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

Are you kidding - you are giving advise in this !@#$%^& place? Laughable and please get a life.

PLEASE STOP. We had enough of this.

There are usually 2 sometimes 3 NJ teams in the top 25 of USCLUBLAXdotCom, So Jersey is representing pretty well, Jersey strong. BBL is always in the top 25 at each age group and usually top 10.

NJ lacrosse is somewhat fragmented and therefore talent is spread thin. Nothing wrong with that but it would be nice to have a version of a NJ combined team similar to True or Dukes where top players can play together outside of their respective clubs.

The national team model makes no sense from a development perspective. They have few, if any practices, and just meet up for 1 or 2 tournaments a year. If you are on a top team in your age group in NJ, you are probably playing the same tournaments anyway, and getting quality practices with your team. That being said, if you are interested in a national team, there is always Mad Dog locally, or you can drive to PA or MD. If there was a real benefit to the national teams, you would see a lot more kids from LI playing on those teams. As you said, the real problem is that the NJ talent is spread too thin, but recently it seems like a few NJ clubs are doing a very good job aggregating talent.

I agree regarding development. Joining a national team as a supplement usually means the player is already being developed by his or her club team. That player may be one of the best players in that team. Typical situation is that the team as a whole may not be considered AA (whatever that means) and enters tournaments in the correct bracket but he or she desires to compete in a AA bracket with a national team notwithstanding scheduling conflicts. What tournaments this summer have Mad Dog National team played in. Curious about what teams they play.

They play in Naptown and the new event in NJ July 11th & 12th. Mad Dog West 2024 and Mad Dog Black 2025 play in Naptown without national players. Moving to Mad Dog NJ for the national team is a mistake. NJ could be dead in a year and only National Team that is legit is the 2021 team.

They played Naptown and the national team event in NJ the following weekend this summer. Obviously, at Naptown, you will get most of the big clubs, the NJ event was small format, but had some quality teams like True Atlantic and Dukes. I can certainly appreciate your perspective, but tournaments like Crabfeast and Naptown also have NJ club teams, and along with the NLF events, probably offer the highest level of youth lacrosse competition. Unlike Crabfeast, Naptown seems to attract many more national level teams. While you obviously know what's best for your own child, if you feel that their regular club is not offering the appropriate level of competition, perhaps a change of clubs would help. While this is not a bad thing, many NJ clubs focus mostly on development and stick to the B or lower level A tournaments, if your kid is an A or AA player, they may be better served on a NJ club that plays only A and AA tournaments. Also, keep in mind, that although your child may seem like an AA player in the lower level tournaments, things are much different at the AA level, a lot of these teams are filled with big, fast and incredibly talented players which can be a big adjustment. Also, while some would disagree, despite the fact that these national teams hold tryouts, they typically target kids that they already know, not to mention the mysterious "guest" players that appear out of nowhere.

No kid on either team, but I watched the BBL 2022 team absolutely crush the Mad Dog national team at Downingtown yesterday.
It begs the question whether the Mad Dog NJ or Cal team would have done just as well.

Do they even still have a NJ team? Didn't Mad Dog NJ fall apart after the Squan coach left? Only National teams?

best teams are the top ranked national teams on sites like us club lacrosse. no need to join a national team unless you just want to blow money.

What was the score?

Looks like 2021 MD national did ok.

2021 is their best national team

It looked like 10 or 11 to 3 when I was watching.

Mad Dog National was a 23/22 team and their best 2022 played on the 2021 National team. Squan kid, he is very solid. Not sure how long he stays with MD. His brother played for Leading Edge.

Anyone know anything about the New Jersey National team playing this weekend in FL? Is that a Mad Dog team?

I heard that it was somehow related to NJLC, either way, most of the NJ talent is home and back in school.

Who is Upper Level Club in NJ? Are they part of NJLC?

They have been around a while, seem to play mostly local NJ and PA tournaments, never heard anything good or bad about the club

How many of the NJ teams qualify? All 5 & Team 91 MD?

Tri-State 2025
BBL Elite
Tribal SJ 2025
Mad Dog East
TEAM Lacrosse 2025
Team 91 Maryland 2025
2025 Cannons Gold
True Lacrosse Maryland 2025
3d Garden State 2025AA
Breakers 2025 Blue
Zingos 2025 Black
Top Caliber Lacrosse 2025
3d Maryland 2025

BBL
Tribal
Mad Dog

BBL
Tri-State
3d Garden State

You must not know much about Mad Dog and Tribal 2025 teams

true statement...I don't know much about tribal. Do they have any high school level teams? Is their program plugged into college coaches?

That is irrelevant, the question was about NJ teams qualifying for the WSYL. BBL, Tribal and Mad Dog teams are all very strong and, if you put any weight behind US Club Lax rankings, are ranked 12, 16 and 17 nationally.

Any word from WSYL on the qualifier? They going to push it back or is the WSYL done for this year?

Mad Dog's best player is a summer birthday and can't play.. going to be a big problem for them.

Well, the discussion is probably irrelevant at this point, but I believe that BBL had the same "big problem" last year, and things worked out OK. Hopefully, things will calm down a bit and our kids can get in some lacrosse this summer.

Mad Dog wouldn't play that game.

I agree, but there will always be doubters. My son does not play for Mad Dog, but I have had some experience with the 2025 coach and he seems like a really good guy. I do know a few parents of 2025 players and I know that they would certainly agree that he is an excellent coach and would not do anything underhanded.

Too bad he has blown up the Mad Dog NJ program. All he cares about is the 2025 Black team.

Too bad he has blown up the Mad Dog NJ program. All he cares about is the 2025 Black team.[/quote]

I think that he was left with a program in decline and perhaps sees that the only way to re-build is to start with the younger age groups. Other than the 2021 team, the high school program is shot for now, but if he can develop these younger teams, maybe there is a future for the NJ program. He needs to have a track record, and success at the younger age groups will bring in more kids. A lot of the blame can be placed on the 2023 parents that bailed right before the season, that really hurt the high school program,

I think that he was left with a program in decline and perhaps sees that the only way to re-build is to start with the younger age groups. Other than the 2021 team, the high school program is shot for now, but if he can develop these younger teams, maybe there is a future for the NJ program. He needs to have a track record, and success at the younger age groups will bring in more kids. A lot of the blame can be placed on the 2023 parents that bailed right before the season, that really hurt the high school program,[/quote]

You sound like the director trying to place blame on parents.
Don't know anything about the 2023s. I had a son on the 2027 team and it was a s*** show so we moved on. Revolving door with coaches. Too bad Billy isn't still around he could get all the kids back.

You sound like the director trying to place blame on parents.
Don't know anything about the 2023s. I had a son on the 2027 team and it was a s*** show so we moved on. Revolving door with coaches. Too bad Billy isn't still around he could get all the kids back.[/quote]

Honestly, not affiliated with the program in any way, but the 2023 mess last year was a disaster. Clearly, you have a much better perspective on the situation than I do. I hope that you and your son found a better option, nothing more disappointing that spending all of that money for a ton of aggravation. We recently went through a club change as well, fortunately, there are some good alternatives available.

Any NJ clubs starting to get back on the field?

I think that some will start limited no-contact practices as of 6/22

Mad Dog National running practices for limited Mad Dog players. Tri-State stars in a few weeks and the Jersey Shore beaches are packed.

Unfortunately, the start of practices will not help the beach crowds, unbelievable...

Besides Mad Dog, has anyone else started practicing yet?

Considering that it was basically illegal to practice until yesterday, you probably will not get a lot of replies, but I believe that a few clubs are starting up this week.