BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Boys 2022 Fall 2012/Spring 2013

Md kids may not be playing down in order to win tourneys but seems clear that Md teams have kids born in Sept, Oct. and Nov. playing with the younger kids whereas kids with those same birthdays on LI teams would be playing with the older kids (i.e., their grade). No suggestion (by me at least) that it's cheating but nevertheless Md teams have a bunch of older kids. I think it should just be done by graduating class, 2022, 2021, etc. Then no issues (unless kids are left back!).

Those kids born in sept oct nov are still graduating in 2022 if born after August 31. US lacrosse has set the ages.

Question: My 8 year old is pretty good. He did great this year in PAL. 10 goals in 6 games. He is smart and coachable. He got "cut" by the Honey Badgers in January. I want to try him out for a club team in September. I am thinking Igloo, Team 91 and Express. I live in Western Nassau. Which team does everyone think is best? Will 91 and express be unless bc they already have 2023 teams and the tryout would just be a formality? Any other clubs to check out? Am I out of my mind as my wife thinks? Thanks

Express is a top club but certain clubs are stronger in certain grades than others. They probably feel their 2022 team is not a top tier team yet and want to have competitive games. Nothing wrong with that.

First, note that if you want to introduce a new line of discussion (such as your original Boys 2023 topic line), please become a registered user and start your own thread.

Second, you should consider having your child attend one of the Long Island Outlaws free clinics which are currently taking place :

Long Island Outlaws Free Clinics

There, you might be able to get a low-pressure evaluation of where your son's proper level might be. The Outlaws will help you in terms of guiding your son's placement, either with them or elsewhere. The fact that he was not accepted in the first recruitment round of the Honey Badgers might indicate that going through this exercise with the Outlaws is worth your time. It is less about which program/team is the best and more about where your son would be with similarly skilled players to begin improving his skill set.

They are still playing teams that are 2021, thus a year older then them. My son plays for 2022 Terps and we are not an "A" team. Nobody is trying to play down to win a tournament. More so find a level where the kids can be competitive. Last weekend at LI Lax Fest we played "A" and went 0-4 losing ever game by atleast 4 goals. While 91 White a team that has won at least 2 tournaments this season
JDRF and Pro Player and beat us every time we have played, played B, went 5 and 0 blowing put every team they played and won the Chsmpionship. I think before you talk about people trying to play down and win you should do a little research first. Express 2022 Terps does not belong in the A bracket. We will have a hard enough time winning a game against teams that are 1 to 2 years older.

My son plays with farmingdale, but not express. About half of the farmingdale kids stay and play together with their farmingdale town team and are also signed up with the Express. Because they have a very solid town program, those kids cannot make all the express practices and all farmingdale practices. So the kids who are on both teams usually attend their town team practices/games as a first priority and attend whatever express practices they can make. Your friend probably does not know that those kids are committed and have paid to be part of two solid teams and have to spread their time between the two.

that is where the problem is. if your town is the priority (and that is fine - not opening up that debate) don't play on a top travel team.

I agree it is impossible to be fully committed to two lacrosse teams, there are always conflicts and you will always have to choose one over the other. Problem with this is that the parents see nothing wrong with their child skipping practices, and they should.

I could not agree more. If I am paying 2 grand, I want more than 12 kids at the club practice. I also do not want to hear that we are not having another weekly practice because half the team cannot make it because they have practice for their town team. I think kids and parents need to learn about what commitment is. If you pulled this in another sport- you'd be benched or would not make the team the following year. I am not sure why this happens so frequently in lax.

This happens in lacrosse due to a weak player pass situation. If players were tied to a single team for a seasonal year, players would need to choose between their town teams and premier club teams.

Soccer avoids this debate since the best town teams (U/11 and under) move to their premier ranks by U/12, so there is no notion of being both "intramural and premier".

Lacrosse's differentiation between town and club teams also promotes these "two team" players. With club teams starting to edge towards full year coverage with better training, the revenue potential will eventually force the better players to choose an exclusive premier path.

Two weeks back when we spoke with US Lacrosse, their staff members were particularly concerned about clubs in some locations (not New [lacrosse]) forcing players, particularly boys, to choose. While not an issue yet here, BOTC was quick to point out that this train is coming.

US Lacrosse asked us why we thought this would happen? Our response was simple : Lacrosse youth development structure is typically five to ten years behind Youth Soccer, at least on the East Coast. US Lacrosse agreed with this view.

Youth Soccer's "Development Academies" are forcing the better players to choose between their High School careers and higher level academy training. How long before Lacrosse sees the same system evolve? Our answer : Five to ten years.

Think about it.

I happen to think the soccer analogy is horrible. They may be more organized as an institution but where are they when it comes to player development? For the amount of time they want you to practice and play year round I just don't see kids getting the college looks as lacrosse on LI.

I also do not want to hear that we are not having another weekly practice because half the team cannot make it because they have practice for their town team. I think kids and parents need to learn about what commitment is. If you pulled this in another sport- you'd be benched or would not make the team the following year. I am not sure why this happens so frequently in lax.

Let's try to define what you mean by player development. If you are looking for premier academies that support player growth, soccer academy consolidation has already taken place with the top regional academies already identified for both boys and girls.

If you are looking for college placements, my most recent data showed that 97% of girls players that were playing for premier league teams (club teams) between 2007 and 2011 were collegiate placed. Remember that in soccer, there are too many High School teams on Long Island (more than 110) with too many players (approximately 2,700 for both the boys and the girls - so 5,400 in total) to be able to argue that top quality can consistently be found at the scholastic level.

If you are looking for national presence, all I can offer in defense is that one of the players that our team battled for years (Crystal Dunn) is now a starter (not just on the team, but one of the starting eleven) for the Women's National Team.

All of this said, perhaps the soccer analogy is weak simply because it is more rigidly defined than the wild west that you currently have in youth lacrosse.

Remember, the original question posed by our 2022 poster asked why the commitment to any individual team (particularly those charging) seems so weak.In order to discuss "weak commitment", BOTC felt you needed to compare the commitment level to something else - anything else - to make the point.

If the comparison to other sports does not make an effective argument, why would anyone feel that there is weak commitment? (Hopefully, you understand our point here.)

That being said
Taken from Newsdays 2013 college commitments, the numbers are as follows, and i'm sure the number have changed since published.
Girls Lacrosse 92
Boys Lacrosse 86
Girls Soccer 34
Boys Soccer 21

Over all Lacrosse 178, Soccer 55

The numbers don't lie.

[quote=Anonymous].
Lacrosse's differentiation between town and club teams also promotes these "two team" players. With club teams starting to edge towards full year coverage with better training, the revenue potential will eventually force the better players to choose an exclusive premier path.

Youth Soccer's "Development Academies" are forcing the better players to choose between their High School careers and higher level academy training. How long before Lacrosse sees the same system evolve? Our answer : Five to ten years.

Think about it.

When you refer to "revenue potential," CageSage, surely you aren't talking about $$ for the player's benefit? I have read other forums here that claim that the "full ride" college scholarship doesn't exist for lacrosse. Also, the earning potential of a pro lax player is pretty limited. With the exception of the top players and coaches, not many people can earn their living through lacrosse.