BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Boys 2025-7th Grade Fall 2019/Summer 2020

Hardly the best teams in the country. Last year’s winner needed to bring in new kids and a new Coach just to claim they are the best in the world. What a crock of BS. They were so good that they lost in pool play at NLF a week later and bailed on their Sunday schedule. What is the message there? The only beneficiary is the club that keeps promoting their WSYL wins against sub-par competition and forcing its players and parents to attend. Complete farce and disgrace - save your money for clinics and get your kid on Varsity as an underclassman: that carries much more weight on a lax resume than a WSYL championship (Yawn).

No need to be discreet with "last years winner", we all know it was 91 wolfpack, lol. And yes that was a disgusting move on their part to leave a tournament because they knew they were not advancing in the NLF tournament , leaving the team they were going to play hanging the next day. But hey thats 91 for you........shouldnt surprise anyone anymore, they are low intellect trash that cry and make excuses when they dont win

Looks like a good fun lineup at Barn Battle this weekend. Express, Rush, Rebels, Regulators and 91. I don’t think it’s Blast though. I think they stopped playing box after losing to a few mediocre PA teams. Either way, it looks like a fun day of box!

This is 100% true. My youngest is a '25 (I also have a '20 and a '21, the middle guy went to Denver, the older guy did not) and I can tell you from experience that after this year, no one cares about travel lacrosse other than club directors and parents of kids still playing middle school lacrosse. Sure, there are tourneys and the kids all play year round and get better, and that's awesome. But, club lacrosse becomes a vehicle to get to varsity. By next year, many of the boys will be playing JV for their schools while the truly top kids will be playing on varsity. The focus shifts completely. Kids play club to keep up with the ever-increasing talent of HS lax on LI. While the elite talent (top 5 or 6 kids on LI) will get looked at club showcases in 10th and 11th grade, everyone below them will attend individual showcases and go to prospect camps for the schools that they have interest in. Thats the reality. 95% of the commits you read about had to go out on their own, contact schools and coaches, send in film, and go to prospect camps. My advice would be to enjoy this year and not get caught up in the nonsense. Denver was a pretty good experience (a lot of really bad teams and a few good ones), but in reality, no one cares about it when you get home.

I have older boys too, and I can attest to this. This board is a pretty solid indicator of club lacrosse interest (read: craziness).
Our thread: 76 pages
2024 thread: 39 pages
2023 thread: 15 pages
2022 thread: 9 pages
2021 thread: 3 post total
High School thread: 445 pages.

The focus definitely shifts starting next year. Enjoy this one, friends.

Yep, looks like a solid lineup. Should be fun.

WSYL has the South qualifier taking place this weekend. There are a whopping 4 teams total vying for a trip to Denver. I’ve heard of Sweetlax Florida and Stealth South Florida but never heard of the other 2 teams (Carolina Gold, Valor LC). This is the challenge with WSYL, for better or worse, crowning a “true” 13U champion (not grade based), means you don’t get the same competition as, say, an NLF tourney. After all, grade-based competition is all your son will see after the WSYL - I understand it’s a nice experience but it isn’t close to the best overall competition at the 2025 level.

WSYL has the South qualifier taking place this weekend. There are a whopping 4 teams total vying for a trip to Denver. I’ve heard of Sweetlax Florida and Stealth South Florida but never heard of the other 2 teams (Carolina Gold, Valor LC). This is the challenge with WSYL, for better or worse, crowning a “true” 13U champion (not grade based), means you don’t get the same competition as, say, an NLF tourney. After all, grade-based competition is all your son will see after the WSYL - I understand it’s a nice experience but it isn’t close to the best overall competition at the 2025 level.

Carolina Gold is decent at the older ages. But it’s evident that the tourney is losing its luster. The fact is most teams from around the country have no interest in flying to Denver to play in a lacrosse tournament that has been one by a club from LI every year. Outside of the LI clubs, there are very few competitive teams at this event. I went with my 2023. I’ve seen it. The competition is mediocre at best and terrible at its worst. Go back and look at some of the scores. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is that many clubs have holdbacks. Honestly, I’m fine with holdbacks. Those are the kids that our boys will be competing against when they get to recruiting age, so why not play them now? But I don’t want to get into that right now. My point is, when you take out Maryland, Boston, Philli, etc... you dilute the talent pool so much that it kind of bring the whole experience down.

In my opinion every time it’s a LI v LI final it weakens the tourney. The tourney needs another region to win. I like the concept of the tourney, but It needs the hotbeds to participate.

Couldn’t agree more with both comments... grade best brings out the best players and teams

Be careful what you wish for and you can't have it both ways. If this happens, you can forget about LI winning. It will dominated by states where red shirts are the norm.

4 teams from the south region, Has that been the norm from the last few years?

Carolina Gold is not even a real travel team. Its a team put together exclusively to qualify for the WSYL. You will never see them at a summer or fall tourney. They hold tryouts and do their best to field players from in and around the Charlotte area for a one-time team. I personally do not have a problem with the age restriction. I for one think its good to have at least one event that attempts to keep the playing field level. I think the bigger issue is the 100 mile radius that the kids have to live within. This is not an issue for hotbeds like the northeast, however when you get outside of those parts of the country there are fewer kids playing the sport. This isn't to say that there aren't high level players in non-hotbeds, but certainly not as many and they are spread out. I think that in non-hotbed areas WSYL should allow certain regions to expand the radius so that they can field more talented kids and better compete if/when they make it to Denver. I know of some very talented kids in the South and other non-hotbeds who will never have a chance to go to Denver simply because there are no teams near them (within 100 miles) that are attempting to qualify. And I can't blame them for not trying because they know that collectively they do not have enough high-level players to field a competitive team. I think if they allowed an "All-Georgia", "All-NC", or "All-Florida" team to compete- regardless of where in the state the kids live- they would have a better showing. One, if not two, of the 4 teams competing this weekend at the South qualifier will be in Denver...and they will likely get waxed and leave with a sour taste in their mouth and not wish to attend in future years.
With all that being said, I believe the intent of WSYL initially was to have actual, pre-existing teams compete to see who is best. If you start "manufacturing" teams then it defeats the purpose of the WSYL....and it looks like this is happening even up here.

Those players probably played last year. And still lost to LI teams. Love all the LI bashing, our athletes are being left behind, blah, blah, blah. The only way you can beat them is to play them with older players. End of story. A LI team will win this year, too.

Saw BBL in the fall.....Def not a top 5 team.

It’s been happening here since the second year. Legacy did it, Express did it. 91 did it. Blast is doing it this year. There are no real teams playing in this tournament anymore.

Exactly. Those with holier than thou attitudes need to give it up and wake up to the fact that no team is pure no matter how much you want to believe.

1-2-1

Yes , a sure sign of things to come.

Carolina Gold, NJ Smog, PA Quakers, Florida Snow birds.....WHO CARES!! I'll say it again: The WYSL is on life support and it is a total scam. Hopefully some LI clubs will wake up and see that. 4 team qualifiers in 1 region? Seems like they dont drink koolaide in that region. Applause!! Sad part is they will get some mediocre teams from LI to fill those voids. "HOORAY! We quaified! 12 other teams backed out so we made it!!!" WAKE UP

Don’t poke the bear, Blastards.

Just box missing full team from many of the programs yesterday, see you in the spring

Any feedback on that Battle at the barn Box Lacrosse tournament this weekend? Looks like Express should stick to field lax?

So the team that practices box lacrosse (no faceoffs, no defense, no attack) every winter for 4 years beat a team that never practices box lacrosse and now they are posting that Express is done? Oh man, you guys are making a BIG mistake! Buckle up , Blast. You just lit a fire that you won't be able to put out.

Thanks 91 AAAA dad. Wait till, they're not a box team.

91 AA has regained the top spot on LI. The boys easily beat Express. For all of the Express parents' talk, they certainly appeared to have lost a step to 91. They were out-hustled and overmatched in every facet of the game. AA clearly working harder in the offseason.

This is hysterical. "You just lit a fire"....is mommy going to go out and play?

Funniest comment I’ve read - assuming you are kidding. I’m a guy whose sons play outdoor and box - you can not compare the 2 games AT ALL! The strategies are completely different as is the pace, of course there are similarities, but it takes a while to adjust to box. Knowing 91 has been running box for years gives them a clear advantage only in box. Express is still the team to beat IMO at the 2025 level, then 91 Maryland, then maybe 91 LI. You can’t claim supremacy from box - that’s laughable.

Congratulations to the boys! Job well done.

Who cares it's box and people do other things like go away skiing . Nobody cares .

We will see who the top team is in the spring on the real field . 91 will be busy losing to town teams while express is destroying the Hawks and other good teams . Stand down 91 dad,you're a fool .

Only a 91 dad would get excited about box . Lol

91 dads trying to stay relevant ....funny

Dont count your Chickens, BOX different game, and not all the kids play.

You may be one of the biggest fools. How can you regain something you never had. Beat them outside , than you can talk .

Right now the 91 dads are high fiving ponytail saying " we beat express " lol. Focus on not losing to town teams , fools. See you in the spring ,actually I am guessing we won't as you don't make it very far in tournaments.

I heard Rebels beat Exp too. "Attention all Box players.. Players needed. Free orange jersey included" Long live 91!

Box is far different from field lax. 91 even had their custom Helmets which is an indication that they play it at a much more organized level. And it shows. They looked good. But it means nothing come March. Exp still will dominate outdoors. RUpoop won a few games and so did Rebels. Totally different game. Lets see in the Spring

Most of you people need some serious help. None of this matters. Keep the kids playing and loving to play. Most of you 5'6" 250lb Dads and Moms without an ounce of athletic ability are going to ruin this sport for your kids.

What’s laughable is that all of you Express parents can’t accept that your kids were beat by a superior team. Far superior. Box isn’t a completely different game. It’s still lacrosse. Kids still need high skills and high IQ; both of which 91 proved that they had the clear advantage. They are going into the season knowing that they are better, and that confidence will put them over the top. Hey, but tell your kid to keep working hard. Have him hit the wall for the rest of the winter. I know ours will be.

Superior at Box Lax, for that day, maybe. Superior on the field? Stop. Please see previous results. As a matter of fact, Im going to go as far to say that the Rebels team and the R U S H team will leapfrog 91 in Spring. 91 had a day at Box but in the spring, they will be loading their gear into a box and going home early.