What are the equipment requirements?
Each child is responsible for supplying the following equipment:
- Lacrosse Helmet (NOCSAE approved) & attached mouth guard
- Shoulder Pads
- Arm Pads
- Gloves
- Athletic supporter with protective cup
Hockey shoulder pads may be substituted for lacrosse equipment provided they are NOCSAE approved (hockey glove are not suitable, they have a hard thumb making it more difficult to play). Commonwealth Lacrosse www.comlax.net or (508-875-5805) will be able to answer your equipment questions and supply your child with the proper equipment. Hopkinton Lacrosse will hold a “Hopkinton Night” at Comlax’s Natick store with substantial savings available.
When does the season begin?
The Under 15’s (U15) will begin practice in early March on a limited basis indoors at one of the school gymnasiums. The Under 13’s (U13) and the Under 11’s (U11) will start indoors in middle/late March also in school gyms. The Under 9’s (U9) will start outdoors when the fields have dried, usually in the middle of April. We will move outdoors as soon as possible, but the condition of the fields will determine the actual start date. Our first game is generally scheduled for the first or second Sunday in April.
When does the season end?
By the second week of June the regular season is over. If your child is selected to the Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse League (MBYLL) All-star Team, you will continue playing till the end of June.
When are practices and games?
Program size and field availability will be the final determinate of practice days. Last year we were able to secure a regular schedule of two practices per week, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. Games are played on Sundays, with a late morning to early afternoon start.
Where are practices and games?
As we did last year, our intention is to continue to use the High School fields for practice and the Fruit Street Field for games. If program size exceeds 6 teams, we may be forced to secure another location for practice.
How much travel is there?
Traditionally, MBYLL schedule 8 league games and there will be 2-4 other games scheduled by Hopkinton Lacrosse. While half of the league games are at home, I can’t predict where the balance of the league games will be played. One year we played as far away as Martha’s Vineyard and as close as Ashland. The games scheduled by Hopkinton Lacrosse will be all local communities, such as, Medfield, Westborough, etc.
When is the cutoff date, how old is my child?
Unlike most sports, MBYLL uses a January 1, cutoff date. The simplest way to determine playing age is, to ask the question: “on January 1st this year, how old is my child?”
What determines the team my child plays on?
Age is the first determinate. After that we look at family consideration, i.e. some families have children playing on both U13 and U15 teams and as such should be on the teams that travel together. Ability is a consideration; some may be invited to move up a division if they so choose. We try our best to honor special requests, like Bill wants to play on John’s team, but due to the complex nature of the total program, we cannot guarantee that all special requests will be honored.
Is the fee refundable if my child decides not to play?
After registration, Hopkinton Lacrosse makes decisions that require financial commitments that are not refundable. As such, we cannot honor any refund requests after January 19th.
