Youth Rules

Youth mercy rule

The youth mercy rule--possession awarded to the trailing team whenever there would normally be a face-off and one team leads by 4 or more goals--is in effect only in U11 and U9 games.

Two-pass rule

For something to be considered a pass, the ball must be propelled in the air. Dropping the ball into another player's stick does not count as a pass. However, it does not reset the count as long as the ball does not touch the ground.

Stick lengths for U11 games

For all U11 games, players can use long sticks on defense but the sticks must be 47”-54”. This is shorter than you are used to seeing at other levels.

At these levels of play, we generally only do deep pocket rollout tests, although in some circumstances Level 2 officials could do measurements. However, if possible, officials should bring a 6-foot tape measure to their U11 games, remind the coaches about the rule before the game, and check any sticks that seem like they are too long prior to the start of the game in order to avoid the bulk of the problems with this rule.