


Women’s lacrosse will have a 90-second possession clock by 2017 season

Greg Johnson | NCAA.com


Last Updated - Jul 16, 2015 17:04 EDT


A visible 90-second possession clock is coming to NCAA women’s lacrosse competition.

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Thursday approved adding a possession clock in the sport by the 2017 season in Division I, and by 2018 in Divisions II and III.

Delaying the implementation of the possession clock is warranted because it provides schools time to budget for any financial implications. The Women’s Lacrosse Rules Committee is recommending using two clocks, one on each end of the field. However, one clock located at the scorer’s table will also be allowed.

Under the 90-second possession clock rule, the offensive team must register a shot within that window or the opposition will be awarded the ball at its location on the field when time expired.

The clock will be reset on a shot that is deflected by the goalkeeper or on a shot that hits the piping on the goal. The clock will also reset on all changes of possession and when any card has been issued to the team without possession.

The possession clock will keep counting down toward zero on shots that go wide or high of the goal.

The rules committee hopes the new rule limits the abuse of clock management and increases the pace of play.

Self-restarts

The panel approved allowing players to do self-restarts following minor or major foul calls outside of the critical scoring area (defined as inside the 12-meter arc and the corresponding area behind the goal), beginning with the 2016 season. Players would still have the option of waiting for the penalty to be administered.

Players called for major fouls must stand at least 4 meters behind the player with the ball on a restart, and players called for minor fouls must stand at least 4 meters to the side of the player with the ball on restarts.

As with the possession clock rule, the committee believes giving players the option of restarting play quickly can speed up the pace of play.

Stick checks

Officials will conduct stick checks of every goal-scoring stick following each goal scored, beginning next season. The rule is currently used in international play.

There will also be more extensive stick checks before the start of the game, with officials examining more than just the pocket depth.

Coaches will maintain their three stick-check requests and will be allowed to use them before any faceoff, during timeouts, at halftime and before the start of any overtime periods.

If a player is found to be using a stick that doesn’t meet the specifications, that player will be given a yellow card and must serve a two-minute, non-releasable penalty.

Alternating possession

Starting next season, there will no longer be throw-ins following an offsetting foul call. Instead, an alternating possession rule will cover those scenarios. The first possession arrow will be determined at the coin toss, when the winning captains choose direction or possession.

Overtime change

In the event a game goes to overtime in 2016, teams will use a sudden-victory format and change ends every three minutes.

Previously, the team that scored the most goals in two three-minute periods won the match.

Three-second violation change

Starting in 2016, three-second violations will be considered a minor foul.

If a defender is inside the 8-meter arc and not guarding anyone for three seconds, the offensive team is given possession of the ball at the 12-meter arc, where it can initiate an indirect play (pass to a teammate) on goal.

wow shot clock makes it a very different game especially since it keeps running on shots that miss the cage.

Does clock start as soon as you touch ball or when you clear a certain point on the field?

so what if a player is 2 years older than your son/daughter? theyre(the parents) only doing this to their children because they kno they were never good enough for their own age, thus playing against smaller weaker kids. but when your son/daughter is playing varsity lacrosse as a freshman at 15 playing against 18 year olds, are you going to complain to the league and get them kicked off of the team? or when your child is playing college lacrosse at 19 playing against 23 year old men, are you going to complain to NCAA that its unfair that theyre in the league? No, so a 14 year old playing against a 16 year old is maybe unfair, but there is nothing you can do about it playing in a grad year tournament, instead join a U based tournament.

Actually, there is a lot that can be done about it. Because age is enforced in other sports, and it can be in lax too. As for varsity, very few kids are able to excel there till their Jr and Sr year, as it should be!

If playing at a USL sanctioned event meant age verification was mandatory and officials were properly trained would you as a parent attend ONLY those events?
Or would you continue to support the current ones with no USL sanctioning?

Can't believe that the insurance companies don't have a problem with the age thing as the above poster is right. Just like safety in the auto industry change is only going to come when the insurance companies wake up, see what's going on and then demand it. Do any insurance companies read BOTC?

If playing at a USL sanctioned event meant age verification was mandatory and officials were properly trained would you as a parent attend ONLY those events?
Or would you continue to support the current ones with no USL sanctioning?

would just like to know how uslacrosse allows all these teams at the u15 national championship to play with all star teams. if your team is full of hold backs and repeaters of the 8th grade 2 or 3 times and u can't field a team then just stay home. just watched FCA play with kids from sweetlax, 91, madlax and turtles. just sad!!!

I would demand that our teams played in age verified tournaments.

The girls lax players NEED to wear a helmet. My daughter suffered a mild concussion due to another players stick hitting in her in the head on a follow through this past spring. In years past she has had the ball hit her in the head on a pass of a bad shot. It is only a matter of time that a girl lax player will die because they do not wear protective gear for their heads.

The argument against it is ridiculous. There will not be more violence because of the helmet. It will actually make enforcing the rule easier for the official. When a stick hits a girls head it males no sound. When a stick hits a plastic helmet is makes a distinct noticeable sound. Again, my daughter has gotten hit in the head many times before the concussion incident this spring. Usually there was no penalty because the official did not realize it happened. No other protective gear should be added in order to keep the game the same.

We need to protect the heads of our young female lax players!

Re: concussions in girls lacrosse, it is an interesting debate. On the one hand, you have the fact that experts say helmets don't stop concussions and the fact that, like skiing, just the act of players wearing helmets may lead to more dangerous on-field behavior.

That said, I've NEVER seen a boy getting a concussion from being hit in the head with a stick. So, while a helmet may not protect against the whiplash effect common in most concussions, I am not sure it doesn't help with getting hit in the head with a stick. Now what about a ball? I've had four players get hit in the head with a ball and have concussion-like symptoms. (As did I 20 years ago, when I couldn't walk straight off the field for a few seconds and didn't have an appetite that night - luckily only possible concussion I can recall.) All were pretty mild to a point it may not even have been a concussion. (And true experts recognize that getting a concussion is not a black and white thing.) I have a hard time believing all of those shots to the head wouldn't have been worse without a helmet. I just think most research involves football helmets where you don't get checked to the head with a stick or hit in the helmet by a hard plastic ball.

PS - I'd prefer if girls lacrosse was played like boys, except with no body checking and much stricter on slashes, as well has having sticks that were like boys sticks 20 years ago. If my 4-year old girl wasn't petite, I'd have her start playing U7 with the boys next Spring.