BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2026 Grads - Mid Atlantic Region

When 8th graders play down and showboat while beating up on 7th graders, I guess they start getting frustrated. Gosh darn those 12 year old boys for not being able to control themselves. Lock them all up!!

Oh here we go with the holdback excuse when your team just isn’t any good! C’mon mom you have to come up with something better than the reclass argument to have kids take cheap shots every well!!

Looney's, Crabs, FCA, BLC dads - only ones on Field 3 to see RR play - there was plenty of pushing, shoving, and cheap shots to go around in all games, but the refs turned a blind eye for the most part. Maybe RR need to learn how to foul like the elite do it. RR played a disciplined game and has done well enough against these nationally ranked "2026" teams:
13 VLC
15 FCA MD
16 Looneys
18 Bethesda LC
29 Baltimore Crabs
If your team didn't play well against a lower division team, then maybe more practice is needed before going against your peers. Playing against older kids now is good practice for high school and college, but playing the age game in middle school makes lacrosse less fun to play for some. Some boys thrive on challenge and will succeed despite the odds. HoCo placed teams in 2 divisions, instead of 5 in spring, or your teams wouldn't be playing RR, so blame it on poor foresight.

Which 8th grader playing down are you referring to?

Crabs absolutely dismantled FCA; that game was over in the first 5 mins of the game. I think the final score was 15-5; Crabs has definitely improved and FCA has definitely regressed. I’m not even sure if I would consider them elite at this point. How did they do against VLC?

ok, I'll bite...my son's team isn't playing unfortunately, so what's the latest story from HoCo?

I believe Crabs won 10-7 after a comeback of 1-6 at half.

Not much of a story. Crabs can't compete at 2026 level and it was embarrassing. They drop a few of there weaker 2025's down so they can actually compete now. Its the Crabs, it's why they do. If you are shocked by this you have not followed lacrosse in M. Its what they do and how they built their brand so well. Most teams with holdbacks were done in K or pre K. Some parents and programs lack shame.

This has nothing to do with Crabs. The "8th graders playing down and showboating" remark is from a Roughrider parent, defending RR's continued dirty play. But RR didn't play Crabs - they lost to Looneys (11-3) and to BLC (17-4). Can somebody from one of those teams say what happened?

I sincerely hope that this statement is not from a real RR parent, but from a bandwagon RR hater trying to make them look even worse than they already do. If you are an actual RR parent and you think that dirty play by your son is ok because of frustration over holdbacks or whatever, you should think seriously about getting him into another sport.

You people need to get over yourselves. Dont confuse effort from a 12 year old with playing dirty . There was no dirty play from any team I saw this weekend.

Are you kidding? RR's were blown out by all these teams, and three weeks in a row, have responded by trying to injure opposing players. One such play could be forgiven as a 12 year old losing his cool, but a pattern is a bad look for RR coaches and parents. Instead of blaming HoCo, or holdbacks, or attacking the parents who call it out on this board, how about taking some responsibility?

I'd like to know how many "holdbacks" the Crabs and Hawks have on their roster?

I believe that was the VLC game......

Sounds like the Hawks are playing in the WSYL, so I would guess not many.

I'd like to know how many "holdbacks" the Crabs and Hawks have on their roster?

Hawks have 17 and Crabs has 21.....btw...they are the only teams in 26 that have holdbacks. No other teams in Elite do.

I have only been on here for a few weeks but finally a honest answer.

There will be 4 kids missing from the Hawks roster at WSYL. That is a fact.

Can somebody provide color and background on WSYL - which teams attend, how legitimate is it, etc. I think it is in Colorado (??) and if so, I would assume that a limited number of teams have the budget or desire to attend. But if they do manage to attract most of the USL top 10 in one place, without holdbacks, that would be a very cool event. Thanks!

No, their backup is the better of the two. Starter is a meatball who gets flustered very easily.

Are fall tournaments happening? Can some one shed some light? I haven’t heard anyone mention who is playing where this fall and we are about a month out from tournaments beginning. Thanks.

It is normally in Denver, this year it is in the DC area and is for 13u and 14u divisions since it was cancelled last year. If it is a success this year, one would imagine that they keep that format for future years.

I would assume that it attracts more teams being that it is on the east coast and will not cost as much to get a team to Denver. It looks like the Hawks are playing, minus 4, or 16 depending on the post. Several other Elite teams as well most likely. Hopefully Saltwater too.

I for one hope that a local team can take it this year and end the NY run.

Can somebody provide color and background on WSYL - which teams attend, how legitimate is it, etc. I think it is in Colorado (??) and if so, I would assume that a limited number of teams have the budget or desire to attend. But if they do manage to attract most of the USL top 10 in one place, without holdbacks, that would be a very cool event. Thanks!


Breakers is in it. That should tell you all you need to know.

Back up is awful. Starter is better. Looneys goalie is way better than both. Hawks starter is just a wide body.

RR should have played down a division.
The parents are delusional.
You get blown out every game, what do you expect.
Embarrassment=frustration=cheapshots.
Own it and move on.
Talk to your kids not the other teams.

And let your kids carry their bags off the field..teach them something.

Pretty simple.
Boils down to coaching.
Every team knows it’s one middie and one attack.
Have some respect and play the game.
Otherwise continue and be the laughing stock.
Questions?

Are we actually talking about breakers?
If they didn’t have aloha tournaments would anyone even know them? Please stop.

No we are not talking about Breakers, we are talking about the dirty play by a couple of Roughriders and the lame excuses from their parents on this board.

What happened to the VLC Dad or Dads that we’re chirping about great they are at 2026? Crickets?

My son has played RR and it was "chippy" but nothing over the top.

Updated 2026 Elite HOCO Rankings

Hawks
Madlax
Looneys
Crabs
91
VLC
BLC
FCA

I think Next Level could make a case against FCA as the last elite level team.

What has happened to FCA and BLC; from what I can recall both had very good summers!! I would like to see what Next Level could do against some of these teams in the Elite Division.

Or Flex every time you score ....even if it was the 1st shot of 10 you actually got on cage. That makes you a laughing stock.

Looks pretty accurate, but two questions:

(1) What was MadLax's summer record against the bottom six teams? Assuming all teams at full strength, I think on any given day, Looneys, Crabs, VLC, and BLC would/could play MadLax even, so I would rank MadLax somewhere between 3 and 5, but not 2.

(2) Same question about 91 - what was their summer record? I would have put them near the bottom on par with FCA and NextLevel, not the middle.

One middie and one attack??? You aren't watching the RR games then...there was one attack called out for a cheap shot against VLC but the rest of the time its been there defense doing the cheap shots and getting penalties. watched the games this past weekend and their defense had at least 8-10 penalties (that were called after the play) per game. they actually have a pretty good faceoff guy and a really good attack guy that need to find a better team...i'm sure an elite team will scoop them up soon.

This summer Madlax was 3-1 vs. Looneys, 2-0 vs. 91, 1-0 vs. FCA and didn't play the others

Of course the cheap shots come from their defense, they play 4 times as much as their attack as they stink and never have the ball. I told one of the dad's his boy should go play for PA RR since they are apparently much better, he didn't find that funny at all (I was half serious, his kid was good).

their defenders are basically hockey goons- cannot stop anyone so they take cheap shots instead. Agreed- their faceoff and one attack should be on an elite team. We played them last weekend and the attackman is a gifted passer. Unfortunately his teammates can't catch. Their goalie is also pretty good but it's hard to tell when you have 50 shots a game being flung at you. I told our coach someone needs to pilfer their 2-3 good players.

Looks about right. Some teams are on the way up, others are on the way down.

I think Looney’s beat Madlax 7-4. Lost to Madlax National In OT twice. I would give the edge to Looney’s.