I agree with the pp. For competitive public’s, they really need to be playing rec in 4-5th grade and club by 6th. That is the track we did with my older daughter and are doing the same thing with my younger daughter. (But they do have to be athletic to begin with). For less competitive public’s, it seems like club experience isn’t required but they probably won’t be a major contributor unless they are playing year round.

More often it seems like the kids play club in late elementary and middle and then quit once they make the team or sophomore year if they aren’t being recruited.

Agree with the PP who noted that the school matters a lot.

If we are talking VA publics, even 6A Patriot or Concorde district, a good athlete can "make it" even if they don't start until 8th or even 9th grade. If your kid wants to be an attacker or attacking midfielder, earlier development of stick skills will be key.

If you want your kid to go to a private like Landon, Prep, or SJC and be successful, early elementary, plus top club, plus work on the side, and full-year lacrosse are all table stakes to be successful. Oh and they have to be a great athlete too.

Depends on the school and what “making it” means to you - if you mean simply being on the varsity team roster at a school without a lax culture then your son can get by with just being is reasonable physical condition. (I live in NOVA and there is a smallish public school where the school was begging boys to join the team so that they could have a JV season) on the other hand- if “making it” means being a top player at an elite private school you probably need to start the cross by third grade and travel no later than sixth grade, but most of your competition will have started much much earlier than that


Good luck

Start as early as possible. The majority of kids I know that are now D1 were all playing by 5 or 6th grade. At that age you can tell if they will “make the team”. The key difference in those kids is their attitude, level of compete, motivation to get better, etc. By that age you can tell their athletic mind set by then.

Don't prop up the few players who picked up a stick in middle school and they are stars. Those are super outliers. Unless your kid is exceptionally athletic, 9 out of 10 high school contributing players pick up a stick in early elementary school and are playing year round lacrosse by middle school.

What do you mean by make it? Make the team? Get recruited for college? It might matter more for the latter because it’s harder to get the playing time the later you start.

That being said, there is a funny thing that happens to boys at puberty. The kids who were stand out players in elementary and early middle school sometimes fall away and kids who just pick up a sport in middle school turn out to be the strongest players a few years later. You can’t really predict who will be really good at a sport before puberty. An athletic kid can often switch sports in middle school and catch up in sports like lacrosse. It’s harder in sports like ice hockey or gymnastics where the learning curve is longer for basic skills. A few of my son’s friends who didn’t start lacrosse until 6th or 7th are now playing D3. Maybe it’s different for D1. I don’t personally know anyone who went D1.

How soon? Is it fourth grade?