BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) 2016 Women's College Lacrosse Season

out of curiosity and assuming the conference leaders win there tournaments who should be the 13 at large teams ?

Why are some on this board so quick to call others names? It's so childish to do so simply because they don't agree with you. Strength of schedule shouldn't be disregarded, but not as heavily considered. If LIU Brooklyn should ever have a better record than N.U than yes they should get there shot and not dismissed because they didn't lose to someone.

Because they are responding to morons like yourself . When you say teams such as Winthrop should get into the NCAA tournament ahead of a team like Syracuse it makes it difficult not to call you a name . When it's obvious you have a personal issue with a player on NU so you come in this site to try and make young women and their parents feel badly simply because your kid was considered consistently lesser than theirs in the classroom and on the lax field it gets old. You come across to others on this site and most likely to your own daughter as an impotent little man .

There just isn't enough talent in D1. The top teams regardless of their record are miles ahead of teams in the middle and teams down around #70 to 110 have no business being in D1.

The sport needs to expand their pool of champions so the sport expands competitively

Not NU! Bet you knew that was coming !

There just isn't enough talent in D1. The top teams regardless of their record are miles ahead of teams in the middle and teams down around #70 to 110 have no business being in D1.

The sport needs to expand their pool of champions so the sport expands competitively

I believe the only way that was that will happen is to find a better way to disperse the top talent. By sending the same 10 teams into tournament every year you get a log jam of talent to those schools. There are girls sitting on the bench for up to 2 to 3 years that could make the mid to lower range teams much better, if they thought that a team like Winthrop could get a chance to go to tournament don't you think? But with the pressure to win tomorrow, and mommy and daddy wanting bragging rights about their kid playing for the best team, kids are running to these schools to sit on the bench, when they could be going to a different school and playing right away. If you think about it it's a total waste of talent. Good players only being used for practice that maybe get to see 100 minuets a year instead of playing 900 minuets. All so that we as parents can brag about The name on top of a degree, that quite frankly, after you get your first job, means much less.

You are a bitter little person. If Northwestern has proven anything this year it is that with this current roster, they do not have what it takes to win. It does not matter if they lost by 1 or 100, they have already played the top teams and lost. No one said that Winthrop should go in over ' use, because Syracuse, unlike Northwestern win. Why shouldn't Winthrop get the chance to go to tournament, they have won 17, and if they win even 1 game in tournament maybe they will start getting the better players, or is that what you're afraid of, schools that are not worthy in your mind getting better than your beloved Northwestern. Since your so hung up on college names and apparently Winthrop is good enough for you, how abou Navy, Ohio State and Loyola all have10 or more wins are they good enough? You snob

Aren't you on your mighty high horse today? That is so obnoxious to say. There are plenty of girls on 70-110 who could have been on higher teams but chose a school for a specific reason. And for your information, being classified as D1 is based on the school's characteristics, such as funding, facilities, resources etc, it is not based on being able to compete with the top 20. My daughter is on one of those 70-110 teams, is having the time of her life, started as a freshman and is going to conference playoffs. Will they ever win NCAA's....not a chance. Who cares? It's all fleeting anyway. She is playing the sport she loves, in a school she loves, being paid to do so and getting an excellent education that will take her to a top medical school. And by the way, she was recruited to three schools in the top 50.

All that is great but to start broadening the appeal of the game, different winners each year would be helpful. This years upset winner could be?

There just isn't enough talent in D1. The top teams regardless of their record are miles ahead of teams in the middle and teams down around #70 to 110 have no business being in D1.

The sport needs to expand their pool of champions so the sport expands competitively

Wrong. There is more talent than ever in every level of women's lacrosse. Which means the top teams, which attract players who have the guts to compete for playing time against the best, have top talent depth from top to bottom.
The teams outside the top 20-25 have a few really good players, maybe even one great one.....they just don't have 30 of them.
The talent is there, it is just concentrated.

Let's be honest, if you don't have a "Brand Name" school you better have a coaching staff that can recruit. That's more important than the X's and O's.

This is why people think you are a moron. You say it should be based on win loss records as to who gets into NCAA tournament but only stay consistent with that message when talking about NU. Winthrop has a better record than Cuse, UNC yet you will not put them into the tournament ahead of them. Basing it strictly on record is just so juvenile its not worth debating especially with you. Your daughter obviously knows of your obsession with the kid you have been so jealous of at NU , give it a rest its not healthy for her to see your behavior she may think that's what normal adults do.

You are a bitter little person. If Northwestern has proven anything this year it is that with this current roster, they do not have what it takes to win. It does not matter if they lost by 1 or 100, they have already played the top teams and lost. No one said that Winthrop should go in over ' use, because Syracuse, unlike Northwestern win. Why shouldn't Winthrop get the chance to go to tournament, they have won 17, and if they win even 1 game in tournament maybe they will start getting the better players, or is that what you're afraid of, schools that are not worthy in your mind getting better than your beloved Northwestern. Since your so hung up on college names and apparently Winthrop is good enough for you, how abou Navy, Ohio State and Loyola all have10 or more wins are they good enough? You snob

Wow, talk about having a weird sense of priorities. You would like kids who have the opportunity to attend prestigious private schools like Duke, Northwestern, ND, the Ivies,etc., all elite academic institutions,..... or schools such as Maryland, Penn State, UNC, UVa, top state schools, who take no back seat when it comes to academics or alumni networks. to pass on those to attend Winthrop, or High Point, or Rutgers, or name any other D-I school with an above average lacrosse program.
And the reason is they might get more playing time?
I have news for you, the name on the degree does matter. It will help you get that first job, and that first job will be a better one because of that degree. And the alumni network will always be larger and more influential at those schools.

I'll tell you a story. I know a family who's oldest daughter went to an elite academic school, with an struggling lax program. She started all four years, loved her teammates and the school. Loved that she made an impact and the program returned to top 20.
Her sister was better, could have gone almost anywhere. She went to Maryland. Barely saw the field for two years. I asked her dad how was she handling the lack of PT? He said she is loving the team, loving the competition, loves being on the best team in the Nation and wouldn't change a thing. I asked her sister why she didn't follow in her footsteps and take what she had started up a notch? She said that her sister always wanted to play with the great teams at Maryland, and have an opportunity to win a National title. She was comfortable competing for time, and knew that the coaches would play the best players. If that was her great, if she was a sub she was fine with that also.

Yeah, would it be nice if great players didn't all go to the best schools with the best programs, sure. But there are plenty of reasons beyond playing time that should determine their choices. And the one that should not be a factor is that their Mom and Dad will struggle with the notion their little superstar is on the sideline, when they're used to seeing her on the field.

he called you a snob you can't sit there and take that sitting down... fight! fight! fight!

The bottom line is NU is a good team with a mediocre record.

We need a NU thread

Probably But the topic has sparked some interesting side discussions about the broader sport. I think SOS matters. I think the rule that you must have at least a .500 record to get in prevents the truly mediocre from getting in when the reality is, the ONLY way a 9-7, 8-8 type team will get in is if they have an overwhelmingly tough schedule, have won some of those games (NU has beaten #6, #7, #13 and lost to #3 in OT). I think Laxpower rankings are a pretty source for a computer model that takes all of this into consideration. Those rankings have NU ranked 10th in the nation. While not perfect, that's a pretty good indication of why they should be considered for the tournament, if they finish .500 or better.

As to the 'weaker' schools ... the equivalent of mid-majors in basketball, that's why the conference winners get in. They have their chance as well. I really don't think lax is all that much different than any other NCAA sport in regards to dominant teams/conferences. It is just earlier in its growth curve. NU themselves were an unbelievable underdog once upon a time. USC looks to be one that might push the "establishment" next. The game is growing and I think we might all be surprised 10 years from now with the geographical diversity of strong programs and how that will continue to loosen the stranglehold on the top by a few programs.

I think, at this time .500 is too shallow a pool, .666 or 2/3 of your games is better.

Maybe. With so few truly strong conferences though, .500 seems better to me. The Virginia example cited earlier explains why. A team from the ACC, with a .500 record made it to the final 4. Right now, there are too few strong conferences, and w only 17 games, .666 would punish some of the best teams for their difficult schedules while rewarding weaker teams in weaker conferences. I want to see the best teams in the tournament.

Maybe I am an Idiot. You make some very valid points and I am glad that girl was happy with her experience, but does that mean we should all travel that path? I was taught, and I taught my kids, to blaze ther own path, not to follow but to leed, I have had that very conversation with my daughters, but it was a little different. Yes you are correct all those schools have very strong alumni networks, that anyone would be smart to try to take advantage of. But let me lay out a hypothetical situation, let's say a girl really loves to compete, but also likes to try to build a legacy of her own. She reall want to play every minuet she can in competition not only on the practice field, but the playing field also, so she goes to a lower ranked school and loves her school and teammates just as much as the girl in your story, and dispite the odds she graduates and becomes successful, even though her school isn't as prestigious as an ivy or Notre Dame, and she decides to help other girls from her alma mater succeed as she has, isn't that the way alumni networks happen, or should it only happen for the schools on your list? Do the alumni networks at every other school not count? Should we all follow you and your friend like sheep because it worked for you and it's safe?

Wow, sad.

Maybe I am an Idiot. You make some very valid points and I am glad that girl was happy with her experience, but does that mean we should all travel that path? I was taught, and I taught my kids, to blaze ther own path, not to follow but to leed, I have had that very conversation with my daughters, but it was a little different. Yes you are correct all those schools have very strong alumni networks, that anyone would be smart to try to take advantage of. But let me lay out a hypothetical situation, let's say a girl really loves to compete, but also likes to try to build a legacy of her own. She reall want to play every minuet she can in competition not only on the practice field, but the playing field also, so she goes to a lower ranked school and loves her school and teammates just as much as the girl in your story, and dispite the odds she graduates and becomes successful, even though her school isn't as prestigious as an ivy or Notre Dame, and she decides to help other girls from her alma mater succeed as she has, isn't that the way alumni networks happen, or should it only happen for the schools on your list? Do the alumni networks at every other school not count? Should we all follow you and your friend like sheep because it worked for you and it's safe?

why sad?

Actually, you are reading things into my post that I never wrote, or implied. I never said one way is better than the other, all I was saying is there are different things motivating the players as they make their decisions. And there isn't a right or wrong choice, especially if it is to help out in the leveling of the competitive landscape of women's lacrosse.

And as to your sarcastic crack about "following me", well I have news for you, my daughter made her own decision. In fact she turned down 4 Ivies, that I encouraged her to accept, and a few other name lax factories. She chose the school where, in the above stories she played with one of those girls.... not the National Champion but the older sister. And my kid made an impact, and represented that school well, and is now an active alum. So yeah, I have no problem if kids follow her example....just don't assume to know which route she took.

Would I prefer that she have a Yale/UPenn/Cornell degree.....perhaps. Am I happy for the unbelievable lacrosse career and academic education she received....absolutely. She made her decisions, made the most of the opportunities she earned and most important is the fact that she has zero regrets.

And BTW, 5 years out of school....game fully employed and still playing lacrosse.

well judging by the NU girls we can scratch them off the list of suspects.

Let's go Buckeyes!

Must have a compensation issue.

Let's go Buckeyes!

Buckeyes just got run off the field

Preach Brother

New to the discussion, but two things - Ohio St hasn't played much of a schedule at all and NU should easily beat them. All the teams that are ranked ahead of NU weren't always until NU lost to them