'The Time is Now' for Transformational Partnership Between NLF, USA Lacrosse

This article appears in the July/August edition of USA Lacrosse Magazine. Join our momentum.

‘THE TIME IS NOW’

My sister-in-law held her phone through the car window as I dropped my son off for an overnight stay with his cousins.

“How many times do you think this kid reclassified?” she said, equal parts amused and dismayed at the Instagram post from a club lacrosse tournament my 9-year-old nephew competed in that weekend.

In the video, a much older looking boy plowed through multiple defenders. He looked like Billy Madison playing dodgeball against kindergartners.

I get this reaction a lot, not only from family and friends whose sons have advanced in the sport but also from USA Lacrosse members who wonder what anyone’s doing to fix the grade-based player segmentation system that’s so easily manipulated and favors those with the means to delay schooling or hold their sons back a year for competitive purposes.

For once, I had an answer.

The announcement had just come out that starting with the 2023-24 club season, the National Lacrosse Federation will require all players ages 14 and younger to go through an age verification process with USA Lacrosse. Age-based play will become the standard for all NLF member clubs and all events operated by the NLF or its constituents.

There’s more on this transformational partnership on page 16. It represents a massive shift in the right direction for the sport.

With its six original members (Baltimore Crabs, Big 4 HHH, Laxachusetts, Leading Edge, Long Island Express and Team 91) and eight affiliates (Denver Elite, Eclipse, MadLax, Prime Time, Resolute, Sweet Lax, Thunder and West Coast Starz), the NLF encompasses some of the most successful and influential club lacrosse programs in the country. They care about winning championships and getting elite players in the college recruiting pipeline. But they also care about the sport. Deeply. Implementing age verification proves that.

“What the age verification process needed was two leaders to get together to head up this initiative,” said George Breres of Team 91. “The time is now.”

“The ability to sit down and discuss common opportunities for the good of our sport is so profound,” said USA Lacrosse CEO Marc Riccio. “This is just the beginning of our ability to work with groups to bring the lacrosse community together to enact positive change.”

— By Matt DaSilva

A TRANSFORMATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

Somewhere this summer on a dusty lacrosse field, a worried parent will see his or her son get knocked to the earth by someone much older and nearly twice his size and and wonder, “How could this happen?”

The National Lacrosse Federation and USA Lacrosse have taken the bold step to eradicate that problem. Together.

Beginning with the 2023-24 club season, the NLF will require all players aged 14 and younger on its member clubs, and participants in tournaments run by its member clubs, to go through an age verification process with USA Lacrosse.

USA Lacrosse membership will provide the pathway for participation in these events with age verification included in the membership product at no additional charge.

The aim of the partnership is to improve the integrity of competition, the quality of experience for all participants and player safety.

USA Lacrosse has had a proven age verification system in place since 2017 used for other organizations. As a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Recognized Sports Organization, USA Lacrosse brings credibility and neutrality to the process.

The NLF’s leadership in endorsing and implementing age verification for its events will drive even greater adoption of player segmentation by age throughout all levels of youth lacrosse.

“What the age verification process needed was two leaders to get together to head up this initiative,” said George Breres of Team 91, one of the NLF’s founding members. “It’s the right time to have leaders from the club side — the National Lacrosse Federation, its founding members, affiliates, event operators — to get together with a trusted brand that also has the technology to implement this. The time is now.”

Founded in 2015, the NLF consists of six original clubs (Baltimore Crabs, Big 4 HHH, Laxachusetts, Leading Edge, Long Island Express and Team 91) and eight affiliates (Denver Elite, Eclipse, MadLax, Prime Time, Resolute, Sweet Lax, Thunder and West Coast Starz) with a national footprint.

“The NLF initially started because the quality of competition at events was fairly scattered. We aligned ourselves knowing that if us six founders came to a tournament, the competition on the field would exceed everybody’s expectations,” said Sean Morris, co-owner of Laxachusetts. “Age verification takes that next step in terms of safety, trust and a first-class operation on and off the field. This partnership is going to align everybody.”

For the 2023-24 club year, in graduation years 2029 and younger, the NLF has chosen to implement a 15-month timeframe (June 1 birthdate through Aug. 31 of the following year) for its age groupings. The NLF clubs are expected to continue using graduation years as the team names, but all players will fit within the 15-month groupings. This will help minimize team roster disruptions and to incentivize classmates playing together.

At the high school level, the NLF will continue to group players by graduation year to assist with the college recruiting process. High school aged NLF players and tournament participants will be required to maintain an active USA Lacrosse membership, but they will not be required to go through the age verification process.

“We’re maturing as a sport,” said Brian Silcott, vice president of sport growth and development at USA Lacrosse. “It’s the right thing for the kids, it’s the right thing for competition and the right people are in leadership now that we were able to get together and make this happen.”

The NLF will begin having its players go through the age verification process following tryouts this summer. All players must be age verified to participate in NLF events beginning fall of 2023.

“The reality is when we come together, we can have transformational impact,” said Marc Riccio, president and CEO of USA Lacrosse. “The National Lacrosse Federation came to us because they recognized the opportunity and the need to implement this policy and felt like we were the best partner to do it with. It sends a message to the rest of the lacrosse world. If we come together for a common purpose, we can achieve greatness.”

— By Matt DaSilva and Brian Logue