BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Boys 2025-8th Grade Fall 2020/Summer 2021

Okay, so serious question to ask. Is the value of practicing with the top team more valuable than being the best player on the 2nd team?

Yes

There are so many variables to this question that it’s tough to answer

If your kid has been on the A team for awhile and has seen his game time minutes shrink......it may be time to look for a different spot

If you were in B team and just got moved up to the A team then let him see what he can do. He won’t get a lot of minutes but at least he knows where he needs to be.

Bottom line is if your driving hours on end to tournaments and your kid isnt playing it will be tough.

And never waste your time on the B team of the bigger or smaller clubs. The clubs don’t care about them at all.

Don't fall for that. Go to another club where you could get the benefit of good practice and playing time.

In my experience, there is NO substitute for playing time in games. None.

One of my kids looks great in practice. Soft hands, great handle, does tons of wall ball and can pick any spot in the cage to shoot. Great in a 1 on 1. He stinks in games. He has the lax IQ of a brick. Always in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, he plays in games on his B team - and slowly but surely he’s getting better. He wouldn’t be if he was part of the practice squad on the top team because he’d never get on the field. Knowing how to do something and being able to do it under pressure are two different things. The pressure really only exists in games. My other kid is on a top tier A team and plays a lot so I know the difference.

Parents get wrapped up in A team B team nonsense.

Lax Parent 1: “My son is on the AAAA TopGunSpaceForce Team.”

Experienced Lax Parent 2: “Wow, that’s great. Does he play?”

Lax Parent 1: “Uuuuuh, um, no. But the practices are great!”

Experienced Lax Parent 2: “Ah, yes. I’ve heard that.”

Whichever team is going to help your son get better is the A team for him. Hope that helps.

So what are the teams calling the B & C teams now? AA? AAA? Best part is tuition is prolly the same for all 3....

My son is trying out for FLG today. Does anyone have any feedback on their program (how it's run)?

FLG is a well run organization with good leadership and great coaches. Teams create great camaraderie within the group while working hard. Position practices are well run. I would recommend joining.

Thanks Mr. Director. Good luck with your tryouts.

The events are well run and they sorta never get involved with the LI drama. But they are a national program. Some Force players are rumored to be going to there after that club shuttered.

Not a Director but a parent on the club. They are very responsive and create a family environment.

Ok, some player movement the past few weeks.....who are the clubs on Long Island that improved?

Hear the Penguin club now has a 30+ roster. Joined the likes of 91 and LIE. End of the day all these clubs want is money and chasing CoachC.

Gap probably widened between express/91 and everyone else.

Former FLG parent. I liked the program, wanted to be on a stronger team that practiced together as a team more often. I'd say it was a good experience if you were balancing lacrosse with other sports, but if you are all in for lacrosse there are other more demanding programs. Depends what you are looking for. Won't be the best team, but not all in either. They strayed away from the "no parent coaches" which was a negative for me, but most programs have parent coaches as well.

These teams are all gonna be watered down. And it comes down to coaching anyway. Which programs have the best coaching? They all look BLAH to me...

Disagree gap wider between 91 and everyone else, express definitely did not get better. You can argue they lost a lot more then gained.

91 added some good players. Not sure what express added.

Did Express lose anyone? No one (who plays) ever leaves CoachC

These teams will all look different this year as this is/was the year the kids all hit the growth spurt. The quick, little guys will no longer be able to out-quick everyone else. All the speed and strength changed tides. The "bigger kids" are now Average sized so that childhood advantage is now moot. Get ready for a lot of surprises. People may want to put their car magnets in the glove box at this point because the hierarchy is changing.

How does USCL have Madlax > Express? no chance

Yep, sad especially when you are not picking up talent just grabbing leftovers from force because they have friends on the team. Buyer beware. 91, Express, Rush. The rest are grasping at straws. SAD

History doesn’t support your case! The best 4th grade teams over the years were also the best HS teams on Long Island. Now step away from Long Island, yes the scales do balance, especially with the National teams. But the LI teams “hierarchy” remains a constant.

2020 - Crush best from day 1
2021- Blaze and Black Ice best on LI since 3rd grade
2022- Express, 91, and Igloo best since 3rd grade
2023- 91 and Express since 2nd grade
2024- 91
2025 - Express and 91
2026 - Express and 91 etc etc etc

Rush got beat by the Rebels (without the Rebs 9th graders) and had to hold on for dear life against the Regulators, who had 18 kids on the team. A couple of teams lost their best players, where they wind up may tip the balance a bit. I know 91 added top kids from at least 3 different programs. Don't be surprised if 91 pulls away from Express, and Express winds up in the Rush-Rebels-Regulators morass of mediocrity.

How about CoachC lost a bunch of games this summer

Madlax and us club lax affiliated. Ranking is rigged to make Madlax look good.

RUSH is mediocre at best. Same with Rebels. Neither play team ball. They have 1 or 2 kids that the offense runs thru and everyone on field knows it. Best teams spread the ball around and have multiple threats. Problem is the coaches...they cant see it. They still try to call out every move. "Good time" Really? Just get a megaphone a tell the entire tournament you want your kid to go to the cage. SMH. Let the kids play. Coach them in practice and then have faith in your system. Let them be lacrosse players, no drones. Until a team does that they will all be 1 trick pony's!

This is absolutely not a slight on the players, but I can't see the 4 kids they added from Force moving the needle on that team and gaining ground on Express. If those 4 kids were difference makers, Force would have been a much more competitive team.

Who did they lose to ? Scores? Changing rankings based on this shortened covid summer sounds silly.

Express got beat all summer by bigger teams. PrimeTime blew right down the field on them. The Express parents on the sidelines after that performance were a lot like the Hillary voters in November, 2016 - wait, what just happened?? We're leaving when the parking lot is still full?? Some kids will hit their growth spurts this year while others will grow later. Depending on the timing, that might mean Express continues to struggle this year. Not that Express won't wind up back on top, but anyone thinking that the transition from best 5th grade team to best 10th grade team is a seamless one may be disappointed.

Express lost (10-5 to Primetime) vs. Madlax going a clean 12-0 this summer...advantage Madlax

How are they affiliated?

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. Force beat every top-level team on the Island for the exception of 91 & Express who they never played.

Prime Time historically has a lot of CT prep school (either actual or aspiring) holdbacks. Don't know about the 2025 team in particular but it wouldn't surprise me if they were older than Express in a meaningful way, at a time in development when that makes a difference.

Who cares? It’s 8th grade lacrosse.

Stop it. Not. A. Chance.

Express split with 91 and they didn’t even get into the top 100!!!!!! Hehehe

Over the last 2 years Force has beaten rush, igloo, rebels, shore 2 shore, and regulators. They have also lost to some of those teams as well. They had solid starters but depth was a issue.

Stop it silly, those boys will barely play. They just are not that good.

They're good enough to make some extra cha-ching for 91

No one is talking about how many kids CoachC carries anymore. He's smart enough to set the model once again that all clubs are following. Load up those teams boys! Make dat money.