Freedom Lacrosse Program

Players are assigned a program based on their date of birth. 
When you enter your child's name and date of birth, the appropriate program should populate. "Age Groups" are listed by Grade, and while it is possible your child's age might not align with their named grade, we have found that using grades instead of ages and dates is an easier to understand and communicate system for the majority of athletes and families. Refer to the NEWS section on Freedomlacrosse.org "Age Requirements for 2026" for more information.

Lil Laxers (Pre-K to 1st Grade)

Designed for those who aren’t quite old enough for our Pockets Program (K-1) or those that would be in our pockets program but maybe just want to try out Lacrosse for the first time.  We use soft balls,  no pads/googles, just bring a stick, water bottle and have fun.  Details about when the clinics will be held is TBD, but expect only once/week from End of March-Mid June 2026.  Typically, these are held Sundays from 1-2pm at Freedom Park.

Pockets  (Kindergarten) - Birth Date between 9/1/2019 and 8/31/2021 

• Players learn the fundamentals of Lacrosse through non-competitive, instructional in-house play.  There are no goalies/refs at this age.  They will wear all the equipment that Tykers and above do.  There will be 2 practices during the week & 1 game on Saturday at a local field.   
• The season usually starts in January/February with some indoor practices and outdoor practices/games  start Mid March and go through Mid June. 

Tykers (1st-2nd grader inter-county league) Birth Date between 9/1/2017-8/31/2019
Lightning (MYLA 3rd and 4th graders) Birth Date between 9/1/2015-8/31/2017
Middies (MYLA 5th and 6th graders) Birth Date between 9/1/2013-8/31/2015
Juniors (MYLA 7th and 8th graders) Birth Date between 9/1/2011-8/31/2013

• Focus is to expand on the fundamentals and add more advanced skills as they get older.
• Tykers and Lightning play on a reduced "modified" field, approximately 1/2 the size of a regulation field. Middies and Juniors play on a full sized regulation field.  All have goalies/refs.
• Tykers will play in an inter-county league against area LAX program teams. Lightning, Middies, and Juniors team levels will play in the Maryland Youth Lacrosse Association (MYLA) and travel throughout Carroll, Baltimore, Harford, and parts of Howard Counties for games.     
• MYLA has requirements that teams must be ranked A, B, or C. Depending on the number of teams entered in each age group we must try to adhere to their placement guidelines or teams will not be eligible for Playoffs. 
• It is up to the Age Group Coordinator (AGC) and the Boys Commissioner to determine proper placement of teams after evaluations, which occur in late January at the indoor clinics.
• The season starts in late January with indoor practices.  Outdoor games and practices start March 15th  and go through June 15th.  Teams may also participate in year-end tournaments based off the discretion of the AGC/ Commissioner and Coaching Availability.
• Other opportunities to play such as an indoor league, pre-season tournaments etc. will be at the discretion of the AGC and Commissioner and Coaching Availability.

Players are assigned a program based on their date of birth. 

When you enter your child's name and date of birth, the appropriate program should populate. Equipment needed at all levels includes a stick, goggles, cleats, and a mouth guard.

Below is information about each level:

Lil Laxers (Pre-K to 1st Grade)

Designed for those who aren’t quite old enough for our Pockets Program (K-1) or those that would be in our pockets program but maybe just want to try out Lacrosse for the first time.   We use soft balls,  no pads/googles, just bring a stick, water bottle and have fun.  Details about when the clinics will be held are TBD, but expect only once/week from the End of March to mid-June 2026.  Typically, these are held on Sundays from 1-2 pm at Freedom Park. 

Pockets  (Kindergarten) Birth Date between 9/1/2019-8/31/2021

• Players learn the fundamentals of Lacrosse through non-competitive, instructional in-house play.  There are no goalies/refs at this age.  They will wear all the equipment that Tykers and above do.  There will be 2 practices during the week & 1 game on Saturday at a local field.   
• The season usually starts in January/February with some indoor practices and outdoor practices/games  start Mid March and go through Mid June. 

Tykers (1st-2nd grader inter-county league) Birth Date between 9/1/2017-8/31/2019
Lightning (MYLA 3rd and 4th graders) Birth Date between 9/1/2015-8/31/2017
Middies (MYLA 5th and 6th graders) Birth Date between 9/1/2013-8/31/2015
Juniors (MYLA 7th and 8th graders) Birth Date between 9/1/2011-8/31/2013

• Focus is to expand on the fundamentals and add more advanced skills as they get older.
• Tykers and Lightning play on a reduced "modified" field, approximately 1/2 the size of a regulation field. Middies and Juniors play on a full sized regulation field.  All have goalies/refs.
• Tykers will play in an inter-county league against area LAX program teams. Lightning, Middies, and Juniors will play in the Maryland Youth Lacrosse Association (MYLA) and travel throughout Carroll, Baltimore, Harford, and parts of Howard Counties for games.   
• MYLA has requirements that teams must be ranked A or B. Depending on the number of teams entered in each age group, we must try to adhere to their placement guidelines or teams will not be eligible for Playoffs. 
• It is up to the Age Group Coordinator (AGC) and the Girls Commissioners to determine proper placement of teams after evaluations which occur in January.
• The season usually starts in January/February with indoor practices.  Outdoor games and practices start in mid-March  and go through Mid June.  Teams may also participate in year-end tournaments based off the discretion of the AGC/ Commissioner and Coaching Availability.
• Other opportunities to play such as an indoor league, pre-season tournaments etc. will be at the discretion of the AGC and Commissioner and Coaching Availability.

FREEDOM REFUND POLICY

Refund Policy- 2026 Season
(Boys AND Girls)

100% refund on or before 1/15/26 (less admin fee)

50% refund on or before 2/15/26(less admin fee)

0% after 2/15/26

$15 administrative fee applies to all refunds

If you are registering more than one player in your family, you will receive a $10 discount on the 2nd and 3rd child, a 100% discount on the 4th+ child's registration fee. In order for the registration system to recognize that you are registering multiple players, please register all of your players at this time. On the Review Page, there is a link near the bottom to "Register Another Player" - please click on this link to ensure that all of your players are registered within the same order.

***Failure to do so will result in a forfeiture of your Family's Discount rates.***

Please direct questions to:

Boys Program - Ben Dougherty, Boys Commissioner - ben@irvinhahn.com

Girls Program - John Powell, Girls Commissioner - jpowell2130@gmail.com