Who is eligible to participate in the Select Program?

• 5th or 6th grade girls

• 7th or 8th grade girls 

• Must be register and participate on the grade level Travel team program (Sunday games)

 

What is the commitment and expectations? 

Players need to commit to the following:

• Willingness to make lacrosse their priority sport in the spring. 

• Willingness to play both Travel and Select teams. 

• Willingness to make attendance at both practice and games a priority and communication with coaches is a must.

• Players must commit to attending at least 1 Travel team practice (practices are 2x/week) and all Select team practices (1x week). 

• As part of the communication with coaches, it is expected that players make the effort to communicate when they will be absent and to advocate for themselves with regards to their own player development.

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What else should players and parents know about the Select Program? 

• Players should have a good knowledge of the game and are ready for a higher level of play. 

• Modified checking is allowed for 5/6 level and full checking is allowed for 7/8 level. 

• Player safety is a priority therefore player skill level is important.  

• The selection process will be based on constructing the strongest team, not the strongest group of positional players.  If selected, players may be asked to play different positions and do different things to help the team. The focus is on fundamentals, on & off ball movement, new skills, and most importantly teamwork.

• Select team coaches are experienced coaches, who are knowledgeable about the girls’ game, rules and how to motivate and elevate the level of play.

• Scores and standings are kept for Select teams.

• Playing time may not be equitable during Select division games.  Players can expect to have meaningful playing time over the course of the season. 

 

Do I need to register my child in order to try out? 

Yes, there is a separate registration for the Select program.  In addition, your child must be registered for a town Travel team in order to try out for the Select team.   Rostered player fee is estimated at $250/player.

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How many players will be selected for each team?

Each year, WGL is fortunate to have a new mix of players with varying strengths and skill sets.  Therefore, final determination on how many players will be rostered for the Select team will depend on the evaluation of players who are trying out that year.

 

Do returning players have to try out?

Yes.  Each year, the grade groups includes a different pool of players.  Players are evaluated for a spot on the Select team based on their skill level and teamwork compared to others within that pool.  This is not a league for those who are still trying to master their basic skills or cannot commit to practices and games.

 

How many tryouts are there?

There will be 2 tryout dates and players are required to make at least 1 tryout.  Tryout dates will be announced as soon as field space is confirmed.  Please arrive 15-20 minutes before the tryout to check in, obtain your tryout pinny, stretch, and be ready to play. 

 

What if my child is injured or cannot participate in a tryout due to a conflict?

If a player is ill, injured, or otherwise cannot attend tryouts, you must contact the age level coordinator prior to the scheduled tryout.  Any player not attending for one of these excused absences will need to be reviewed at another date.  

 

How are tryouts structured?

During the tryout, players will be evaluated for stick skills, defensive & offensive awareness, ball movement, speed, athleticism and TEAM play.

 

Who oversees the tryout, evaluates players, and selects the teams?

• The Select Program coordinator or WGL Board Member organizes and manages the tryout process, allowing the evaluators to focus solely on the performance of the players.

• The coordinator works on securing field space, tryout dates, evaluators and coaches to run the drills.

• Evaluators are responsible for running the tryout and evaluating players. 

• No evaluator will have a daughter trying out for that age level.  Evaluators are experienced coaches from other town programs, current or former WGL coaches, club coaches or current HS players.  The evaluators will include the Select coaches as long as there is no conflict of interest. 

• When possible, no current age level coach will run drills during that tryout.  Coaches may be necessary at the tryouts to ensure all players participate; help keep the pace of the drills to allow for an effective evaluation. 

• Parents are not allowed to attend the tryouts.  This is so the players can focus on what they are doing and are not distracted. 

 

What is the schedule for the Select team?

• Games will not conflict with Travel team games.  Select team games are played on Friday evenings.  The game schedule will depend on other towns with registered Select teams.  Given the shortage of girls lacrosse umpires, all games are scheduled 6:30 pm or later. 

• To make the Select program more accessible to our multi-sport athletes, Select practices are 1x/week on Thursdays after the Travel team practice. 

  • Select team players are expected to work on their lacrosse skills outside of regularly scheduled practices. 

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