JUNIOR BUCS LACROSSE

Welcome to Allatoona Jr. Bucs Lacrosse

We strive to build strong, confident Student Athletes that are Champions on and off the field!

If you are on this page you want to know how to get your Daughter or Son involved in the amazing sport of Lacrosse and our Jr. Bucs program. What we have done in Acworth in a very short time is truly making the State of Georgia and the Lacrosse world turn their heads and take notice. Let’s explore the Bucs Lax program and the fastest growing sport in The Nation!

Why play Lacrosse?

The sport of lacrosse is a combination of basketball, soccer and hockey. Anyone can play lacrosse – big or small. The game requires and rewards coordination and agility, not brawn. Quickness and speed are two highly prized qualities in lacrosse. An exciting sport, lacrosse is fast-paced and full of action. Long sprints up and down the field with abrupt starts and stops, precision passes and dodges are routine in men and women’s lacrosse. Lacrosse is played with a stick, which will be mastered by the player to throw, catch and scoop the ball. At the younger ages, much of the game is played with the ball on the ground with players trying to scoop the ball and complete a pass. Don’t be too concerned that your child can’t catch very well at the beginning because at this stage it is not extremely critical. With practice, they learn very fast and just have blast while learning.

The action in Lacrosse is truly constant and everyone gets a chance to participate and have many “touches” on the ball, often many times with the opportunity to score a goal. This equals incredible fun for the players. Further, we regularly hear the players talk about how much fun practice is!! They love coming and hate when it’s over. We love all of our sports here in Bucs Country and many of our Lax players are multiple sport athletes. There’s no body-to-body contact allowed in the younger game of boy’s lacrosse and zero contact in girls. Sticks are only meant to hit opposing sticks and gloves. The game is very controlled and extremely safe. There will be a little bumping and jostling for loose ground balls, but the kids just love it! Come give Lax a try and you’ll see just how truly addicting this sport can be!

Check our www.usalacrosse.com to learn all there is to know about lacrosse!

What equipment do the players need?

Players will need to provide their own equipment, however, Bucs Lax has options for you! Veteran players often sell or give away equipment on sites like Craigslist or through word of mouth. The Jr. Bucs have youth donation, loan and a rental program that grows each season that can possible help some players get started. Play It Again Sports type stores are a great resource. Also, many of the online retailers have complete startup kits for Girls and Boys that you can purchase for very reasonable prices and be ready to go on day one. Dick’s, Lacrosse Monkey and a quick Google search can net you some great deals. From our experience with K-3rd grade players, these first pieces of equipment will stay with your child for 3 seasons or more based on an average rate of growth. That makes Lacrosse a very economical sport in the long run. After those first couple seasons, you’ll typically only buy items as they grow out of them and not all at once like in the beginning. This helps a great deal with budgeting. We here at Bucs Lax understand that buying equipment can seem daunting when trying to figure out if Lax might right be for your player. Quite often we hear “what if my player doesn’t like the sport and I’ve bought all the equipment” Honestly, we just don’t see kids turn away and dislike the sport very often. However, keep in mind that if that does occur you will very easily be able to re-sell that equipment to someone else coming into the next season and we will certainly assist you with matching up players in need.

*For boys, expect to spend between $130 and $200 on NEW equipment, including a lacrosse helmet, a mouthpiece, shoulder pads, arm pads, gloves, and a Boys LAX stick. Used equipment will cost less.

*For girls, expect to spend between $45 and $100 on a NEW lacrosse stick, protective goggles and a mouth guard. Helmet is optional. Again, used equipment can be more economical.

GOOGLE: Lacrosse starter sets

What are the age groups?

Boys

7U – K – 1st grades

9U – 2nd – 3rd grades

11U – 4th – 5th grades

13U Junior – 6th – 7th grades

15U Senior – 7th – 8th grades

Girls

9U – K – 2nd grades

11U – 3rd – 4th grades

13U Junior – 5th – 6th grades

15U Senior – 7th – 8th grades

When does the season start?

Fall: Allatoona offers a fall and spring season. Fall is slightly less of a commitment and will start late August / early September. The team will play approximately 6-8 games in the Fall starting
mid-September playing Saturdays and possibly Sunday games. There will NOT be games over Fall break. Fall is a great time to get introduced to the game for a new payer due to the less competitive nature of the league and the focus on more skill training. Allatoona has a huge Fall end of season Party celebrating the players.

Spring: Spring is the Lacrosse player’s main competitive season and typically runs from mid-February to early May. The team will play approximately 8-10 games on Saturdays and possible Sundays during that time and will also typically include an end of season tournament (4-5 tournament games) in the local area. The Jr and Sr boys typically have assessments in December for the Spring Select teams. Select boys teams begin early January and end mid-May.

When and where are practices and games?

In general, all team practices will be held twice a week. The practices will be held at Pickett’s Mill Elementary School, Frey Elementary School, Durham Middle School and Allatoona HS. Home games are played at these locations or girl’s league has a one location for all the games for that day. Boys away games will be played at opponent’s fields and will require travel by the player. Half the boy games are typically Home and the other half Away.

What league will the teams play in?

Bucs Lax participates in GMSAA, Newtown and Southern Edge. For fall and spring, Boys rec plays Newtown for boys, Girls rec plays Southern Edge. Jr. and/or Sr. Boys have Spring Select through the GMSAA (Georgia Middle School Athletic Association) league http://gmsaalacrosse.net. There is typically an “assessment-try-out” early to mid-December for the Spring Select season. There is an additional fee for Select and those practices start in January. The Bucs host the Boys Select Icebreaker tournament in January and the Girls Icebreaker in March.

How much are the registration fees?

Please refer to our registration page link for current season fees.

Does Jr. Bucs Lax require U.S. Lacrosse membership?

Yes, our league requires it. It’s a minimal fee and the player receives supplemental injury insurance and an awesome monthly USL magazine with great playing tips and content from the website. Plus, you will be supporting the growth of a great sport! More information is available at: https://www.uslacrosse.org/membership

One last question... Is lacrosse really the fastest growing sport in The Nation?

Yes, Lacrosse is the fastest-growing college sport in the nation, according to the annual NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Report.

Growth across men and women’s lacrosse across all NCAA divisions notably outpaced all other sports from 2000-2022 Participation in women’s lacrosse increased by 109% (225 teams to 470), followed by indoor track (59%), ice hockey (58%), outdoor track (52%) and golf (48%). At the Division I women’s level, sport sponsorship is up 49% since 2000, increasing from 71 to 106 teams.