BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Bypassing Middle School Lax for Club Team

-- "No, the other side, in my sons case, is being a team player, loyalty, sportsmanship, patients, acceptance, town pride, friendships, ...pretty much the basis of becoming a "Man". --"

So now you cant become a man if you play for a select club??

I am amazed by your arrogance.

It's a code. Lt Kaffee

You Want The Truth?

You Can't Handle The Truth!

"You sleep under the blanket of democracy I provide and then question the way I provide it" I would rather you just say thank you and went on your way. Otherwise grab a weapon and stand a post"

Col. Nathan R. Jessop

Classic

What town does not allow the children in their community play PAL if they play for a club team? Is that even allowed? Looked on both Nassau's and Suffolk's PAL website and nowhere does is say that children should be excluded if they play for a club team.

Ward Melville school district plays in which pal league and why and who governs it and that pal.

fl$... isn't that the organiztion that makes players sign an agreement that they won't play for another team... even their town team?? its certainly "for the Love" of something... but it ain't Lacrosse;)

wow! how do you do it?? ...I'll nominate you for Father of the year:/
So all those Man lessons are reserved for the kid who decides to play for the town that he lives in??
sounds less about Lacrosse competition and more about all that polyanna "fair share" talk

In my sons situation we have made every effort to stay and play with the PAL team. Our town will not/does not shun playing for select teams. The playing level is just not there. So to try and get the best competition we had to go outside of our program and play select. We are considering not playing for the middle school because of the everyone makes it and plays mentality. Which means 30-40 kids and one coach. It's tough because yes he wants to play with his friends but is a complete waste of his time. He plays goalie and faces injury due to weak players in front of him. Have watched him face 40 shots in a game with his PAL team. He's left naked on way too many plays playing teams like Ward Melville, Manhasset, Garden City, and Smithtown. What's everyone's opinion on this.

I'm not the one who asked but I happen to know that 3village doesnt allow you to play both. Not sure of any other towns

No, absolutely not reserved for that kid exclusively. They are some of the reasons on the "other side" of the arguement to play MS ball.You can twist that post into whatever you want in your angry little mind. Bottom line is none of these kids are "too good" to play on MS ball & nothing is a "waste of time", if you learn from it. Lets hear what ridiculousness you can twist that into! BTW, Being "father of the year" might be strange for me.

They must sign that they will not play for another club team during the summer season. It is about committment and loyalty.

wrong - fl$ insists that you play with your PAL team if there is a conflict in the Spring. Get your facts straight.

Three Village does not allow kids to play PAL if they play on a club team.

A goalie playing on a weak middle school team behind a suspect defense, against much stronger middle school competition ...

I say get the boy some good pads and leg protection and have at it! No better preparation than having 40-50 real shots taken at you. And he'll have to be creative and really alert when walking the ball up.

But no way would I put him out there without leg gear.

Thanks for the reply. He's thick headed and wont wear leg pads. I have tried but just doesnt like them. Again thanks for the reply.

Why is his team facing those caliber teams then ?

Athletic Director puts them in A division for Middle School. W

IME (Suffolk County), MS "leagues" are geographic rather than based on power or school size. My very small school district, where any good players move up to HS in 8th grade, faced very large districts where seemingly no one got moved up. Hence, domination by the large school over us. Also keep in mind that at that age, everyone wants to be the hotshot attack. No one is much interested in playing defense so there isn't a lot of effort trying to protect the goalie from the kids that do have any skill. That's my feeling, anyway, based on what I've seen through 3 kids playing MS lax.

It is not a waste of time, it's just not the best use of time if the goal is to constantly improve.

My kids will play for their JHS Team even though it will be a step back.

If your child is playing for one of the stronger clubs "A" team there is a very good chance that both the coaching and players will be better on the club team.

If you choose not to play for your MS / JHS team just remember that your child can still experience all that is positive about participating in a Team Sport.

The "Town / MS / JHS" only proponents do not have all rights reserved.

Try being a little humble. Your son may be the next Paul Rabil, but maybe, just maybe he's just another kid that is a good lax player on an A club team. Trust me when I say a lot will happen between MS and HS. Kids who are superstars in MS sometimes become just another player by the time HS rolls around. You need to keep that in mind before you make a hasty decision to not play MS lax. Most HS coaches will remember you thumbing your nose at the program. If your son remains a superstar in won't matter. However, if the talent levels out by the time HS comes around (which it usually does) your son could be in a really bad situation. A HS coach who remembers you were TOO good for us....

Its a tough call. He will play middle school but I am most worried about him being injured and his confidence/psyche. As a goalie a lot of your game is in your head. Most goalies can attest to this. When being barraged by shots you tend to go away from your fundamental form and make saves because you are diving all over the place. This opens you up to getting hit in places you normally wouldnt because when playing in a good system 99% of saves are being made by the stick or your in the right position to block it with the chest protector if not saved by the stick. Slides and squeeze the crease/gle are not even taught or done because of skill level being weak.

He does play on a very strong Club team and he works with great goalie coaches.

Here at Daly Goalie Training we encourage our goalies to play as much as possible and see as many shots as they can for whichever team needs a goalie. Each time he takes the field he can work on a different aspect of his game and if the defense is weak it guarantees many shots. I see young goalies complaining their defense is horrible after the game and my comment is always the same. That means more shots on you which means more practice FOR you. Keep up the good work!

I agree the more you play and more shots you see the better you get. He's been practicing, training, or playing games 4 days a week for the past 2 years. So he is getting plenty of looks. Do over 300 shots a weekend mornings as father son time. We are doing middle school, PAL, and club. A lot I know but he loves it.

I agree with one thing - if you are in 7th or 8th grade... Why wouldn't a player want to play on his middle school team?? ...its everyday after school running around playing lax w friends... its only the PAL and Club teams schedules that often conflict...

...a choice that makes playing PAL after 6th grade has become a TOTAL waste of time for any experienced, athletic player... YOUR point is lost when you start generalizing and handing out badges of loyalty for playing home town PAL

Did it occur to you that the 7th or 8th grade player who decides to try out for a highly competitive club team without the comfort of his buddy's around , may be considered courageous?? maybe even start learning those "man" lessons that you like so much;)

making a 12 year old sign a commitment waiver as a condition to play for youth club (fl$) team is rediculous...
1 - if its all about loyalty and commitment, why are the players forced to sign??
2- last time I checked, fl$ was not free, nor gauranteeing playing time, nor scholarships

so please stop!! fl$ doesnt have to look too far as to reasons why, even the newest of club teams are rapidly leaving them in the dust...

I think the reason why fl$ had people sign the commitment letter was not to disuade people from playing from their town or PAL team, but, beacuse they were forming a team with a limited number of boys and couldn't have a situation where some boys show up to one tournament and don't show up at the next. If all the boys are committed to playing for the team during the summer tournament season, then the coaches don't have to worry about their team complexion. If a boy can't commit, that leaves a roster spot to one who can.

Also, our experience is that fl$ has committed itself to ensure roughly equal playing time. While that may, in certain circumstances, result in not having the best players out on the field all the time, it helps with every player's development.

Last, beacause they have been able to draw from a relatively deep pool, I have not seen fl$ being left in the dust as you are suggesting. They certainly have not won as many tournaments as the Turtles, but they have a different model and have made their share of finals and have even won a number of tournaments. It's middle school, so I can't imagine winning a tournament at this age should be considered so critical. Rather, player development should be the focus.

I think Three Village makes their 3rd grade parents sign some sort of commitment letter.

The committment is for the summer team - School and PAL come first during the spring, though not many play PAL in 7th or 8th. Playing time is pretty equal, save for man up and man down situations. No ringers are brought in to fill spots at tournaments. If you've ever heard the directors/coaches speak to the boys, they stress school over everything.

Playing school lacrosse is fun. I agree from a competitive standpoint that it is a waste of time but the kids enjoy it (at least my sons team did). Ask your kid if he wants to play. If he says no , then don't make him play. This will just give the other kids more playing time.

Stop spreading bad information. If you are from 3V you know that is not true. If you are not, I would suggest that you get your information from someone who knows and understands the reasoning and philosophy of 3V Lacrosse.

If you looked back & re-read the post it states "in my sons case" & he is a "highly competitive" club player who ALSO played MS ball. It is not a dig towards club teams. It is in regard to parents who feel their child (boy or girl) is too good to play MS ball. There are kids that are VERY good, who have been on club teams for years & play for the middle school for other reasons than fear of retribution by HS coaches & community.

Agree totally Playing in MS can be FUN leave it up to the Child
that goes for most MS Sports. If your child is competitive they
know the difference between MS sports and Travel or club sports.

Always want him to play with friends but we are getting to an age where players can be shooting the ball 70-80mph. Goalies take a lot of abuse and the concern is injury. Your friends are your friends regardless if you play a sport together.if the players on the team can't make the club team he's on them what. This has been the case the last two years. I don't get you reference to being loyal to your PAL team. What's the issue? We are being loyal to his teammates and friends. There are no other goalies in his grade. Where would the team be then? Middle school and PAL.

Any opinions bypassing a school team that plays summer lax (Not free of charge), versus playing on one of the many elite travel teams instead?
Will the school coach hold it against the kid for not wanting to play with the school team during the summer?

I'd say it depends on the coach, and the kid. I've had three kids go through various summer leagues and it's generally not taken seriously, especially as the summer progresses. By season's end, everyone has lost interest or gone away and sometimes not even a full squad shows up. Furthermore, the coaches are not supposed to coach the summer league (although some do), so it's a parent or an alumnus coaching so if your intent is to impress a coach you may be wasting your time.

I'd ask other parents in your district to see how it's played out in the past in your area.

What's not true? The 3rd grade commitment letter from 3V or boys in the community not being allowed to play PAL?

The problem we have is our varsity coach and an A.D. from a neighboring district coach the summer team and they charge quite a bit without making cuts or holding tryouts. They are also forming a younger "travel" team, and yes-if you don't pay you won't play for the school. My son and several of his friends tried out for and would like to play on legit travel teams but it was strongly "suggested" that they stay with the team to "build the program". Coincidently, the coachs son made varsity as a freshman last year, barely played and got pummeled when he did but that's politics 101.