Spring Season Update for Middle School Boys Lacrosse

This spring, we plan to form 3-4 smaller 7v7 teams (minimum 10 players per team) for weekly local competition. All middle school boys will practice together but will be assigned to teams based on their schools. Rosters will follow these guidelines:

• School-Based Teams: Boys from schools that feed into established high school programs (ELCA, Ola, Strong Rock, Union Grove) will play together.
• Other Players: Boys from other schools, including homeschoolers, will be added to teams based on roster needs and their positions. Players from the same school will stay together where possible.

Why the change?
We want to both build a pipeline of players for current and future high school lacrosse programs in our area while helping all middle school boys prepare for high school or club/travel competition (should they choose to pursue these opportunities).

We also hope by grouping players together we can attract more players from their schools to try lacrosse - and ultimately, to help persuade other high schools in our area to start more boys lacrosse teams! We will discuss this further with interested parents this spring.

Finally, this plan is endorsed by our local high school boys programs. We have consulted their coaches about this idea and everyone is aligned. Feel free to discuss with them as well!

Important Notes

• Experienced Players Needed: We need the majority of past players, even part-time, to form 3-4 teams. Even if your player is participating in other lacrosse (or other sports) this spring, we would still like them to join us when they can (registration discounts available for partial participants).
• GMSAA Participation: In future seasons, we hope to have Henry County players participating in the GMSAA (the middle school lacrosse league in our region). This is the first step towards making that happen.
• Club Lacrosse: Players planning to join summer club teams should participate to prepare for the season. Club practices won't begin until the end of our season!
• Games and Practices:
  • Teams will compete locally and play occasional home/away games against other programs.
  • Practices will be twice a week (historically Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30-8:00 p.m., but final nights will be determined post-registration).
  • Games are typically Saturday mornings, with some afternoon options depending on schedules.

Backup Plan If we don’t have enough registrations for at least 3 teams, we’ll revert to a single team (capped at 20 players) for outside competition. Priority will go to players not committed to other teams.

We believe this approach will help grow our program in Henry County. Questions? Contact Coach Jeremy at 404.641.9023 or jeremy@henryyouthlax.org.