Rock Elite League Begins In September
August 15, 2013 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Toronto Rock News Release
Toronto, ON - Registration is now open to lacrosse players aged 8 to 21 years old to tryout for teams in the Rock Elite League which is set to begin play in September at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC) in Oakville.
The league is targeted towards "A" caliber lacrosse players who are committed to playing competitively throughout the fall and winter and bringing their game to a new level. Players on "B" and "C" level teams are also encouraged to tryout as all players will be selected based on their performance at the tryout.
"The Rock Elite League will give the best players in the area a chance to play lacrosse throughout the entire year in a professional environment," said Toronto Rock and Toronto Rock Athletic Centre Owner Jamie Dawick. "There is a demand for a league like this that will cater to players who want to play in the NLL one day. We will have NLL players and coaches involved from the developmental side in all age categories. The response has been tremendous and spots are filling up quickly."
The Rock Elite League will operate under NLL rules (no O/D for Novice to Bantam players). NLL players Garrett Billings (Toronto), Dan Dawson (Rochester) and Andrew Suitor (Minnesota) as well as Toronto Rock goaltending coach Pat Campbell are just a few of the names already committed to coach in the league.
Players are asked to register in the age category they competed in during the 2013 Ontario Lacrosse Association playing season. The league will begin with a tryout in each age category September 17th through to the 19th. In order to participate in a tryout, all players will need to complete an online registration form by visiting www.rockeliteleague.com. The cost to tryout is $10 and will be held as follows:
TRYOUTS
Tuesday September 17th
PEEWEE (2001-2002) 7:00pm - 8:30pm
MIDGET (1997-1998) 8:30pm - 10:00pm
Wednesday September 18th
BANTAM (1999-2000) 7:00pm - 8:30pm
JUNIOR (1992-1996) 8:30pm - 10:00pm
Thursday September 19th
NOVICE (2003-2004)* 7:00pm - 8:30pm
*Players born in 2005 are welcome to tryout
COMBINE
Selected players in all divisions will then attend a combine, much like the NLL Combine, for a 90-minute session on Saturday, September 21st:
NOVICE 9:00am - 10:30am
PEEWEE 10:30am - 12:00pm
BANTAM 12:00pm - 1:30pm
MIDGET 1:30pm - 3:00pm
JUNIOR 3:00pm - 4:30pm
The league's professional level coaching staff will assess the players and draft them to create evenly balanced teams prior to the opening week of play, Monday, September 23rd.
Rock Elite League divisions will play on a fixed schedule at the TRAC. Each team plays one game per week over a 20-week period, with an additional game on a Saturday added once every 4-5 weeks (24 games in total not including semi-finals and finals). All games will have 1-hour time slots with the exception of Junior, which will have 90-minute slots.
REGULAR DAYS OF PLAY
Novice - Saturday
Peewee - Tuesday
Bantam - Wednesday
Midget - Wednesday
Junior - Monday
The cost to register is $750 and fees may be paid in two installments. The first amount is due upon selection to a team and must be remitted prior to the first game. The balance is due by December 1, 2013.
For more information on the Rock Elite League, please visit www.rockeliteleague.com.
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