14 year olds in 5/6 league

[3rdPersonPlural]

My kid's team got beat for the first time in their league by the other undefeated (until today) team.

This was a Jamboree, so there were parents from all the other teams mixed with our parents. The gossip that our parents brought back was that the three outstanding players on the other team are either 13 or 14 years old, depending on which thread of gossip you follow. These kids are triplets, one wins all the face-offs and scores 90% of their goals, the other 2 are defenders who would excel in our middle school league, which I officiate enough to know.

It seems that these kids can play because it is a 5th/6th grade league, and they have been held back either once or twice. It also seems that the parents of the other teams are up in arms about this (our team comes in from an hour north of where the other teams are located), and the league admin is feeling pressured but he made the decision to let them play last year, and can't really go back on that now.

You guys are rules gurus and more experienced than I at this. All we have left is the league playoffs and championship, and I'm thinking that the teams of 11 and 12 year olds should concede the championship, and play the tournament for second place.

However, if there is some way that we (or I) can insist that kids older than 12 have to stay off the field, that's even better.

Any help?

[b-boy_laxman]

that is why in box lacrosse they go by age

[b-boy_laxman]

that is why in box lacrosse they go by age

oh nevermind this is a school team, my b

[cobralax16]

Thats why all youth leaugues should go by age not grade.

[3rdPersonPlural]

Yeah, yeah, I know, and I'll wager that our league admin knows too.

How do we arrange for the 11/12 YO teams to play each other and exile the teenagers?

[laxfan25]

The ONLY real option you have to enforce something like this is to have the parents show up with birth certificates whenver they register their kids to play for a team. They do it for Little League (can anyone say Danny Almonte?) and outside of forged documents, it should help to alleviate the problem. You can then assign teams by age brackets.

[spyopticgoggles]

tell the admin that when he said 5th grade he meant 11 and 12 yr old kids. make damn sure he knows that he made a mistake, then let him dwell upon that and he will make the correct decision

[3rdPersonPlural]

Thanks, 25. The problem is that the league is defined by grade, not age. Nobody figured that 3 of the more athletic 14 year olds in the area would turn out to be 6th graders, which is why the league admin can't do anything about it.

My best thought on the subject is to collude with the other officials who work 5/6 games and decide that 14 year olds playing 11 and 12 year olds is a safety issue, an opinion leveraging the Note on page 90 of the NFHS rule book that 12 year olds 'may have difficulty playing with 14 year olds'. Therefore, it will be considered USC to play older kids.

It's a long shot

[gigo567]

What team was this?

[3rdPersonPlural]

I PMed you, Gigo

[BeachRef]

3PP, sounds like a cruddy situation for sure, just try not to make it look like your team, parents and coaching staff are coming down directly on the triplets themselves. They are just kids and probably would have been happy to play at what ever level the league administrator placed them. Be sure to make the league admin the bad guy first and only.

[AUSTINREF]

If I were these kid's parents, I'd play them up. These kids aren't going to get much better playing against younger players. It sounds like they dominate at the younger players. In most sports leagues I know of, you can usually play your child up one level be it by age or grade. These parents are doing thier children a dis-service.

[shrekjr]

Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more commonplace in today's society to hold kids back...for "academic" purposes. Whether it be for academic or athletic purposes, the fact is these kids and parents are playing by the rules provided, and will still be playing by those rules when they are playing on their high school teams in several years. I don't like it at all and I would never have done it with my kids who both had "late" birthdays, but there are parents out there who believe their child will struggle their entire lives because they are a few months younger then some of their classmates. I prefer what my wife and did...spend extra time helping your kids with their education so they can be even better students and more motivated to succeed than their older classmates.

[LaxRef]

Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more commonplace in today's society to hold kids back...for "academic" purposes. Whether it be for academic or athletic purposes, the fact is these kids and parents are playing by the rules provided, and will still be playing by those rules when they are playing on their high school teams in several years. I don't like it at all and I would never have done it with my kids who both had "late" birthdays, but there are parents out there who believe their child will struggle their entire lives because they are a few months younger then some of their classmates. I prefer what my wife and did...spend extra time helping your kids with their education so they can be even better students and more motivated to succeed than their older classmates.

I actually did the opposite: my son started kindergarten a year early, and I think my daughter will as well.

[Shorelax]

3PP - I say let em play...this year. The precedent has been set and the rules are in place. To circumvent this would be unsportsmanlike - IMO.

I would use this as the cornerstone of an argument to change the rules, helping future laxers.

It is a good opportunity to teach the kids a life lesson - while some rules are unjust they can be changed through personal action.

Good Luck!

[Woodenstick]

Some leagues that I have been affiliated with use a 1 year rule, in that players one year older than those in their grade can stay with their classmates, but players 2+ years old must move up. It is unusual for a player to be more than one year older than their classmates. This rule balances the desire to play with your classmates with the need to balance ages. That is also the rule for many states in high school, they don't permit players over 19 to play.

[CardinalPuff]

i was always the youngest kid in my class which really didin't bother me until i went to college to play football at 17 and was routinely matched against guys 5, 6, sometimes 7 years older than me....that's when i wished i had stayed back a year....

that 3PP's sense of fair play is insulted is something i concur with and would probably call a slightly different game against the brothers.....but that's just me, i'm petty that way....

[turtlelax23]

3PP - I say let em play...this year. The precedent has been set and the rules are in place. To circumvent this would be unsportsmanlike - IMO.

I would use this as the cornerstone of an argument to change the rules, helping future laxers.

It is a good opportunity to teach the kids a life lesson - while some rules are unjust they can be changed through personal action.

Good Luck!

Agree with you 100%!!!!
Anything done this years sounds like sour grapes. After all, Everyone knew ahead of time that this was a grade level and not age based league. Be a good sport and wait for next year to change anything. If you don't you'll just end up looking like one of those whiny parents that we as coaches and refs cringe at.

[shortydanger125]

3PP - I say let em play...this year. The precedent has been set and the rules are in place. To circumvent this would be unsportsmanlike - IMO.

I would use this as the cornerstone of an argument to change the rules, helping future laxers.

It is a good opportunity to teach the kids a life lesson - while some rules are unjust they can be changed through personal action.

Good Luck!
I tend to agree. Don't penalize the brothers because they have to play in a lower league.

[Ipod 777]

Bring in some of your own 13 and 14 year olds.