From the scores, it seemed like the top teams at the U15 Nationals had multiple competitive games. Sounds like a lot of fun. FCA sure was an all-star team - just from the championship box you can see they added Duke, UNC, JHU, Maryland and Syracuse commits. In fact, didn't seem like many of the programs there were U9->HS programs.
Express North, Terps, FCA, fl$, Colorado and 3D Select all added hired guns. Some a bunch, some a few, all had. Only two teams to come with their actual teams that made quarter finals were Team LI and the LI Jesters.
mediocre will always rise to the middle - seemed like both of the "pure" teams parents were talking a lot before the tournament but not much after
And getting kids from better teams than your own so you can win an extra game, always teaches a great lesson. Something to be said for coming with your 'actual" team and doing your best. Clearly lost on someone like you who would rather watch an extreme player win the game for your kid while they watch on the sideline!
Unfortunately that has become the trend in travel lacrosse. It is what it is and will only become worse!
You are correct. It's just disappointing to see someone here making negative, ignorant comments about the teams and players doing the right thing.
Not sure any of us are in the position to say who is/is not doing the right thing. Teams want to win, they do whatever it takes to do so. It's the nature of the beast. Moving forward, it will be extremely difficult for any team to be competitive unless they recruit for these high stakes tournaments. This model has shown to be very successful for teams like FCA and Sweetlax.
