BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2024

How old he is is irrelevant. It is a grade based league.

Every youth sport is done by AGE...BIRTHDAYS...but not lacrosse. As a coach and father its criminal that we do not enforce age based teams. Too many parents are chasing D1 dreams. Its about the kids and wait for it...its about having fun for the KIDS!!!! If little johnny is that good playing down being held back let him try to be good playing against kids his own AGE!!!! and if you say it doesn't matter playing down your an idiot.

Just shut up because you have no perspective. Until very recently, lacrosse USED to be age based. It changed to grade based a couple years ago and that is where things are. There are many arguments against it, but if you don't like it, find a club that only plays in age based events.

Crying about it won't do anything.

His age is absolutely relevant. The grade based methodology is the crux of the issue. Double holdbacks, a pre-firster with a late birthday then held back again in elementary school at this age (ahem Madlax fogo) creates a situation where a child who should be playing at the 7th-grade level is running over 5th graders. Not saying that MadLax is the only offender out there, but it creates a completely unfair and unsafe situation for the other teams that adhere to the spirit of the rule. While US Lacrosse has set forth rules for age-based competition, clubs and tournaments openly disregard these rules and the lacrosse currently has no governing body that can actually force the broader lacrosse community to abide by these common sense rules.

You have no idea what you're talking about. The Madlax kid has not been held back - he is just very big for his age. Madlax has a ton of holdbacks (more than any club, I think), but this kids isn't one of them.

The interesting thing is the Madlax owner is coaching his own sons on this team (which is another issue). Will be interesting to see how much preferential treatment he gives them as they get older.

He has been on the team since it was age based so he can't be that old

My nephew was over 6 feet tall when he was in 5th grade - it happens

back in the glory days we had u15 u13 u11 u9 with both A and b divisions. If you had mix of kids you played b. but there weren't a ton of kids playing. Today you can have u13 u12 u11 u10 teams etc...So STOP THE MADNESS, stop cheating,lacrosse should go to birthdays LIKE EVERY YOUTH SPORT IN AMERICA...

2 entries up "Crying about it won't do anything" - let's be clear about your misinformed opinion. There are very clear rules from US Lacrosse that specify age based play. Feel free to read about them on the U12 page of their 2017 US Lacrosse rules handbook, but as the posted above mentioned, they are incapable of being enforced. As far as having no perspective, just because your one of the parents that has succumb to holding back you child, doesn't mean that others have no perspective. I have one in high school and he had kids in his Sophmore class that should be seniors. Congratulations on have a 20-year-old HS graduate chasing daddy's dream of playing in college. Good luck in the real world when you finally understand that playing lacrosse in college has very little reward when it's time to get a real job. It's a game and should be a part of the experience, but it shouldn't be the sole focus of a child's experience.

And if we continue playing grade based, coaches should be obnoxious assh*les and children on the opposing team. Pathetic.

Dont tell that to the ego driven youth lacrosse holdback apologists. Its all about being the star while playing lacrosse against younger kids .

Youth lacrosse is about getting better, great coaching on fundamentals, and having fun. To get better, you need to play the best competition possible, so the more great hold backs the better. To get great coaching, you need to be selective and thoughtful in your team search and selection. To have fun, you need to love the game, and realize being the best player on your team or league is not going to make you better as a youth player or beyond. If you spend more than zero minutes out of your life worrying about the age of the player next to you, you probably won't have fun, and you won't get better. If you want to play beyond youth, beyond HS - ignore the whiny parents, embrace the holdbacks, and go play ball.

I seriously doubt you have ever read the US Lacrosse rule book. If you had, you would know that US Lacrosse mandates age based play FOR THEIR EVENTS. Every league or tournament is allowed to use whatever age or grade based divisions they want. If it up to the club and you the consumer whether or not you want to play in those events.

The fact that you think USL is mandating specific age based play across the board shows what an absolute idiot you are.

the holdbacks don't agree with you... in fact they are doing the exact opposite of what you are recommending and yet somehow they seem to be doing fine. How about you tell them to go find "the best competition possible" instead of making excuses for their cheating.

Guys/Ladies, this is absurd. Everyone should reserve comments about others unless they have facts...doesn't matter which team your kid plays for. Bashing a coach is one thing, although we should still reserve comment until we have facts. However, bashing a kid (or a kids parents) because we THINK the child is a certain age is irresponsible. I know the child in question for Madlax. He is 11 years old; that is a fact, not my opinion. Yes, he is tall for his age and extremely athletic. However, anyone present at the game last weekend knows that the other team also had 2 defensive kids equally as tall. No one is questioning their age. I believe this kid's age is called into question is because he plays middie; if he played defense he probably would not be scrutinized as much. Most middies are not that tall. Therefore you often see him matched up against kids who are shorter than him which makes him stand out even more. I have a child who plays AAU basketball. I can assure you that if you attend their games you will see a lot of 11 year olds as tall, if not taller, than this kid. Let's be honest, most kids that tall and that athletic aren't playing lacrosse; they're in a gym somewhere. I know there are some reading this who still want to believe this kid is 13 years old. For those I would ask you to find the kids parents the next time your son's team plays Madlax. His parents are at every game and are very nice folks. Then you can get an answer from a reliable source and hopefully stop bashing a kid, his parents, or the program he plays for.

Too bad for anyone not playing against best possible competition, but doesn't change the advice that you should. What do you have next, the I know you are but what am I, or if they jump off a bridge will you, arguments.

Strange how USL has zero events in MD and NY even though their headquarters is in MD. Why not hold events in the two states where the sport is most popular?

Maybe because we have enough local clubs to host good tournaments with USL?

Similar to soccer, the tournaments hosted by the governing bodies are in the smaller areas

Because their recommended rules are not most popular there. Beware of a sports advocacy organization that builds a 50 million dollar stadium/office/museum complex in the most expensive area of the County, when there are about 10 world class college facilities within ten square miles.

Hilarious..you want everyone to listen to you except the holdbacks..For Holdbacks they get to do the exact opposite of what you say.. Hilarious

Nobody should be bashing Madlax because they have a huge kid. They are bashing Madlax because they are the #1 club for holdbacks and because their owner is an absolute nightmare who threatens his own clients. People eventually get tired of him which is why their top kids leave when they hit HS.

how do I possibly have anything to say against such amazing thinking and logic. You have definitely made your case.... that you have no case.

He met his match on Sunday.

I agree. I'm not going to defend Madlax, or any club for that matter. I understand the Madlax coach has a reputation and a lot of people bring up the Email fiasco as an example. I would argue that a lot, not all, but a lot of clubs and their coaches have a checkered past and much of it happens in private where not many can see. It's an unfortunate reality of youth sports and not limited to lax. However there are a lot of posters commenting on the Madlax middie and suggesting that he's hurting the spirit of competition by playing down. These posters do not know what they are talking about because the kid is legitimately 11. When people suggest otherwise it's just comes off as being a sore loser. 9d1 and Madlax both have strong 2024 teams. Someone's going to win, someone's going to lose. Just chalk it up as a good battle and look forward to the rematch; no need to call a kids age into question or start bashing clubs/coaches. Anyone reading these posts would guess it's a bunch of kids on here, not adults.

You probably mean well, but you are enabling his terrible behavior by supporting him financially and by making these kind of statements. There are equal or better options than Madlax if you want great instruction, teammates and competition for you son. But even if Madlax was the only game in town, think about what you are telling your kid by having him play for that guy. You're saying that it's ok to play for him because the owner didn't threaten your son, only somebody else's son.

Using the "everyone else does it" rationale is sad. Think about all those gymnasts who have abused by coaches. Would it be right to tell your kid to continue to train under a suspected pedophile because a) it's a good club and b) other coaches are suspected of doing the same thing?

This story should not be about the players age. This story should continue to be about a grown man bullying kids and telling players to break a kids arm. Ridiculous. I hope the HOCO deals with the situation - it is not the first time this has happened and it won't be the last. I hope some real punishments are doled out and it wakes this jerk up. He is an embarrassment to the game.

Yes! To get so worked up over fifth grade lacrosse to the point you are hurling insults and threats at children is the real issue. The guy needs a mental evaluation. Can't believe he runs camps for children. There are good coaches all over the area that don't subject kids to abuse. Wake up.

Amen to this! This is truth and wish people would realize how unhealthy he is to the kids and this sport! His 2022 team plays RR next weekend, that should be real interesting!

With those 2 coaches on the sideline screaming and yelling, it will be unbearable to watch. It's sad these coaches make it about themselves instead of the kids. And these 2 guys are the worst!

Still no video?

Agreed. MM and the Madlax owner are on the top of the mountain when it comes to disgusting behavior.

Wrong. MM is alone at the top.

I don't see how my comment can be interpreted as though I am enabling anyone. Only point I am trying to make is that before anyone begins to talk down on a player or his family because they think the kid is too old, they should first get confirmation on the child's age...not assume he is playing down simply because he is a big kid. The second point I was trying to make is that there are a lot of good programs, with mostly good coaches, who may behave at their worst at times. I am not suggesting that it is okay; simply stating that it probably happens a lot more than we may know about within other programs besides Madlax and 9d1. As far as Madlax goes, they have provided great instruction to my child, my son enjoys his teammates and they all seem to come from good families as far as I can tell, and he has experienced good competition since joining. I did not hear his coach threaten anyone last week; from reading the posts it sounds like that was the other coach (MM). With all that being said, my only loyalty is to God and my family. If I felt as though my son was in an abusive environment or was being mistreated by anyone in the program we would not be a part of the program, because as you accurately pointed out, there are many other options. However, if everyone's skeletons were out of the closet then those options may not be as plenty as you and I think...

How did the A. Hawks look last week against BLC? I know they won, but curious how the game went.

Any parent who heard these comments directly should report this to the HOCO league in writing and demand something be done. I cannot imagine allowing my child to play for him be because all know that this is not a rare occurance. This needs to be handled by the HOCO league, and if it isn't we know that they have absolutely zero control of the League and we should all be very concerned for the safety of our kids. A coach told a 5th grader to break a players arm? Called a player a [lacrosse]?! You're done here buddy. I don't care what accolades youve got . You've got no place around children.

I dont believe MM said this. If he did and I was the parent of the " [lacrosse]" or " broken arm middie" ... I would be in MM's face at end of game. Or at a mimimun bringing it up with HOCO league officials. This is a public run league. This isnt some sacred cow where the parent has no say about his child...This is a bunch of 5th grade children playing lacrosse.

It has been brought up with league officials. The ball is in their court.

Parents tried to confront him after the game, but he took his team behind the bleachers for so long, it was not possible.

I think the person was saying that by supporting Madlax, you are enabling the owner's bad behavior. It is a fact that the email was not an isolated incident - he has threatened and treated many of his families like crap. But even if it was a one time thing, you are impliciting saying it's ok as long as it's not your son. By having your son play for him and give him your money, you are giving your stamp of approval. If that's ok with your conscience, then fine.

I really hope you are not a 91 parent. The lacrosse community is keenly aware of MM's treatment of his players and opposition. Anyone putting money in his pocket is enabling his behavior.

I do not accept your premises, but I am fine with my son playing on a Madlax team.