Boys 5/6 and 7/8 Evaluations – Team Placement Process


Boys 5/6 and 7/8 Evaluations – Team Placement Process

During the first week of the season, players in the Boys 5–6 and 7–8 programs will participate in evaluation practices that help guide placement onto A and B teams. Our goal is to provide the best possible developmental experience, and eventually best Team placement, for every player.

Boys 5/6 (about 60 players) is expected to have one A team, one team in the B division and a third team either in the 7’s division or a full squad team – depending on registration. 

Boys 7/8 (about 80 players) will have at least one A Team but possibly two depending on Evalution scores and a process run by the coaches to determine the best place for that next team, one B team of all 8th graders (following our great success here from last season) and one B team of 7th graders. We may field a 7’s team depending on registration numbers. 

Our Approach

PCYLO is committed to running a transparent and consistent evaluation process. We work hard to clearly communicate how evaluations are conducted and to ensure that team placement decisions follow the process we have established.

Every player will be placed on a team. Evaluations are used only to help group players appropriately based on current skill level, experience, and readiness for competition.

Practice & Evaluation Environment

  • Evaluations will take place during practice sessions to be announced ASAP – we are working to finalize fields and looking at weather.  It is our goal for each cohort to have one opening practice and two (2) Evaluation practices each, starting the week of February 23rd.
  • We will utilize indoor fields when needed and outdoor space whenever weather and daylight allow.
  • The first two weeks of practice will look different than the rest of the season due to field availability and daylight savings time.
  • Players will rotate through stations in small groups to allow for meaningful repetitions and observation.
  • Players will be issued a Park City practice jersey that must be worn consistently throughout the process (players are identified by the same number each session).  If you can volunteer to help us pass out jerseys and record numbers in our Evaluator Scorecards, please let us know (michaeljaqeut24@gmail.com or girls@parkcitylacrosse.org).

What Players Will Do

Players will move through a series of drills designed to evaluate both individual skills and game play.

Objective Skill Stations
These provide measurable baselines, and may change, but currently planned as:

  • Wall ball passing and catching
  • 3-cone agility shuttle
  • Short sprint (approximately 40 yards)

Live Lacrosse Stations
These allow evaluators to observe players in game-like situations (subject to change, but currently planned as).  Every player will get a score.  If your player doesn’t want to be scored, we can accommodate that but also hope that they still want to come out and get the reps in a high energy environment.

  • Ground ball drills
  • 1v1 progressing to small-number 3-on-2 advantage situations. Players going out for Offense or Defense should self select the line to be in here.
  • Small-sided game play (3v3, and if space allows, 4v4 or 5v5)
  • We will have an evaluation station for all our goalies and if a player wants to be evaluated for both a field position and goalie, we can accommodate.  We will be short goalies this year so please consider trying this out.

Who Evaluates Players

The subjective portions of evaluations will be observed and scored by impartial, unaffiliated (no club coaches) evaluators. These evaluators are not parents of players being evaluated and have no official PCYLO affiliation, helping ensure fairness and consistency across all groups.

Evaluation results will serve as the primary basis for team placement and will also include input from coaches and program directors who observe players throughout the evaluation period.

Scheduling & Attendance

  • The evaluation schedule is currently being finalized and will be shared soon.
  • Players will be asked to RSVP for evaluation sessions so groups can be organized effectively THIS WILL BE THROUGH THE DEMOSPHERE APP.
  • Players who wish to be considered for A team selection should attend enough sessions to be evaluated and scored in each category.

Our Goal

PCYLO’s focus is development, confidence, and enjoyment of the game. The evaluation process helps us place players where they will be appropriately challenged, supported with coaching and playing time, and able to grow throughout the season.  At both the 5-6 and 7-8 levels, it is a primary goal of PCYLO to retain all players, especially those new to the sport and the program, and give them to skills and confidence to continue playing through our program that goes to 8th grade and beyond at the High School.