BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2023 - 7th Grade Fall 2017/Summer 2018

Cavs 2023 is a big step ahead of the other Cavs teams. Not saying they will beat Madlax Cap, VLC, etc. but it goes without saying that Cavs should play harder tournaments. Williamsburg instead of Hogan on 11/12. C'mon. How many times do you have to beat BattleLax, EKLC and Evergreen before leaving the small pond???

The track record of the Cavs HS program is a joke in terms of talent, college commits and quality of tournaments. That is why their best players leave. Nowhere near the big 3 of Madlax, VLC and BW. As for youth, they always play in a lower tier division. My friend's son is on VLC 2023 and they got kids from other areas, not really Cav or 3d.

Cavs aren't going to play in harder tournaments because they only care about winning, no matter what level.

I was at the fields last year when the Cavs 2021 team "won" the lowest brackets of HoCo and the way everyone was reacting you would think they were NC State when they won the NCAA Basketball Championship

Smells like chicken to me.

Tastes like fish.

Cav's is a great opportunity for kids new to travel Lacrosse and the stiffer competition you see over the summer compared to what they see in NVYLL rec during the season. Many of the "Studs" now on other high level club's all came through Cav's at some point or another. All roads lead to Rome....so at some point, as certain boys progress and aspire to get to that next level of competition...they have to leave.

No club is perfect and all of them serve a purpose, niche, demographic etc. Get in where you fit in and when it's time to go...you go.

That said, never forget where you came from and who helped you get to where you are today.

This is a great post. All clubs will and do over hype how great they are. But its clear who the big 3 are in the DMV play Cavs tell 7th or 8th grade move to the big 3 if you are a stud for Cavs. It has worked for the last 5 to 10 years.

this looks right and i believe cavs coaches would agree. cavs parents, not so much.

The last post makes sense however I will bet the 2023 group stays together this is CAV's top team. The kids are successful and the parents are happy with the team. Madlax is too far and time will tell if VLC is a better option. They will loose a few kids but the core of the team will stay together. Cav's and South River dominated the middle HOCO bracket the last two seasons and should both move up to test themselves. As far as the tournaments, the CAV's organization supports local VA based tournaments but also competes at other national tournaments and has fared well in the past. I do not think it matters to many parents who the Big 3 teams are as that will change over time. The sport continues to grow in Northern Virginia so will the hierarchy or teams as it varies at each age group.

Well if I had a dollar for every parent from my sons 7th grade team that thought we would all stay together and keep winning it all. I would have at least $18 dollars. He is now a 2018. If the kids you are talking about really do stay together for the next 5 years this will only hurt the best players from the bunch. Lacrosse is not football they have 3 to 5 coaches, and they do not have the time and money to see everyone everywhere. You need to be playing for the top 3 clubs and be where they are to get to a high D1 roster. It will be fun and you parents will become the best of friends but ask yourself was your drinking buddy worth holding your elite son back from playing to his full potential?

I'm sure the Cavs experience is good for you, but if your son desires top competition and visibility, he is being held back. Cav and "South River" are light years away from competing at the Elite Level. They would get destroyed playing in a higher bracket.

And Cavs does not play in any elite tournaments. As for the "big 3 will change over time", that is incorrect.

if cavs moves up, they'll stop winning and then we'll see how happy and content all the players and parents are. If they play HOCO elite and inevitably become at best a .500 team, unlikely the team will stay together. but i can see why cavs might want to stay in b. club is a business and retention is great if u are winning regardless of whether you are pounding weakling clubs. for the couple kids who might play d1, switch over to madlax, crabs, vlc, dce or wherever. the rest might be happier sticking with cavs and being the big fish in small pond.

Wow, the other club owners on this board must be getting scared of teams like Cav's and Evergreen. Not on the field mind you but where in counts in the $$. Parents should not pay attention to the recruiting BS some clubs sell the parents, you can make a D1 team if a player is good enough. The landscape has changed and club owners are now feeling scared. If your son is a top player an you want to stick with a good team that works for you I suggest you do not have to move. Cav's may not boast as many D1 commits as other clubs as they do not have the quantity of players at that level. However, they did have players commit to schools like Richmond and Army. With later recruiting now at the Junior year, schools have prospect days which are the most important aspect of recruiting as the coaches really get to evaluate a player up close and personal. Anyone can attend showcases, try out for all star teams, and both Cav and Evergreen have connections with top schools and can get the word out. The player not the club will lead to exposure. The best thing a player can do is maintain a high GPA and email coaches of the schools they are interested in. The idea that simply playing on a club means that you will be "exposed" to top college coaches is yesterday's news. If you like your team you can keep your team and you can still get your 20% tuition discount AKA scholarship. If you are playing club at 2023 simply for a D1 full ride you are doing it wrong. Stay with your friends.

Please don't lump Cavs and Evergreen into the same bucket.

While the Cavs may be content to continue as a fall back club for rec league players, Evergreen has made the leap to the upper tier of DMV travel lacrosse.

Top Caliber and Cavs can complete for the travel rung above BattleLax

I've seen Evergreen. That club is worse than rec.

I agree with most of what you said, but c'mon....if you're a good player you will be holding yourself back remaining with the majority of talent that comprises the Cav's rosters. Even from a coaching perspective, other clubs are far ahead of Cav's. Cav's serves a purpose, a niche, a demographic and is a good club for what it is. It is not a good long term fit for players looking to stand out at the Elite level of this sport.

Cav's is organized, great family's, convenient, nice matching swag etc, but it's not, nor will it ever be a club that can compete with the top DMV clubs, no less roll into Baltimore and compete with the Crab's, FCA etc. The owners are from Baltimore originally and know this better than anyone else. That is why the club remains at Hershey Park, Virginia Beach and Hoco C league. It's the parent and the athlete that needs to be informed, look outside of Loudoun and navigate the landscape to their advantage.

don't know if madlax and co. are sweating cavs and evergreen. doubt it. but cavs better be and is probably already afraid of evergreen. the migration from cavs to evergreen has already begun, see evergreen 2022 and HS teams. those were not scrub players that left. generally agree with a lot of the recruiting comments that this guy is saying. and let's not forget these are 7th graders, have fun. some of the studs now will not develop athletically and will never be recruited or need to worry about whether to play for madlax, crabs, vlc, etc. there are also kids playing rec who are a growth spurt away from being elite. with this being a message board, it is fine to have a conversation on who's the best in HOCO and in such a conversation, the words cav and evergreen should not come up. crabs, club blue md and others would pound both clubs on their worst day, that's not disputable. but again, these are 7th graders, have fun and play with whoever you want. if you are elite, things will work out and there is not only one path to success.

This is plain stupid. I know it is trolling but geeeez.

I respect Cavs but they are not an elite program like Crabs, Madlax, FCA, Hawks, etc. The have a ton of dads coaching but you never hear "Daddy Ball" which I view as a positive.

REVISED (version 2) 2023 NOVA-only rankings heading into the fall:

TOP TIER
1. Madlax Cap
2. Cavalier
3. VLC

MIDDLE TIER
4. 3d
5. (tie) Club Blue NOVA [no not the CB that won HOCO last yr]
5. (tie) Madlax DMV
7. Top Caliber [no info whatsover so who knows]

BOTTOM TIER
8. NVYLL Dulles South 12U Lower B Team B2
9. Evergreen

Suspect #2 and #3 will be flipped before long but generally looks right.

Madlax lost their two top guys (by far) last year, and lost several more this fall. Wouldn't be surprised to see them fall from #1. They are already behind NL 2023 and might be behind another VA club on this list already.

What a collection of terrible teams Yikes.

Madlax cap is terrible everyone has left. Cav's should play in AA with madlax. If madlax cap plays elite they will go 0-6.

OK ex-Madlax dad, keep telling yourself that if it will help soothe your decision to leave Madlax. i don't give much weight to the comments of disgruntled former parents. 2023 is cavs' strongest team and madlax capital's weakest team, so it could be close but madlax would still win. in other age groups, madlax cap v cavs would not even be a competitive game.

Anyone know who's playing in the FCA Playday at Calvert hall on 29 of October?

I hope to see Evergreen there

They will be there....collecting and washing jock straps.

Switching back to the subject of preparing 7th graders for high school and college lax - for parents who've gone through the process - how strong is the correlation between how best players "track" over the next few years? In other words, do you tend in general to see big changes in which players are the best for their age or do the best middle school athletes typically remain the best high school and college athletes? Disregard the middle school holdbacks and kids who simply reached physical maturity way ahead of the others.

Maybe a dumb question but how is a playday different than a tournament? Or is it just there is no championship aspect to a playday? Or no difference? Never used that term when I was playing youth.

Everyone who wants an easy W and to have their third string players have the chance to score hat tricks wants to see Evergreen there.

Someone is scared of playing Evergreen!

Evergreen 2022 is playing Madlax Capital 2022 on 10/1 at noon at Evergreen. How about adding Madlax Capital 2023 vs. Evergreen 2023 to the undercard?

madlax 2023 still has a team?

How about we have a "play day" with Madlax, Cav's, Evergreen, VLC, Club Blue NOVA, 3d, Top Caliber, throw in Battle Lax and we can all decide who the top NOVA team is. This could be held at Evergreen this would be great. It would be just like NVYLL used to be 8 years ago only instead of $250 to play it is now $2500 to play. Yeah N.VA youth lacrosse! great job growing the sport!

I can not tell if this guy is mad or happy?

I think this would be a great youth tournament. But if we did this the parents and kids would see who really is the best to worst at each age level and the kids would switch teams to fit themselves better. Also the clubs could not brag about a championship at the beach on there website to trick parents into how good they are.

And if you want to throw a monkey wrench into it get a Richmond team to come up and play in it.

I would take Evergreen as the favorite in this one.

get it done... madlax won't play

Cavs will play if Madlax, VLC and 3D pull out. That way, they can be assured of playing significantly weaker programs and walk away with the championship.

http://www.tribal-lacrosse.com/battle-of-leesburg
http://www.capitallacrosse.com/colonialchallenge.html

Madlax, 3d, VLC, and Club Blue will not be at either of these my guess is that Cav's wins one and Evergreen wins one parents are happy