The following information relates to 12U and 14U summer boys' lacrosse player evaluations:
Try not to call them “tryouts.” We're simply trying to evaluate players to try and create the best A-teams and B-teams that we can per league requirements and given our positional needs, available athletes, and player-registration pool.
Everyone will make a team; there are no "cuts."
Depending on the registration numbers and depth of talent at a given age segment, we may have one A-team or two A-teams, one B-team or two B-teams. Relying on evaluations performed by our independent evaluators, we will do our best to ensure that every player ends up on the most developmentally appropriate team for that player. But there will absolutely be difficult calls to be made for those athletes who fall “on the bubble.” For those players, we invite conversations about how to create the best developmental experience based on feedback from the player, evaluators, and coaches.
ALL PLAYERS MUST ATTEND BOTH PLAYER EVALUATION SESSIONS FOR THEIR AGE SEGMENT. Players who miss one or both tryout sessions will be placed on a team at the sole discretion of the boys’ youth director and will lose any "benefit of the doubt” should they appear to be “on the bubble” between an A-team and B-team. If you expect to miss all or part of any tryout session, please email the boys’ youth director beforehand.
A player's placement on an A-team or B-team during any previous season does not guarantee placement on that same team this season.
To participate in tryouts, players must be registered.
EVALUATORS: Minnetonka Lacrosse has contracted with a third-party evaluator to conduct the evaluations. We are excited and fortunate to have this evaluators' expert staff objectively assessing our players this year.
TRYOUT PROCEDURES:
- Open Tryouts: Tryouts are “open,” meaning that spectators may watch tryouts from a distance.
- Non-Interference Policy: Spectators may not interfere in the player evaluations, including by communicating with any player, coach, or evaluator during evaluation. Failure to abide by this non-interference policy may result in the spectator's removal from the evaluation site.
- Positional Preference: When you register for summer lacrosse, you have the option to select a positional preference. While evaluators will consider players' abilities with respect to position, your player's positional preference does not guarantee that he or she will play that position during the summer season or be selected on the basis of their positional preference. Evaluators will be encouraged to note players' strengths and make related positional recommendations, and MLA coaches, with input from the boys' youth director, will empowered to place players at the position best suited to the players' skills, abilities, and development, as well as each team's needs.
- Team Composition: MLA needs to make teams, not just rank players. Accordingly, a player's positional preference may be a factor in rostering decisions. E.g., a player ranked in the second quartile of all players may be a top-ranked defenseman.
- Required Equipment: Players must wear all required equipment for evaluations: a lacrosse helmet, legal lacrosse gloves, lacrosse arm pads, lacrosse shoulder pads (NOCSAE ND200 compliant), a protective athletic cup, a legal lacrosse stick, and appropriate footwear (cleats or turf shoes). No exceptions. Additionally, players may wear bicep pads and kidney or rib pads if they choose.
- Tryout pinnies must be returned: Players must return their tryout pinnie at the end of the second session. Any player who does not return his pinnie will not be permitted to participate in MLA activities until he or she has done so and will be charged for a replacement pinnie.
- Please try to avoid non-Tonka gear: Players are reminded of MLA's policy encouraging them to avoid wearing logos or decals from other associations, teams, clubs, camps, clinics, or schools. This policy covers all gear, e.g., bags, gloves, pads, helmets, jerseys, socks, shorts, shirts, etc. We encourage players to wear Minnetonka colors and exhibit Minnetonka logos during tryouts and at all MLA activities. At the same time, we understand that not all players have multiple sets of helmets, gloves, gear bags, etc.