Canton Youth Lacrosse promotes the sport of Lacrosse and provides a fun, positive, and enriching experience for both the kids and parents of Canton.  Our objectives are:

• Give every kid the opportunity to play and enjoy Lacrosse;
• Teach the sport and skills of lacrosse, improve the level of play over time;
• Teach teamwork and sportsmanship at all times;
• Be competitive against other teams we play and;
• Develop players who wish to continue playing in high school.

The program is for boys in grades 1-8 and is divided into four age groups.  It is primarily for Canton residents but boys from other towns are welcome to join if their town does not have a program. The program is built around participation in the MYL(explained below). We also participate in a smaller, add-on competitive league called MYL Select League.  There are some key differences in the age groups.

• U9
  • Grades 1 and 2
  • Focus is instruction on Lacrosse basics
  • No contact play
  • Equal playing time
• U11
  • Grades 3 and 4
  • Focus is on Lacrosse instruction and skills building, some team setup concepts introduced
  • No contact play
  • Equal playing time
• U13
  • Grades 5 and 6
  • Focus is on lacrosse instruction, skills building, introduction of lacrosse offensive and defensive team concepts
  • Introduction of 5 foot long defensive sticks
  • Contact play
  • Equal playing time
• U15
  • Grades 7 and 8
  • Focus is on lacrosse instruction, skills building, advanced play concepts
  • Introduction of 6 foot long defensive sticks
  • Time limits to clear and reach the offensive box
  • Contact play
  • Equal playing time

In this program we distribute the players across the teams to create balance teams.  There is no concept of A, B and C teams as seen in other sports.  The MYL philosophy is to that balance teams will grow the sport because new, less skilled players will be an equal part of the team and will develop alongside the more experience players.

MYL create the Select program to provide boys an extra opportunity to play in a more competitive environment. The MYL Select program is for the U13 and U15 age groups.  Players can participate in both the regular season and the select season at the same time.

• U13 - MYL Select
  • Grades 5 and 6
  • Tryout required
  • Focus is on skills building and advanced play concepts
  • Introduction of 5 foot long "tiger poles", defensive sticks
  • Contact play
  • Playing time according to effort, skill, and determination
  • Standings are kept, scores matter, playoffs at the end of the season
• U15 - MBYLL Select
  • Grades 7 and 8
  • Tryout required
  • Focus is on skills building and advanced play concepts
  • Introduction of 6 foot long defensive sticks
  • Contact play
  • Playing time according to effort, skill, and determination
  • Standings are kept, scores matter, playoffs at the end of the season

It is never too late to start playing Lacrosse; new kids join at every age group every year.  The practice plans are at the U9 and U11 level primarily focus on basic skills.  The U13 and U15 still work on basic fundamentals but also focus on team tactics.  If you are new at the older age groups we encourage you to pick up a stick and starting use it, toss the ball with a friend or against the wall, and attend the winter lax clinics.

The games are played during the spring season from April through June.  Registration begins in the fall of the previous year so we can determine how many teams we will have to schedule.  During the winter we have skills clinics so that players can refresh their skills and new players can get started with some basic skills.  Our first outdoor practice will begin mid-March.  See season timeline for more details.

We also continuously look for other opportunities for players during the summer, fall and winter seasons.  As we find these opportunities we will send out notifications to gauge interest and see if we can form a team.

• Early Registration – This happens during June at the tail end of the previous season.  Players are encouraged to commit to the next season and receive a discount on the fee.
• Fall Registration – This happens during to the fall (October – Mid-December) and we are looking to get player commitment in order to determine how many teams we should declare with the league for each age group.
• Winter Registration – This happens in February up to the beginning of the spring season.  Since we have declared the number of teams we only open up registration if there is room for more players on the teams and, if the cap has been reached, your son would be waitlisted and may not get a chance to play. We highly encourage players to sign up during early or fall registration.

Registration is done on-line.  Select the Register Online on the left menu, find your son’s age group click Begin Registration.

The registration fee is $225 for U15, U13, and U11 age groups and $125 for the U9 age group.  MBYLL Select team registration will be separate.


MBYLL (Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse League)
US Lacrosse is divided into regional chapters across the country.  Canton Youth Lacrosse is affiliated with the Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse League (MBYLL) which covers eastern Massachusetts.  It is the largest chapter in the country with 125 towns, 800 teams and 15,000 players.  
Our schedule and rules are set by the MBYLL based on recommendations from US Lacrosse. MBYLL also organizes the year end Jamboree, which is the largest youth lacrosse event in the country with 400 teams playing on two dozen fields over two weekends.

MBYLL is divided into six regions – Northeast, Northwest, Metro West, West Central, South Central and Southeast, Cape & Islands.  We are in the South Central region which includes these towns:

The games we play will normally be scheduled with these towns.