Westwood Youth Lacrosse | Select program

Select program

Our Select program competes in the MYL Select League (AKA the "Friday night lights league"), which offers MYL member towns an additional playing opportunity for their more experienced and committed U15 (7th & 8th grade) and U13 (5th & 6th grade) players to enhance their love for the game and improve their lacrosse skills through competitive games versus the best players from surrounding towns.

The MYL Select Lacrosse League is a natural extension fully integrated with the traditional MYL Classic Program and is guided by the same mission and goals of the MYL as a whole. The MYL Select Lacrosse Program practice & game schedule does not conflict with the MYL Classic Program weekly practice & Sunday game schedule and is open to ALL interested towns. Players choosing to play on an MYL Select Lacrosse team MUST also play on their town's traditional MYL Classic team as well.

Keys Points:

We established the MYL Select Lacrosse Program for the following reasons:

Improve the overall program and positive experience for all involved in the MYL
Enable more experienced middle school youth players to play together on a unified town team
Simplify parent/player travel & carpool logistics w/ local practices/games
Improve the competitive level of lacrosse, competition & capabilities in all players, teams & towns
Stay in sync with, and complementary to, the mission & goals of the traditional MYL Classic program
A natural extension and logical progression of a growing MYL

We are NOT doing this for the any of these "wrong" reasons

to be exclusionary
Select to a fault
Elite Team fever
A-B-C rankings
the better-than-you mentality.

MYL Select Lacrosse games will be held on Friday nights or Saturdays. The MYL Select Lacrosse practice & game schedule will not conflict with the MYL Classic practice or Sunday game schedule. The MYL Select Lacrosse program will have Division standings, playoffs, championships, and an All-Star game at the end of the season.

Team Composition, Player Eligibility & Selection Process:

Players choosing to participate in the MYL Select Lacrosse program MUST also play in their MYL Classic program to be eligible for the Select season. This is a league rule and cannot be waived by town programs.

The criteria for choosing players for MYL Select Lacrosse Team may vary from town to town; however, as a guideline, it is recommended that towns select players based on experience, skill level, desire & commitment. Some towns may choose to hold tryouts while others towns may work off of coaching input or have players & parents self-select. Players meeting the experience requirement should also have the desire & commitment to play on a competitive town-based team before opting on to an MYL Select Lacrosse team.

While MYL Select Lacrosse teams may not necessarily involve player tryouts, many of the teams participating in the MYL Select Lacrosse program will be at a higher level (versus a Classic team) at a particular age group.

MYL Select Lacrosse Program, League Structure & Spring Season Details

The MYL Select Lacrosse program is an extension of the MYL and its mission to teach, grow and honor the game of lacrosse throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The league stresses sportsmanship and fair play, where every game is played with our 'Spirit of the Game' philosophy. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of lacrosse.

The MYL Select Lacrosse Season overview:

7 regular season games
Championship Tournament ("win and stay in" tournament)
1 All-Star game per age group
Each game will have two EMLOA Referee Officials.

MYL Select Lacrosse Structure:

Teams will be Town-based from MYL Programs.
Players MUST play in their MYL Classic program. If their town offers a Select team at the appropriate level, a player must play Select where they play Classic.
MYL Select Committee Region representatives, we will work together to finalize & communicate any additional program details and adapt the program where needed.

2024 Key Dates

October: Select Team Tryouts for the upcoming Spring season
March: Indoor pre-season practices typically begin
April through mid-May: Regular season:
- Week 1: March 30 - April 1
- Week 2: Apr 7-8
- Week 3: Apr 14-15
- Week 4: Apr 28-29
- Week 5: May 5-6
- Week 6: May 12-13
- Week 7: May 19-20
- First Round of Playoffs: completed by June 3
- Quarterfinals: Saturday, June 3rd
- Semifinals: June 4-7
- Championship Games: Thursday, June 8

Cost

The fee to participate in the Select program is $125, which is in addition to the Classic registration fee.

Tryouts for the Spring 2024 Season

		G56 Select Team	G78 Select Team
First tryout	Date:	Friday, 10/27
	Location:	Flahive Field
	Check-in:	6:15 PM	7:15 PM
	Tryout:	6:30 - 7:30 PM	7:30 - 8:30 PM
Second tryout	Date:	Sunday, 10/29
	Location:	Multipurpose Field
	Check-in:	5:30 PM	6:30 PM
	Tryout:	5:45 - 6:45 PM	6:45 - 7:45 PM