BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Warrior AAG

Anyone have any insight on the Warrior All America Games? Is this just another money grab? Or all the tryouts/competition legitimately competitive and all the gear worth it?

it's a mess. Terrible communication last year. If you happen to have a cool regional coach who basically takes over the situation and team, then lucky you if he/she likes your kid. If you are relying on unbiased consideration and fair playing time, keep dreaming. And the talent is definitely not peak. Some OK kids but very random.

You will wind up giving away half the garbage they give you. No competition. No organization. And my son was on the team that won last year! lol My son playing with some new kids was good, and we had a good time hanging out after, like any other tourney. But for overall dollar worth, if you have disposable income, I guess its worth it, but we wont be doing it again. And CoachC uses it just to poach kids for his 40 man team. lol

Went last year. Fun but not much talent.

Total money grab. Went last year. The equipment is sized poorly and uncomfortable. I literally don't know where any of my kids stuff is, he wouldn't use it. This should tell you a lot..... We had tryouts, found out we made the team. PAID OUR MONEY, then we literally received 0 communication, no meet ups, no team intro, no coaches intro, nothing. No one tried to get the teams together for a meal outside of what Warrior did. Other teams met prior and had dinners. We had to randomly walk around fields the first day to see who the heck our team was and coaches. The team was flat out terrible. A very very disappointing experience. I was glad to spend some time traveling with my kid, but could have paid the same to go fishing and had a much better experience.

Its a huge money grab and Warrior knows people are catching on. This year everyone that played last summer got a guaranteed spot without trying out. We did it last year, wont do it again. And I asked the same question you are asking last year and got the same responses. I should of listened but didn't.

This^^^^^^^

Now I have to hear "I told you" every time it comes up

pros and cons depending your kids age and team. if you are older and need more college looks because you are on team that doesnt get looks, sure..would assume same for youth but only if the coach is top tier like a coach c and your kid can more to there club. or you can spend money on a good camp as alternative. if your kid plays on a great team already just depends if you want to spend extra money as your kid probably already just played nlf tournament. pros and cons like everythng

Just an observation but, who in lacrosse doesn't have disposable income? The whole club scene is disposable income.

money grab

God Awful, do not waste your time and money. We went last year and it was a complete joke. Disorganized mess and the talent was horrible. So funny that they could put a name out there like "all america" and have people think theyre special when the talent was awful. Do not i repeat do not waste your time and money, you will regret it. It took me not even 2 hours of being there before i turned to my wife and said "one and done, this is terrible" and she agreed.

why?

My kid did it the past two years and had a blast. It isn't a recruiting event, unless you are looking for D3 schools. We did it because we were there for the NLF and his friends were doing it. They now added his age group again this year, but going to pass.

You have to look at it for what it is, it's an experience. So yea, people call it a ,money grab... the largest expense might be meals and hotel. My kid did it, had a great time, with friends. Competition was so-so, but also depends on the year. If you're kid wants to do it, do it. Are you getting a college coach recruiting you from this event,? Probably not. That's not why we chose to do it though.

Did it. Wish I didn't. It's not run by Warrior, it is run by Dynamic Sports (aka 91) which they try to hide. But yes, it's 91 and it is a money grab where you do not get even close to your money's worth.

We did it once. It was ok. Tryouts, plus hotel, plus team fees, around 2000 bucks. Beautiful campus, he enjoyed playing and meeting new kids. He had a good time. The lacrosse really wasn’t any good. Our competition was very weak. PAL caliber. Anyone who tries out, with a valid credit card will make the team. My advice is, if 2000 is a drop in the bucket to you, no plans on a late July weekend, it’s something to do I guess.

It’s a complete waste of money. And the Long Island division is a joke. They tried to act like it was a north and south based on where you lived in relationship to the Long Island expressway. In reality Coach C and the 91 guy picked all the best kids for the north team. The rest of the schleps got put on the south. Shocker that the north won and the south got crushed. If you want that gear so bad just wait till the fall. 91 sold the leftover stuff for dirt cheap.

It was really really bad, like comically bad. Instead of getting angry, after we pieced together what in the heck was going on, we focused on meeting new kids/parents and checking out the school and the area. Lacrosse became almost tertiary once we realized we got scammed. If you do have 2k laying around and nothing to do and very very low expectations of quality lacrosse. It is worth it.

The on-campus dining hall is the best part of the trip hands down. If you bring your kid despite all the advice on this topic, at least try the dining hall. They were rated #1 in the country a few years back when we went. It's the only thing about WAA we still talk about.

Yep, money grab. Many B players from our rec team "made" the cut. Cool unis though....

WORST! Plain and simple.. They let coach C from express hand select and bring in a team. Total joke just to win a tournament that is suppose to be fair and suppose to be a good experience.

Ratings:A-D
Communication D
Equipment C (depending if it fit or not)
Organization C
Tryouts Door_Open_And ( Tryouts meant nothing)
Experience C ( hotel pool being the best part)

Don't do it!

I thouhgt same thing! International buffett to die for!

So true ... best part is the dining hall. The whole thing is like a summer weekend with random lax quality.
The lax stuff is "eh" ... they are TOTALLY disorganized when it comes to unis, gear, coaches, etc.
We had fun exploring the local area for swimming spots, food, etc.
Very light and goofy, only worth it for those reasons.

My son had fun meeting some new kids, nice college campus. My son enjoyed it. Lacrosse was like a rec league though. If you are looking for top caliber lacrosse, it’s not even close. I know they promote best region and stuff. Our PAL team probably would have competed well in this tournament. Plus they promote the gear a lot. My son has 4 helmets, a garage full of gloves and sticks, he doesn’t need anymore. Yes the dining hall was great. So there it is. It was an ok fun experience, we did it once. So in a nutshell for an approximate 2000 dollar 3 day weekend. Meet some new people, average lacrosse, gear that wasn’t really needed, great cafeteria.

We did it last year...total waste of time and money (if you are actually expecting 'quality' LAX play and coaching). If you have nothing better to do and the money to burn, have at it.

In 2017 and 2018, some divisions were stacked. 2022, 2023, 2024’s. Then in 2019, they literally let c-level coaches and a C-level teams represent Long Island. They tried to need it up with a few last minute bring ons but the rec play was hard to watch.

Hello. And Bye.

This is a 91 show case . They would rather play all their kids and lose then play kids that are better and give the the li teams a chance to win.

Not true. It is a money grab and whoever is willing to pay, makes the team. The only difference is 91 actively recruits newbies willing to pay and there are more newbies at 91 than anywhere else. (I was one once, I got better, you can too!)

This is absolutely not a showcase. Its an extra summer event. Yes they make money off of it but not sure why some of you think everything should be free and if it is offered to you it is a money grab. Ask the question, what do I iwant to get out of it and then determine if it is the right event. If you want complete and total disorganization and mediocre lacrosse this is spot on. If you want to pull your club team together and a few friends and enter a team to win its probably more fun that way. We did it 2 years (6th and 7th grade) and hated it and enjoyed it equally. Made some great friends and played some great lax in the finals. For A or B players it originally gave a chance to play with AA players. Now with NLF the days before I wouldnt expect top talent. Especially as most folks then need to be at NAL the following week. Highlight of the weekend, 100+ kids in their fiddle sticks playing lax out back the hotel. For A or B players it originally gave a chance to play with AA players. All that said, it was one of the most fun events my son has done. Cant recommend it but wont disparage it either.

Hey fellas I said my daughter and son up for this last year. It was cancelled and we were given the option to make this year's teams if we wanted. So we said we would. Anywho my kids are 9 and 11, 4th and 6th grade. Not looking for much more then a cool lax experience for the monsters. Fingers crossed, haha. Any tips for me aside from getting my money back, lol. Thanks gents!!!

Total trash tournament, was great the first year all the good players there then fell apart. B tourney

I highly advise you get your money back. This is a 91 owned “tournament” and it’s a total scam. Now that they will have “elite travel “ coaches it’s even more of a scam. I’ll let you now how it will go

The 91 guys will stack certain teams so they pretty much crush everyone else. They did it 2 years ago and people were pissed. After they stack the teams, crush everyone else, they will name most of their kids “All Americans”. Then 91 will post on their Instagram “congrats to (fill in 91 kids name) on being named an “All American”. It’s a total joke and a waste of money. Save the money and send him to a couple of camps. It’s so bad that even Warrior won’t sponsor it anymore. And if you really want the gear, wait till the fall. 91 will sell the leftover stuff for pennies on the dollar

I believe this has already been posted, but go to the dining hall. It's awesome! Also, don't use the hotel blocks they give you. There are hotels that are close by, the same price and you won't spend 45 minutes a day driving to-from UMass. There is a local bar just off campus that a bunch of parents discovered to kill time while the kids were doing activities. And yes, if you can get your money back, you should.

This guy hit the nail on the head. AAG is NOT worth it.

Point heard loud and clear!!!!

I'm a glutton for punishment, LOL. But thank you for advising me at least I can approach it with the mindset of the picture that this thread has painted. Also I won't amp the kids up overly!!

At this point wish me luck!! I will post my experiences when it's over and done with.

Thanks for the tips about the bar and hotels!!!

If you live in an area that is not a hotbed for lacrosse, and your kid wants a chance to play lax with new kids it is generally a fun event. My son went 2 years ago and had a blast getting to play an extra tournament and meet new kids and coaches. You are basically paying for the gear, if you want the right size make sure you select the right size on your registration forms. Can't say it is any less organized than a dozen other events (for multiple sports) we have been to. Expectations are key, this is not a DI recruiting event it is the Warrior AAG.

You sir have hit the nail on the head. We TRAVEL!!! I grew up in a hotbed of lax in southern NY but moved up the line in a "no-mans land" of which lax is in its infancy. So to put it lightly and to reiterate, WE TRAVEL!!!

I sure am glad I came across this thread as it has enlightened me to say the least.

We aren't used to a steady dose of high level lax. But the kids have been exposed to it as I said before, WE TRAVEL. So all that rambling to say I feel optimistic about the kids "experience" but understand where some of the parents posting are coming from in their personal experiences in regards to the level of play.

Run. Run far and run fast from this event. I am not exaggerating. It was the single biggest waste of time and money for any single sports endeavor of my kids life. Even if you're from an area where lax is not a hotbed. You will all walk away shaking your head cursing the fact you did this. It was a complete joke on every level, not just talent.

Waste of time and money. You're essentially paying swag that your son will never use again and a couple lax games. Plus hotel room and food while you're away. Definitely not worth.