Fall Middle School Sixes Lacrosse League

Program Overview

Henry Youth Lacrosse is excited to announce a NEW fall lacrosse program for middle school boys in grades 6th-8th grade. This season we will be playing “Sixes” lacrosse (also known as “Olympic Sixes” – as it’s the version of the game that will be played at the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles).

Sixes is played on a smaller field, 6v6 (including goalies) and is both a faster and easier-to-learn/play version of the sport. Sixes rosters typically have 10-12 players and we plan to form at least 3 teams that will compete locally each Saturday this fall (no travel required). Each team will have a dedicated head coach and players will be rostered with both groups of players from the same schools and balanced with “free agents” who attend other schools (or are homeschooled) to keep teams fair and competitive (see below for full details).

Each team will play a minimum of 8 regular season games. We plan to play games on Saturday afternoons – either at East Lake Elementary or a local high school football field (turf – when available). Games are approximately 45 minutes – and teams may play 1 or 2 games each week, depending on the number of players who register (and number of teams we have). At the end of the regular season, teams will be ranked based on win/loss record and/or goal differential to seed teams for our final weekend semifinal(s) and championship game (which we have tentatively planned for November 1st. This will be the official end of the fall season.

Important Dates:

  • NOW: Registration is NOW open. Please register ASAP to secure your player’s spot.
  • EARLY REGISTRATION: Register BEFORE August 1st to save $30 on registration. No discounts will be offered AFTER August 1st.
  • REGISTRATION DEADLINE: The registration deadline is August 15th. We need all players to register by this date to help us finalize rosters and schedules before the first week of practices.
  • LATE REGISTRATION: If you are reading this on/after August 15th, we WILL accept late registrations through September 1st. A $20 late registration fee is automatically added to registrations received AFTER August 15th through September 1st.
  • PRACTICE START DATE: Practices will start the week of August 18th. Each team’s coaches will finalize practice days, times and locations before the end of the registration cycle.
  • OPENING DAY: We plan to play our first games on September 6th. We plan to play games on Saturday afternoons – working around Fall Break, holidays and other lacrosse activities we may participate in this season. We will finalize the game schedule before the first week of practice at the latest.
  • END OF SEASON: We plan to complete all regular season games before the end of October. We would like to have a final game day on November 1st to officially wrap up the season. Depending on the number of teams we have, we will play semifinal(s) and championship games on Saturday afternoon this date. No practices or games will be scheduled after November 1st.
  • NOTE: We plan to minimize conflicts with other sports or regular commitments players may have (based on the information parents provide during the registration process). For example, we do not plan to have games/practices on Wednesday or Thursday nights OR Saturday mornings this fall (to help minimize conflicts with middle school football and cross country, as well as possible church conflicts on Wednesday nights).

FEES & EQUIPMENT INFO

  • REGISTRATION: Registration for the Fall Season is $185. This covers officials for our games, supplies for practices/games, field-related expenses, and a reversible game jersey (pinnie) for your player. Remember, if you register BEFORE August 1st, registration is discounted by $30 (only $155). If you plan to join us this fall, PLEASE register before August 1st to SAVE $$$. No discounts will be issued after August 1st. As mentioned above, the registration deadline is August 15th. We need all possible players to register by August 15th (at the latest) to enable our coaches to finalize rosters and schedules (and for our team to order the correct number and sizes for player jerseys). To help us, and to avoid the late registration fee, we ask you to PLEASE register before the August 15th deadline. Thank you!
  • REFUND POLICY: If your player is unable to participate after you register him, please refer to the timeline below regarding HYL’s cancellation policy. There are obviously situations where a refund may be merited, regardless of date of cancellation. If you have such a situation, please feel free to contact us. Our leadership team will make a final determination regarding any refunds – but our standard policy for general cancellations is as follows:
    • Before August 1st: 100%
    • After August 1st/Before August 15th: 50%
    • After August 15th: No Refunds After August 15th.
  • USA LACROSSE MEMBERSHIP: all players are required to have a USA Lacrosse (USAL) Membership (for insurance). Memberships are $35 per-year. New players and current players with Memberships that expire before November 2025 will need to purchase/renew a Membership (this is part of the registration process). If you purchased/renewed a Membership HYL’s Spring Season OR Summer Camp, you will not need to pay this fee for the fall.
  • EQUIPMENT: all players must be “fully equipped.” For boys lacrosse, this includes a NOCSAE/SEI certified helmet and shoulder pads, arm protection (elbow pads, arm pads or arm guards – vary by position), gloves, mouthguard, protective cup, lacrosse stick and cleats (football, soccer or lacrosse cleats are acceptable). We realize equipment can be overwhelming for new players/parents. We recommend you do NOT purchase equipment until you have had a chance to speak with your coach(es). Coaches will review what your player needs – and help save you $$$. We often have donated or discounted equipment options. We do recommend new players get a lacrosse stick in advance to practice with. If you are unsure what to get, please contact Coach Jeremy at 404.641.9023 (phone/text) or jeremy@henryyouthlax.org (email). We recommend StringKing (a leading manufacturer) for beginners to advanced skill-level players. We also have a discount program you can take advantage of. Please reach out!

How Will Teams Be Formed?

We are approaching the fall middle school boys’ program like a mini-league. We plan to form at least 3 teams of 10-12 players for the fall (and will form more teams if there is enough interest). Each team will have its own coach – and each team will set its own practice schedule (which will be finalized before registration closes).

Note: We do not plan to have practices/games on Wednesday/Thursday nights OR Saturday mornings (to avoid common fall conflicts we know of so far).

Our coaches have come up with the following plan to roster players (based on parent feedback) – but also to accomplish the following:

  • We want ALL our middle school boys to have an opportunity to learn, play and compete on “fair and balanced” teams this fall. We want each team to be as competitive as possible, while balancing our various skill-levels of players (which range from NEW to experienced).
  • At the same time, with five high school boy’s lacrosse programs in-county now (ELCA, Union Grove, Ola, Strong Rock and Dutchtown) – and our hope that other schools will start teams in the seasons to come – we also see value in grouping players together who attend the same school.

With this in mind, we are automatically going to assign players from Union Grove and ELCA to separate teams (both schools have more than five players already who are interested). While Ola, Strong Rock or Dutchtown don’t have five or more players who have played for HYL the past two seasons, we’ve had increased interest and will assign players from these schools to the third team.

More than a third of our middle school boys who have played one or more seasons with HYL do NOT attend schools that feed into these high schools (and there are a lot of talented players in this group). These players will be “free agents” and coaches will have the opportunity to draft these players once registration closes (draft picks will be awarded based on team roster needs – both in terms of skill level and roster spots). We expect the draft will be a lot of fun for players and coaches alike.

Ultimately, our three initial teams will start out as follows (we may make adjustments as necessary to help balance things out, but we believe these teams will be very competitive):

  • TEAM ONE: Will initially consist of Union Grove students + free agent draft picks.
  • TEAM TWO: Will initially consist of ELCA students + free agent draft picks
  • TEAM THREE: Will initially consist of students from Ola, Strong Rock and Dutchtown + free agent draft picks

NOTE: Team rosters will initially be capped at 12 players. If we have more than 36 players register, we will form a fourth team prior to the draft and will make adjustments as necessary to ensure all teams are fair and balanced. As a final thought, keep in mind:

  • All teams will have NEW players (no experience)
  • All teams will have beginner players (1-2 seasons)
  • All teams will have intermediate players (2+ seasons)
  • Most teams should have at least one experienced player (has been playing a long time and/or has played competitively outside HYL)
  • Regardless of experience (how long player has been playing), skill-level (how ‘good’ a player is), school (what school player attends), or any other factor – ALL players get equal opportunities to play. This is still a recreational program and we believe all players should get as close to equal time in practices and games.
  • Exception: there is ONE exception to the last bullet. HYL does require players to show up as often as they can (when they don’t have excused absences from practices). We also expect players to “do their best” and to give 100% effort at practice and games when healthy. That’s the requirement for equal participation. “Excused absences” are things like school, family, church or other responsibilities (including school sports, if players are also participating in official fall sports at their school). As long as players notify coaches in advance that they will not be there, most absences will be excused.

This is the first time we are doing this. Obviously if there are any issues – teams aren’t fair, players are upset about team assignment, etc. – we will make adjustments and/or consider requests to ensure all our players have a great experience (and a lot of fun) this fall. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact Coach Jeremy at 404.641.9023 or jeremy@henryyouthlax.org.

What Do We Need To Know About Sixes Lacrosse?

  • Sixes is a fast-paced, compact version of field lacrosse
  • It combines the most exciting aspects of lacrosse, but encourages a more open style of play with quick transitions and non-stop, high-scoring action
  • This version of the game was created in 2018 to accelerate global growth, increase accessibility and approachability, create greater competitive balance, and reduce cost and complexity of participation – it’s also the format that will be played at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (Sixes is “Olympic Lacrosse”)

As far as basic rules go, here are some quick highlights:

  • 6v6 (including goalies) – 12 players per team
  • :30 second shot clock
  • 8-min running-time quarters
  • Games are approximately 45-mins long
  • No specialist positions like traditional field lacrosse – just runners and goalies (no long poles)
  • Faceoffs are only at the start of each quarter – goalies clear on shots after that
  • Simplified rules – no offsides, automatic turnovers on out-of-bounds/saves/goals, shot clock expiration, etc.

For more information on Sixes, we recommend reading our recent blog post OR visiting World Lacrosse’s website here.

Middle School Sixes FAQs

We’ve blocked out this space for our FAQs. We haven’t had a lot of questions yet, but plan to add some FAQs here shortly. Have questions? Let us know and we’ll add the answer to this section. Thank you!

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