UPDATE: April 1

Coronavirus Update 4/1/2020

Governor Jared Polis' announced Wednesday afternoon, that schools will remain closed until April 30, as such we will continue the suspension of CYLA spring lacrosse through April 30, 2020. 

March 26

Coronavirus Update 3/26/2020

As the Covid-19 issue remains ever changing the health and well-being of our families has remained our top priority. Because of that, as previously communicated, we have postponed all CYLA activities until further notice. This does not mean we are cancelling our spring season.

FAQ’s 

When will you start the season? 

We are currently following all state and local guidelines resulting in delaying our season start until April 18^th, 2020. While we cannot predict what is going to happen in the coming weeks, we will continue to update you as more information becomes available.  Note that our fields are controlled by community parks and recreation organizations as well as school districts and we are in constant communication with them regarding potential field availability.

Why not just cancel?

There are several reasons not to cancel:

• We have already spent a significant portion of your dues on non-recoverable expenses including: field permits, training, sports equipment, scheduling, etc. 

• Kids (and parents) that are currently practicing social distancing will benefit from returning to some form of normalcy when safe to do so. 

• Keeping the season will help our local economy including small businesses, sports clubs and officials. End of year parties (at local establishments), part-time officials, and youth sports organizations (who often operate on a thread) are a critical part of a strong community. Now is the time to stand together and make sure we stay strong. 

What will the season look like?

• Many ideas are on the table. We have a number of dedicated people working to develop a solution. We cannot know what is going to happen over the next few weeks and thus cannot predict the solution we will use. Once we know we will work aggressively and expeditiously to implement and communicate a plan.

• Potential Scenarios: Condensed season; more double headers; tournament play every weekend; extending the season into June. There are many ideas and possibilities; as the situation remains fluid, CYLA will continue to communicate updates as new information becomes available.

We know these are uncertain times, where some families may be anxious or even scared. We all share these sentiments, as we too have families. We want nothing more than to all return, together, to the lacrosse fields, for some fun, camaraderie, and competition with friends. 

On behalf of the entire CYLA, we want to thank for putting your trust in us, and we appreciate the support of your respective regional based club. We are committed to working through these challenging circumstances together.  

March 17th

On Monday, March 16, Gov. Jared Polis announced new restrictions on public gatherings to help slow the advance of the COVID-19 pandemic. Polis ordered the closure of large gathering places across Colorado for 30 days, effective at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

In light of Governor Jared Polis' announcement Monday afternoon, we are announcing that the CYLA  will follow the guidelines that went into effect at 8 a.m. Tuesday and will remain in effect for 30 days, including the suspension of CYLA spring lacrosse  through April 18. 

March 12

All CYLA spring lacrosse activities will be suspended until early April to address concerns surrounding the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, CYLA  announced on Thursday.

Effective Friday, March 13, the 2020 spring lacrosse season, including all practices and competition, is suspended through April 6.  

The situation will be monitored and evaluated with league decision-makers from around the state to determine when, or if, to resume the spring season.

This decision is based on input from a range of Administrators and parents.

Further information about the spring sports season will be communicated via CYLA.US, when available.

2/2/2020; More than 50 children experience lacrosse for the first time!

Colorado Springs based Patriots Lacrosse hosted a US Lacrosse TryLax Clinic on February 2nd, and had a great turnout. 

More than 50 children were able to experience lacrosse for the very first time, and hopefully will be future members of the CO lacrosse community. 

Special thanks to US Lacrosse and the Patriots Lacrosse Program for hosting. 

If you are interested in hosting a clinic of your own, or more information on US Lacrosse / TryLax, click here to learn more on USlacrosse.org, or reach out to USL's Mountain region representative

What is TryLax?

TryLax® is an exciting, effective way for programs to recruit new players into the sport and their organization. This grant is for US Lacrosse Member Organizations that want to introduce lacrosse to boys and girls, ages 6-14, for the first time. This opens an affordable path for parents to allow their children to discover if they enjoy lacrosse before paying the full registration fee for a program or season. Awarded organizations will receive the necessary resources to provide a safe and fun introductory lacrosse experience.

Please Click Here for an overview on the CYLA 2020 season, publushed 1.28.20.

CYLA Club Information

USE THIS LINK TO IDENTIFY A CYLA CLUB IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

If you are new to Colorado or to the sport of boy’s youth lacrosse and have questions concerning what options are available in your neighborhood, what club to register with, etc, please contact the individual club listed below that manages your CYLA region in our league.

The organization that is now CYLA started in the fall of 1990 when Mark Foster and Jamie Duke agreed to form a boys' junior lacrosse organization. Foster founded the Redhawks, focused on Central Denver, and Duke founded the Indians, focused on South Denver. Each club started with one team consisting of second and third grade boys.  The first game was played in March 1991.

In the 25 years that have followed, CYLA has grown to 28 clubs spanning the state from Grand Junction to Aurora; Fort Collins to Pueblo and multiple locations along the Front Range.  In 2015, over 5000 boys participated in CYLA.  Since inception, CYLA has been a volunteer-led community based youth organization focused solely on boys lacrosse.  Each club is managed as a separate entity & each club manages a distinct region in our league.  There are some areas that are shared by multiple clubs, so please contact the clubs directly for more details.

The CYLA offers programs ranging from the entry level young guns to the D1 aspiring middle school players.  We offer a high range of competition and focus on each individual’s need to grow the game of lacrosse within the state of Colorado.  Not all clubs offer a full range of programs.

If you are interested in girls youth lacrosse, please visit www.cglax.com. 

UPDATED for FALL 2018: The CYLA (Colorado Youth Lacrosse Association) will continue to use June 1st as the cutoff date for age-based classification. 

The CYLA has permanently adopted US Lacrosse guidelines regarding age-based classification.  

Players in the same grade will generally be grouped together, provided that they meet the June 1 birth date cutoff for that age group.  All players are required to provide official proof of birth date (birth certificate, passport, adoption papers, etc) before participating in sanctioned CYLA games. 

All current 8th graders are eligible to play, regardless of birthdate.  No high school players are permitted to participate.

A player's eligibility for the 2018 Fall or 2019 Spring season is determined by his age on May 31, 2018.  

• For example, any player born on or after June 1, 2005 is eligible to play U13.
• A player born on or before May 31, 2005 is not eligible to play U13 and must play U15. 
• In general, we will group players on the basis of "Grade with an Age Cutoff."  This means that players in the same grade will be grouped on teams at the same age level, provided that they meet the June 1st cutoff date.
• Players who are "young" for their grade will still be permitted to play at that age level.  For example, a 4th grader who is age-eligible for U9 (ie born after 6/1/2009) can still play U10. 

NO PLAYER WILL BE PERMITTED TO "PLAY DOWN" IN AGE CLASSIFICATION-- NO EXCEPTIONS.

2018 FALL and 2019 SPRING Age Classifications: