BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NEW JERSEY LACROSSE NEW JERSEY FORUM Top Boy's Club Teams in New Jersey

Lurking DMV person here but the comments about DC Dogs are not accurate. While it is true that some NL kids played in WSYL and DC Dogs in the same summer, that is very different from a National or even regional team. There are many teams in the DMV area and if they put together an all star team like True it would be interesting to say the least. My son plays with and is friends with many of these kids. At 2023 the Madlax Capital team was not an elite team and would not have done well at WSYL but did not even try to qualify. Most ML teams do not. The top teams in the area last spring were Club Blue, Next Level, and Bethesda. Next Level did field a team for WSYL. Madlax folded the Capital team and at the same time merged with Club Blue. This was in the spring. Madlax DC Dogs was formed and had an open tryout. Some of the Next Level kids attended the tryout. They had also committed to play at WSYL which they had already qualified for. Those kids are now part of the new team DC Dogs. They are not "borrowed" from Next Level. It is not accurate to compare the DC Dogs team to a National team like West Coast Starz, Sweetlax National, or True. They are a local group of kids who have played together for a long time. Most even attend the same middle school.a2

Agreed, DSM is just stacking things to their benefit (and yes they are unique in a world full of lax players trying to run businesses). As for the DC Dogs issue, I disagree. The lax world is small, everybody knows everything. Every kid and parent at the Millon event that went to Denver or played in the qualifier knew exactly who the kids were on DC Dogs. If your club is playing the bigger events, whether NLF or tournaments like Naptown, you see these kids all of the time. My son could probably rattle off the names of the best kids on most of the top teams in the country, they all cross paths at tournaments and follow each other on social media.

Either way, I do not understand the problem with the national team concept. Again, while I do not like the national teams organizationally, I think that you made a very interesting point about DC Dogs vs. a national team. The DMV area is flooded with lacrosse players, therefore, it is easy to put together an elite level team like DC Dogs, Hawks or Crabs with local product. However, the rest of the country, outside of the Northeast, is not equally flush with elite level players or elite level teams. Perhaps the national team model serves the interests of the kid from Utah or Minnesota that does not have an option for elite level lacrosse locally. Kids flying in from Texas and Florida to play for Maryland clubs supports this demand just as much as the national team does. My guess is that the national team concept will fizzle out at some point once the sport has grown to the extent that elite level tournaments are being held on a more regular basis nationally, Once the kid from Utah or Minnesota can play regionally, there will be no incentive for parents to pay top dollar to fly their kids to a tournament in Maryland.

I also do not have a problem with the national team concept. I was reading a post in the NJ section and it mentioned that NLF would not allow national teams at the event. Just wanted to clarify that DC Dogs is neither a national team or an all star team. Mad Lax has a national team.

I also do not have a problem with the national team concept. I was reading a post in the NJ section and it mentioned that NLF would not allow national teams at the event. Just wanted to clarify that DC Dogs is neither a national team or an all star team. Mad Lax has a national team.[/quote]

Yes understood about DC Dogs, I was just trying to draw a parallel between them and a national team with respect to the ability to aggregate talent. I have no doubt about DC Dogs being a local product team and also not an all-star team.

So the nlf will it allow national teams at their events but it's ok for their own teams(2022 express and 91LI and 91MD) to have players from all different states play in the events. Players who don't practice, just show up to tournaments. NLF is a by chance of hypocrites.

taking this back to NJ - do any clubs offer a real full year program? looking for something to replace a shoddy rec team in the spring particularly

Money grab

'25 Mad Dog Black. Blatant Spring Jam, NXT Spring League, Play Days with Mesa and working on additional playdays with LI & MD teams. Practicing multiple times a week. Should have a complete schedule by Mid-February.

Leading Edge at the 8th-grade level.

Not sure about North Jersey.

Fall Rankings for NJ teams
Leading Edge and BBL with 5 teams in top 5.. Followed by Tri State with 4 & Mad Dog with 3.


3 LEADING EDGE 2020
14 PATRIOT ELITE 2020
17 SOUTH SHORE 2020
30 TRI STATE 2020
34 BBL ELITE BLACK 2020

3 BBL ELITE BLACK 2021
4 LEADING EDGE 2021
23 MAD DOG NJ 2021
31 STEPS 2021
34 TRI STATE 2021

8 LEADING EDGE 2022
9 BBL ELITE BLACK 2022
31 STEPS 2022
33 SOUTH SHORE 2022
38 TRI STATE 2022

8 LEADING EDGE 2023
18 TRI STATE 2023
19 BBL ELITE BLACK 2023
22 BLUE STAR 2023
30 NJ RIOT 2023

11 TEAM UNITED 2024
19 MAD DOG NJ 2024
22 BBL ELITE BLACK 2024
24 NJ RIOT 2024
26 LEADING EDGE 2024

10 MAD DOG NJ 2025
12 BBL ELITE BLACK 2025
24 TRIBAL LC 2025
33 SOUTH SHORE 2025
42 PATRIOT ELITE 2025

With a few exceptions, this is probably pretty accurate with respect the NJ teams head-to-head. I think that LE 2023 may be a little high in the rankings overall at #8, and there definitely may be some disagreement about the top 3 order at 2024.

'21 TriState is should above Steps and Mad Dog
'24 BBL is better than United and Mad Dog.
'25 Tribal should be above Mad Dog and BBL

Supprised how few Blue Star teams are on the list and how many team Mad Dog has on the list considering how many players keep leaving their High School teams.

didn't '21 TriState beat '21 Leading Edge pretty badly last summer?

Why isn’t Steps better?

The rankings are still in their infancy - Limited information and data to back up their algorithm. I think everything will shake out as it develops, but some very noticeable flaws for this first go around.

BBL 24 is significantly better than the rank. They won NAPTOWN last summer, they won NXT indoor this weekend. This isn’t a mom, dad or coach. They beat my son’s team at NAPTOWN and looked good doing it.

The ranking was based on the fall. 7th-grade is a fun year, kids develop early and the teams with the most developed kids end up winning.
At the end of the day, ranking means nothing.

The 2019 team was outstanding. Beat LE, Edge, LB3, 3D, Sweetlax, etc. the few times they played over the last few years; split several close games with Prime Time and Laxachusetts, which were outstanding at 2019. Never lost to Patriot, Riot, or any other NJ team, ever. Won 2 or 3 tournaments each year. The team had very little turnover and they got better each year with outstanding coaching.
The younger teams aren't as strong and parents are more apt to chase the shiny object now and move from team to team seeking 7th grade immortality rather than have some patience. More turnover is rarely a good thing, because there are fewer and fewer good kids each year.

Who are you talking about? Club teams are different from year to year. Coaches, how the club treats the team. Sounds like your son happened to be on a "special" team from whatever club you are talking about.

I have two sons, one happens to be on a "special" team from the club we play for. The older boys team takes kids just to fill the team, fired the head coach without a replacement. I see it first hand how the teams are treated, are you saying I should have patience and keep paying for a team the club could care less about?

I thought I was responding to the Steps question; sorry for the confusion. Yes, the 2019 club was a special group and were coached very well and consistently, with the same coach for 4 years ( who happens to coach Delbarton). All of their success came while rigidly splitting time 50/50 with a 24-man lineup. I love to watch my kids and they're very good, but to be honest when a team has literally no dropoff at any position, it's fun watching when they're sitting for a quarter.

The 2019 team maybe had two spots turn over each year, and after a number of years together they could really play the game. I have a younger son whose team is close to 30-40% a year, and if those new kids aren't absolute studs it will take a while for the team to get as good as it was the year before.

It sounds like your older son is unfortunately getting the all-too-common money grab treatment, and no one could blame you for pulling him if the club is not invested in getting him better. One of the only upsides to there being so many clubs now is that there are a lot of clubs now if you're not happy...

Was at the Mad Dog vs BBL '25 game yesterday at the Mesa play day. BBL should be embarrassed by the behavior of some of your parents. Mad Dog by no means was running up the score.

Mad Dog post showed the score as 7-0..that doesn't even enter the discussion for running up the score...MD 2025 team is pretty stacked, surprised it wasn't worse

Looks like some Mad Dog players went to NJLC.

Looks like some Mad Dog players went to NJLC.

NJLC, Tri State, United..either way, it will all unravel next year with high school, there will be a lot of moves, especially with Leading Edge, half of the current roster will not make the team.

Mad Dog is unraveling at all ages?

It was really just the 2023 team, but they do have a history of losing high school players. I think that it was just the culmination of several years of issues with the team. It's unfortunate because some of the new guys that they have brought in to coach at Mad Dog are really great. Perhaps as some of the younger teams get though the system, things will get better. Their 2025 team is excellent.

My son will be going into 6th grade. We live in Morris County. He plays for a local club.
What clubs are good and known for good youth programs? Thoughts on BBL Helix team?

Play for the club his friends play for. Make sure he enjoys the sport before you start traveling to Long Island in the spring with BBL.

Depending where you are in Morris County, BBL would probably be the closest. Leading Edge, Tri-State and Blue Star are other good options as well. I agree with the comment above, make sure this is what your son really wants because it is a huge time/travel commitment, it also helps if he has friends on the team as there can be a lot of downtime. For the most part, none of these teams play in NJ in the summer LI, PA, MD and DE are where most of the tournaments are located. You will be on the road every weekend during June and part of July, so don't count on any vacations until the end of July or August. Helix is not BBL's top team, but is a stepping stone to their Elite team, a lot depends on your son's skill level.

He plays for a local club right now and loves lacrosse, he has lots of friends on that team.

Which is why we stayed with it. He will be ready for the next level, next year (7th) most likely with more competitive tournaments. I thought LE is a club you go to at the older levels, high school.

The BBL Elite team is very hard to make but a great team. I guess its worth a shot. And I will see how he feels at the end of the summer.

Yes, LE is traditionally more of a draw in high school. If he really loves it, then give Helix a shot. As I said above, if he really progresses, the Elite team is always a great option. That being said, as with every club, each age group is very different. For example, as far as NJ teams go, the 2024 BBL Elite team is one of the top teams, but at 2025, Mad Dog is the better team, and BBL Elite and Tri-State have typically dominated the 2023 age group. If he is an outgoing kid, he will have no problem fitting in on a new team, and hopefully, there is a decent group of parents to socialize with on tournament weekends. A toxic group of parents can destroy the whole experience.

Are you saying BBL has toxic parents?

Not at all, it was simply a general statement, my interaction with most BBL parents has been positive...but every club is going to have a few

What about team 91 (new NJ team)

It is not a new team, it used to be Leading Edge South. The LE South teams were typically pretty weak, even in B level tournaments. I don't think that much has changed. If this is the same poster with the 6th grader, the best 2025 team right now is Mad Dog, after that, there is a good mix of options between BBL, Tri State and Blue Star, they are all good programs.

I saw team 91 North (NJ) is having their first tryout this summer and seem to have a good director. Does anyone know anything about this new team forming?

Just what NJ needs, another team to dilute the talent even further. A good director means nothing without capable players.

Will there be a lot of players switching clubs this summer or mostly staying with current teams.
Anyone know historically what happened the summer before High School with switching? When do kids quit to focus on another sport?

A couple of clubs are going to have a hard time keeping their talent. Would rather try out for a national team than play B level lacrosse with kids that don't want to be there.