Hello!  Below is our tentative schedule for Spring 2020.  NOTE, the Town and DPW has not finalized our Spring field assignments, but we were told we would have at least as much field time as we did last Spring.  With that in mind, we have mapped out the following schedule.  SECOND NOTE, for the older kids, there is a lot of "pre-season" this year - all of which is subject to having enough kids to participate.

WYL SPRING SEASON 2020 – INITIAL SPRING SCHEDULE

• 5^th – 8^th Grade Tryouts – March 1^st and 15^th. 
• Pre-Season Meeting - Friday, March 27^th – 6:30PM at WHS.  3^rd-8^th Graders Only.

HOUSE LEAGUE - APRIL 10^TH – JUNE 7^TH

• Pre-Season Clinic on March 15^th at Danvers Indoor from 1:00-2:30PM.  All registered players may attend.
  • For first year players that want to attend this practice and are borrowing HL gear, or any other first year player that wants their gear early, we will have an equipment handout on March 7^th at Skillings Field.  Time TBD.
• First Practice – April 10^th (see below for time and location).
  • Before first practice, we will have a meeting to discuss the HL, hand out pinnies and hand out gear for 1^st year players.
• Games start on April 26^th.  Final game on June 7^th.  Season is subject to being extended due to weather cancellations.
• June 6^th or 7^th – House league tournament.

3^RD AND 4^TH GRADERS (“Small Ball”)

• Pre-Season Clinic on March 15^th at Danvers Indoor from 1:00-2:30PM.  All registered players may attend.
• March 27^th – 6:30PM at WHS.  Pre-season WYL meeting.  Kids receive pinnies and socks, then hear about WYL/TPL Updates.
• March 29^th – Small ball jamboree at Marlborough Fore Kicks for all 3^rd and 4^th Graders. 
• April 1^nd - First formal practice at 6:00PM. Location TBD.  Only 1 practice this week.
• April 4^th - Small ball jamboree for all 3^rd and 4^th Graders at Taunton Fore Kicks.
• April 6^th – Practice and games proceed per TPL schedule (see below for 3^rd and 4^th practice times and locations).

5^th – 8^th GRADERS (Full Field Play)

• 5^th – 8^th Grade Tryouts – March 1^st and 15^th.   Players only have to attend 1 practice.  If they attend both, we will take their top score (not their average).
• March 27^th – 6:30PM at WHS.  Pre-season WYL meeting.  Kids receive pinnies and socks, then hear about WYL/TPL Updates.
• March 29^th – Small ball jamboree at Marlborough Fore Kicks for all 5^th and 6^th Graders.
• March 29^th – Small ball jamboree at LS for 7^th and 8^th Graders.
• March 30^th Week – Practices as determined by HCs for each grade.
• April 4^th – 6^th Grade A Team – “Connecticut Challenge” (in Darien CT).
• April 5^th - Small ball jamboree for all 5^th Graders at Taunton Fore Kicks.
• April 5^th – Small ball jamboree for all 6^th Graders (B team only) at LS.
• April 5^th - Small ball jamboree in Winchester for 7^th and 8^th Graders.
• April 6^th – Practice and games proceed per TPL schedule (see below for practice times and locations).

TPL Games (2 games per game-day for each team):

• Weekend of April 26^th
• Weekend of May 3^rd
• Weekend of May 17^th
• 1 or 2 Weekends of Memorial Day or May 31^st (conflict with Border Battle)

Tournaments:

• Weekend of May 10^th – All A-Teams to LS; All B-Teams to Hingham for TPL tourney.
• Border Battle – All teams will attend.  May 30^th or 31^st.

TENTATIVE PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR SPRING 2020

MONDAY: 

• 3^rd and 4^th grade (location and time, TBD).  Likely 6 or 6:30 at Skillings.
• We will book additional fields for makeup practices or additional practices (or if any of you want to have a regular Monday practice)

TUESDAY: 

• 8^th Grade A / 7^TH Grade A – 6:30PM at Skillings (turf or grass TBD)
• 8^th Grade B / 7^th Grade B – 6:30PM at Manchester

WEDNESDAY: 

• 3^rd and 4^th grade (location and time, TBD). Likely 6 or 6:30 at Skillings.
• 6^th Grade A / 5^TH Grade A – 6:30PM at Manchester
• 6^th Grade B / 5^th Grade B – 6:30PM at Skillings (turf or grass TBD)

THURSDAY: 

• 8^th Grade A / 7^TH Grade A – 6:30PM at Manchester
• 8^th Grade B / 7^th Grade B – 6:30PM at Skillings (turf or grass TBD)

FRIDAY: 

• House League – 5:30PM at Skillings
• 6^th Grade A / 5^TH Grade A – 6:30PM at Skillings (turf or grass TBD)
• 6^th Grade B / 5^th Grade B – 6:30PM at Manchester

5th - 8th grade parents - We will hold tryouts for the Spring A and B teams as set forth below.  We are back at the Edge this year for tryouts.  A quick reminder, WYL and the TPL have made some changes to our program and league to ensure that all players on all teams get a great lax experience - if your son does not "make" the A team, he will still learn, have fun and compete! 

Each tryout session is 45 minutes.  

The Edge is located at 191 Hartwell Road, Bedford MA 01730

EVERYONE should arrive 30 minutes early to receive a pinnie.  Practices will start on time, without much warmup.

YOUR SON DOES NOT NEED TO ATTEND BOTH TRYOUT PRACTICES - HE ONLY NEEDS TO ATTEND ONE PRACTICE.

March 1st:

9AM - 5th Grade

9:45 - 6th Grade

10:30 - 7th Grade

11:15 - 8th Grade

March 15th:

9AM - 8th Grade

9:45 - 7th Grade

10:30 - 6th Grade

11:15 - 5th Grade

FAQ's

1. Does your son need to tryout?  No! If your son does not tryout then he will be placed on the B-team.  If your son is a true beginner, or even if your son prefers playing in the B team, then he does not need to tryout.
2. Are Teams Fixed?  Not necessarily.  It is typical for a few B team players to be asked to play with the A-team during the season, but that movement is not guaranteed.
3. How are teams made?  Players will be based on 3rd party evaluations.  In addition, Head Coaches do have discretion to select a player or two based on clear prior skill and experience.
4. Could my son be moved to another grade's team?  New this year to the TPL is the ability to move certain players up and down.  Accordingly, we may ask that your son play on a team for another grade.  We will not force this, we will ask - you can say no or yes.  And we will always move kids with a group of players from his grade.

SPRING 2020 REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Letter from the WYL Pres.

Lax Parents, Players and Friends:

Happy 2020!  It is 2020 and that means lax season is around the corner.  We will be opening up our Spring registration shortly for the youth program, and the WHS boys team will be on the field in a couple months to defend their State Championship.  Below you will also see an important update summarizing changes to our league (the Town Pride League).

With respect to Spring registration, we continue to try and keep costs down, however the cost of turf, coaches and program-level equipment/gear continues to increase.  To stay competitive, we needed to slightly increase our seasonal-registration fee for some grades.  To avoid additional increases, we will have a WYL charity cornhole tourney in the Spring and hope everyone and everyone’s kids are able to participate.

We will have new jerseys/pinnies this Spring.  We will also be offering a wide array of gear (shorts, socks, etc.) through our sideline stores opening soon.

With respect to the sport of lacrosse, Eastern Massachusetts continues to be a hot bed.  As you all know, our WHS varsity squad will defend a state title this Spring and they should be very good again.  Locally, programs like Tufts (DIII men) and BC (DI women) are awesome and nearby.  And the Premier Lacrosse League just announced they are kicking off their 2^nd season at Gilette Stadium on May 29^th and 30^th (maybe we all head to Foxboro before we head to CT for the border battle).

For the time being, enjoy the rink, court and slopes.  And see you all soon.

IMPORTANT TPL UPDATE

As most of you are aware, Winchester Youth Lacrosse is part of the Town Pride League (“TPL”).  The TPL is a 16-town league with some of the very best lacrosse towns in Eastern Massachusetts.  Our TPL play starts in 3^rd grade with small ball, and ends in 8^th grade. This past Fall, the TPL towns got together several times to consider ways that we can improve the TPL experience for all players, coaches and parents.  The primary goals were (a) improve the team-experience for all players, not just the top players in any given grade, (b) de-emphasize regular-season games so that towns can focus on player development up and down their rosters during the regular season, and (c) to improve the “Game Day” experience for all of our teams.  As a result, the TPL has formally adopted a relatively large number of rule changes, schedule adjustments and changes to our general league philosophy.

The noteworthy changes and adjustments are as follows, and our WYL commentary at the end:

• House League (K-2^nd Grade) – Very little change.  The TPL does not control our House League.  But, we will institute a few changes:
  • 2^nd grade teams will be made (and potentially re-made) in order for the kids to participate in a season-ending playoff.
  • 2^nd graders will also have an opportunity to play other TPL towns in a season ending jamboree.
• Travel Small Ball (3^rd and 4^th Grade)
  • Game days (Sundays) will always have 3 or 4 teams traveling to one location for a mini-jamboree. Our kids will play a lot of games each Sunday.
  • All towns will invest in a set of box-goalie equipment so that one small ball game will be with goalies in a 4 x 4 net and wearing box lacrosse gear.  This looks very much like hockey equipment and makes it (a) hard for the kids to get stung by shots, and (b) hard to score in general. 
  • End of season Jamborees will be Sunday, June 7^th or 14^th (TBD)
• 5^th Grade Specific Changes – These changes only affect 5^th grade
  • The 5^th grade A-team division will be organized based on strength of teams, not regionally as it had been in the past.
  • All 5^th grade teams will play on a modified 90 x 40 (wing/restrain line) field.  Essentially a full sized lax field with the lines brought in 10 yards on each end line and each sideline.  This will be a bit of a pain in terms of field prep, but the idea is simple – a true full field in too big for 5^th graders.  And WYL agrees – there is too much open field on a full sized field for 5^th grade legs.
  • As a result of the smaller field, all 5^th grade teams will play with an 8 v 8 setup (+ goalie).  1 goalie, 2 attack, 3 middies, 2 defenders. All other full field rules apply.
  • Long poles will not be permitted for 5^th grade games.
• 5^th -8^th Grade – Full Field TPL Play
  • Change #1.  B-teams will be made up of only B-team players.  No town may have a player that plays for any of the town’s A-teams play in a B-team game (ever).
    • Why?  It has been common practice around the TPL for towns to bring 25(ish) players to their A and B games.  After the A-team plays, 5-6 A-players stick around and play in the B game as well, and usually those players are enough to tilt the game in their town’s direction.  This ruins the B-team experience in many ways. This will no longer be allowed, and is a very welcomed rule change.
    • If a town does not have enough kids to field a full A and B team, then that town has two choices: (1) they can field an A-team only for that grade, and not have a B-team, or (2) they can have appropriate B-players from the grade above play down, or grade below play up (but only B players may play up or down, you cannot move an A player). 
  • Change #2.  B-team will play in regional divisions in 2020, and will not follow A-teams as in years past.  This means that the B-team game schedule will be independent of the A-team schedule.
    • Corresponding WYL Change – Each A and B team will have its own parent-coordinator as well as its own pro coach.
  • Change #3.  Schedule is a mix of 7 v 7, full field and tourneys. 
    • The TPL will host 7 v 7 regional jamborees during late March and early April for 5^th-8^th grade teams.  This is our new “pre-season”.
    • The regular season will commence the 2^nd weekend of April vacation (the weekend before kids go back to school).
    • All A-teams will be invited to the in-season tourney at LS; while all B-teams will be invited to a similar tourney hosted by Hingham the same weekend.
    • The TPL will pause so all programs can attend the Border Battle.
      • Corresponding WYL Change – Each A and B team (5^th – 8^th) will attend the Border Battle in Connecticut.
  • Change #4.  All teams (A and B) will play 2 games on each “Game Day”.  Meaning, 3 teams will travel to each game location, and play 2 games (ex., LS and AB will travel to Winchester on a Sunday.  Winchester will play AB and LS, AB will play Winchester and LS, LS will play AB and Winchester).  Games will be quicker – two running halves like tourneys.  This is a great rule change.
  • Change #5.  A-team regular season standings will not be kept.  Coaches will collaborate to seed teams for the playoffs.  As a result, very little patience for cancelling or rescheduling games.

Commentary on these changes is pretty simple.  Except for one rule change (the box goalie equipment one, which we just find unusual), the WYL Board is very excited for these changes.  These changes should result in a better town-lacrosse experience from the very best players to players that are new to the game.  These changes also will allow the WYL to re-focus on one of our most sacred goals – to run a program intent on growing and improving our players, while providing the coaching necessary to make the game fun and accessible to everyone who is interested.

Lastly, these TPL changes also resulted in WYL making several changes to our own program.  Those changes will be described on our website when Spring Registration opens.  Stay tuned.

Cheers,

Chris Froeb

WYL Parents - Our brand new lacrosse wall is open for business at Skillings Field, adjacent to the grass field.  Below are some drills for your player.

DRILLS: (Beginners 30 reps with each hand)

1. 1 hand: catch and 1cradle
2. 2 hands: catch and 1 cradle
3. 2 hands: quick stick
4. 2 hands: split drill -catch righty, switch and throw lefty/ catch lefty switch and throw righty
5. 2 hands: catch, face dodge, and throw
6. 2 hands: catch, fake, and throw

You must be at 50 reps with each hand before passing this point.

Remember the above must be performed in the correct manner, that is: stick in the box, overhand motion, wrist snap. If your form is sloppy, such as letting the stick hang down off the shoulder, you will be slinging the ball and thus wasting your time. CORRECT FORM MUST BE ADHERED TO, OR YOUR EFFORTS WILL BE WASTED.

Stand about ten feet from a wall. 

50 repetitions with right hand (Throw and catch)

50 repetition with left hand (Throw and catch)

25 repetitions -Throw left catch right

25 repetitions -Throw right catch left 

Stand about 5 feet from the wall for the one-handers*

50 repetitions -One hand right handed

50 repetitions -One hand left handed

50 repetitions -2 hand quicksticks right hand

50 repetitions -2 hand quicksticks left hand

*Better for later in the drill as fatigue sets in

Advanced

50 repetitions -Behind the back right handed

50 repetitions -Behind the back left handed

50 repetitions -Left hand sidearm

50 repetitions -Right hand sidearm

Keep doing wall drills, and it won't take long before you notice a big difference.