For those players who are serious about lacrosse, travel teams provide the extra coaching, development and all-star experience to bring their game to the next level. Many of the Illinois travel teams choose to challenge the best competition in the country on the East Coast. These tournaments attract the attention of college coaches who otherwise wouldn't get to see any Illiniois high school players compete. Almost all of the organizations listed below have tryouts for their travel teams and require the players to pay all travel expenses.

CYL is the first and only downtown Chicago lacrosse organization. In addition to youth leagues and coaching for boys and girls, CYL sponsors a high school boys travel team which participates in summer and fall tournaments in the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard. Tryouts for the summer team are in June, tryouts for the fall team are in September. U19, U17. All practices are at downtown Chicago locations (Diversey fields in summer, Lions Hope Field and Saint Ignatius in fall).

Team One is an invite-only elite lacrosse traveling organization based in Winnetka which participates in many out-of-state tournaments during the summer and fall seasons. Tryouts and team selection for the summer squads are in January. U19, U17, U15

True Lacrosse is an organization directed by Chicago Machine players Jake Deane and Mike Gabel. Their travelling teams are making quite a splash on the national lacrosse scene. Members of the summer squad are selected from the True Lacrosse fall outdoor leagues. Tryouts required. U19, U17, U15.

New Wave Lacrosse (formerly Players Indoor) sponsors youth and high school leagues, clinics, tournaments and elite traveling teams for the summer, fall and winter seasons. Winter indoor league games are held in Westmont and West Chicago. The traveling teams participate in tournaments in the Midwest and East Coast. Tryouts for the summer travel teams are in January.
U19, U17, U15, U13

Ante-Up Lacrosse is an organization which holds intense camps and clinics by professional lacrosse players. They also sponsor an elite travel team which participates in out-of-state tournaments in the summer and fall seasons. Tryouts for the summer and fall travel team are in the late fall of the prior calendar year. Indoor practices are at the Max McCook facility. U16

For those players who live in the Champaign/Bloomington/Peoria area, the CILAX league is for you. It is a group of regional club programs at the youth and high school levels. This league is a good choice for those players in Central Illinois whose high school does not have a team.

NXTsports is the premier sports education and events management company in Chicagoland. Headquartered in Philadelphia, NXT opened offices in Wrigleyville in 2013. Now with even more expansion from the Philadelphia office, NXTchicago runs lacrosse programming for players of all age and skill levels. From our youngest “Cradlers” (ages 3-7), to our elite developmental Trashcan camp series (ages 8‐16), to our competitive Club program (U11-high school), NXTchicago exceeds expectations at all levels! NXTsports is also the leader in club events, and high school showcase events around the country, including three in the Midwest! Check out our website for more information on all of our opportunities. Who’s NXT?

Tribal Lacrosse 360 is a lacrosse training program for youth and high school boys and girls. Tribal does team training, team building, speed and agility training, strength training, league play, tournament teams, private or small group training, camps, clinics, academy classes and drop-in play. Tournament teams are assembled in the summer for local tournaments, and summer and winter indoor leagues are available for supervised game play.

This highly competitive college club conference is part of the Men's College Lacrosse Association (MCLA) which competes in the lower Midwest region. It includes two divisions (I and II) comprising some Big Ten schools (Purdue, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska) as well Big 12 schools (Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Arkansas).  Illinois representatives include the University of Illinois, Illinois State, Wheaton College, DePaul, Lindenwood, Bradley, Judson, and Robert Morris (Chicago).

This powerhouse college club conference is part of the Men's College Lacrosse Association (MCLA) which competes in the Michigan and Ohio region. It includes two divisions (I and II) comprising some recognizable schools with other Division I sports programs (Michigan State, Pitt, Dayton, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Toledo).

This college club league is part of the Men's College Lacrosse Association (MCLA) which competes in the northernmost parts of the Midwest region. It includes two divisions (I and II) comprising locally recognizable schools such as Iowa State, Minnesota and St. Johns (Minnesota).

This college club league is comprised of 26 schools from Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and upper Michigan. Typically player-coached and player-funded, these colleges compete locally to minimize travel costs and unnecessarily long road trips. Players in the GLLL all love the sport but have demanding academic and personal obligations, so they find the club level of lacrosse to be a more reasonable commitment in time and money.