Lacrosse is the fastest growing team sport in North America. It combines the best elements of basketball, soccer, and hockey in a fast-paced and fun sport.
You can learn more about lacrosse and its origins directly from the sport's national governing body, USA Lacrosse.
Unfortunately, lacrosse is not co-educational in sanctioned competition. Boys lacrosse and Girls lacrosse differ in significant ways including their rules and required equipment.
You can learn more about the differences here: Boys | Girls
NOTE: If a female athlete wants to play on an MYL Boys team, we 100% support it and will petition the league on her behalf.
We also offer a "Future Falcons" Co-Ed Development Program for boys and girls 7 and under to expose them to common age-appropriate fundamental lacrosse skills, structured games, and scrimmages. Prior experience playing lacrosse is NOT required!
Our kids will work on:
Not really. As with other sports, agility, strength, and endurance are of great importance, but there is a position on the field for all body types!
Players come in all sizes and shapes, but all work to master the same fundamental lacrosse specific skills including stick handling, dodging, defense, and shooting accuracy.
The stereotype of lacrosse being an exclusionary sport is on its way out as great programs are starting up in diverse communities everywhere from Brooklyn to San Francisco. Cambridge Youth Lacrosse is no different.
CYL does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, creed, color, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, or socioeconomic status.
Cambridge Youth Lacrosse is family.
Boys and girls lacrosse are both considered contact sports. As with all contact and limited contact sports, the risk of injury, including concussions, is always present.
To mitigate these risks and improve safety, Cambridge Youth Lacrosse will emphasize skill development, body awareness, good sportsmanship, and strict adherence to lacrosse rules through quality instruction.
Our safety initiatives complement those endorsed by the sport's governing body, USA Lacrosse.
No, we are an inclusive organization. Anyone that is interested in lacrosse and proud to represent Cambridge can join Cambridge Youth Lacrosse!
In our absence, many of our current players were fortunate enough to have played for great programs in other towns and we believe that is the best approach for growing the sport.
NOTE: If an established program exists in the town of origin, a waiver will need to be filed with the league stating that the program switch is not for competitive advantage.
Our teams are open to both boys and girls, ages 6-15.
We field league teams in the Grades 1&2 (Under 9), 3&4 (Under 11), 5&6 (Under 13), and 7&8 (Under 15) age groups.
We run a "Future Falcons" Co-Ed Development Program for boys and girls 7 and under to expose them to age-appropriate fundamental lacrosse skills, structured games, and scrimmages.
Cambridge Youth Lacrosse looks to promote the growth of both boys and girls lacrosse in Cambridge through efficient skill development, mini-games, and competitive play.
We believe in practicing hard, playing hard, and striving to win. While winning is an essential part of sport and competition in general, we equally emphasize the many other complementary goals of our program.
These goals include the development of strong fundamental lacrosse skills, good sportsmanship, team camaraderie, and a love for the sport!
No prior experience or familiarity with lacrosse is necessary to take part in and enjoy Cambridge Youth Lacrosse. All that is needed is a willingness to have fun, try hard, and learn!
No, there are no try outs. If you are interested in lacrosse, we want you playing lacrosse!
While there are no try outs, there will be an evaluation period to help us effectively distribute talent among our teams. Balanced teams are important for both player development and competitive parity.
There are no cuts as our mission is developmental. Anyone who is interested in playing Cambridge Youth Lacrosse will be able to. We will form as many balanced teams as necessary. Balanced teams are important for both player development and competitive parity.
This philosophy is also adopted by Massachusetts Youth Lacrosse, our parent league. They disallow "stacking" of teams. In other words, they don't allow a program to put all the best players on a single team at the detriment of the other teams in the program.
This year, we will evaluate players over the first few weeks of practice in order to effectively distribute players.
In 2018, we added grades 5/6(U13) and grades 7/8(U15) boys Select teams to our program. Our Select teams offer 7 additional weekly games + playoffs for players interested in even more competitive play and playoffs at the end of the season. Select games are in addition to our normal Sunday gameday schedule and are held on either Friday or Saturday evenings. Interested players are REQUIRED by MYL to play both "classic" town AND Select games. Select team costs are additional and will be equally divided among participants.
Interested players will be evaluated based on skill, athleticism, attitude, and commitment the first week of the season. Cuts will be made if the number of interested players exceeds competitive roster capacity.
You will be able to sign up for Cambridge Youth Lacrosse online at our website throughout the spring season.
You can learn more here.
Our "Future Falcons" Co-Ed Lacrosse Skills development program does not have a sign-up cut off date. You can register anytime, so be sure to spread the word and invite friends.
Registration for our MYL/FGLL Travel and Select Teams closes on February 3rd, 2025. We ask that you register earlier rather than later for planning purposes. This gives us enough lead time to meet Massachusetts Youth Lacrosse / Founders Girls Lacrosse League registration requirements and deadlines and allocate coaches and resources to each team.
Please feel free to contact us with questions at: play @ cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org.
Costs for each program can be found below:
To put costs in perspective, comparable programs in our region charge between $100 and $300 per player, per season.
You can learn more about our Spring programs here.
We require:
If players do not already have access to equipment, they will have to either purchase or borrow some. This may add additional costs. We are slowly building a cache of our own, so please inquire if you need to borrow some.
We recognize that lacrosse is an expensive sport to play. The goal of CYL is to enable any child wishing to play lacrosse in Cambridge to do so. Through generous donations, we continue to build a financial aid fund and are able to offer some financial assistance to those families most in need. If you require assistance, please don't hesitate to let us know and we will work with you to find a solution on a case-by-case basis.
Please contact scholarships @ cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org for more information.
To help families deal with the unforeseen, we offer prorated registration refunds that follow the schedule listed below, less a one-time $6 processing fee:
In order to be eligible for a refund, families must be in good fiduciary standing with Cambridge Youth Lacrosse and have returned all borrowed equipment and jerseys before refund will be processed.
Refunds take between 5-10 business days to issue back to your card.
Refunds can also be credited as 501(c)(3) donations to Cambridge Youth Lacrosse. Because this is a frictionless internal transaction, we do not need to charge the $6 processing fee. Donations to CYL make equipment and scholarships available to families most in need and are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
Yes, all players are required to wear protective gear.
For Boys: Stick, gloves, helmet, shoulder pads, elbow pads, mouthguard
For Girls: Stick, goggles, mouthguard
Equipment can be borrowed or purchased.
Check with our sponsors and partners for discounts and specials.
If acquiring equipment poses an undue hardship, please contact us at needequipment @ cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org or ask a coach at any session for more information on equipment availability and our lending policies.
No, Cambridge Youth Lacrosse is a volunteer run, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Our mission is developmental in nature and the needs of the Cambridge community are always our priority.
We encourage participation in multiple sports to develop well rounded athletes. In addition to simply bringing youth lacrosse to the Cambridge community, one of our other important goals is to develop our program specifically with baseball/softball in mind.
We believe that the youth of Cambridge should have the opportunity to play both spring sports and should not specialize in either too early. With this in mind, we look to minimize conflicts on the diamond by scheduling games and offering practices on weekends.
What player doesn’t love official equipment, team logos, numbered jerseys, and team gear!
In scrimmages, we wear reversible “Cambridge Falcons” lacrosse pinnies (required) and order matching lacrosse shorts for those that want them (optional).
For MYL/FGLL league play, we dress in numbered "Cambridge Falcons" jerseys. Matching CYL lacrosse shorts are optional.
Our Spring season will run from April to mid-June weather permitting.
Practices and games will be held in beautiful Danehy Park in Cambridge. Fields will be assigned based on practice and game schedules. Get Directions
Fields 1-4 and parking are best accessed off of New Street.
Our boys are members of the Massachusetts Youth Lacrosse's Metro Boston Division consisting of:
Our girls are members of the Founders Girls Lacrosse League's Metro Division consisting of:
Additionally, we schedule one-off non-league scrimmages with teams from great programs such as Charlestown, Medford, Metro, and Belmont lacrosse for families that are interested.
Our coaches are parents, teachers, students, and volunteers with collegiate playing experience. Many of our coaches also have previous experience coaching lacrosse and other youth sports.
All coaches are CORI certified.
All of our head coaches are certified by USA Lacrosse, the sport's governing body.
Yes, we are a development program and expect all of our athletes to contribute.
Our boys are members of the Massachusetts Youth Lacrosse's Metro Boston division.
Our girls are members of the Founders Girls Lacrosse League's Metro Division.
Spring is the traditional lacrosse season.
However, we will be organizing clinics, tournaments, and skill sessions throughout the summer and fall for all that are interested in improving their skills.
Yes, lacrosse is an interscholastic option for both boys and girls at many of our local schools.
You can find a listing of both high school and middle school programs here.
Cambridge Youth Lacrosse is backed by a staff of passionate volunteers.
If you share our enthusiasm for the sport or simply want to help out our program, please join us as a:
We appreciate any help your skill set can contribute!
Write us at volunteer @ cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org with your ideas or visit our volunteer page for more information.
Cambridge Youth Lacrosse is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Our EIN/Tax ID is 46-4844404.
Please consider supporting CYL as part of your annual giving. Donations made to CYL are fully tax-deductible to the extent of the law.
Donations are accepted online through our donations page.
Other types of contributions may be tax deductible as well. Please consult your tax advisor to learn more about tax deductibility.
Cambridge Youth Lacrosse is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to growing both boys and girls lacrosse in Cambridge through a combination of skill development, mini-games, and competitive play.
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Printed on December 17th, 2024 6:26 PM
