BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Girls 2025 Grads - Mid Atlantic Region

2 or 3, some 4, games into the NGLL season time for some predictions of who makes the playoffs? Top 3 teams from the blue and red division make it. Red division Skywalkers and M&D off to fast start 2-0. Maryland United and NEMS look like they will fight to get in the top 3. NEMS with the big head to head win. Blue division Heros and Pride off to a quick start. Seems wide open for playoffs only can say FCA is probably out, how they have lost, along with 3d Frederick,0-2-1 record tough to get to 5 wins. Predictions not knowing all of yesterday's scores. RED order of finish- M&D, Sky, and NEMS. Blue order of finish- Heros, Pride and Hoco.

I would have said MDU East in the Red, but losing to NEMS by 1... I just don't see NEMS losing to anyone else besides M&D and Skywalkers. Don't think MDU can catch up after that loss.

Yea, tough loss for MDU East. Need to show up every week!

Hero's had a tough day yesterday. Only beat 3D Frederick by one point. They could not win a draw.

Will a team in NGLL knock off an unbeaten and untied team who is not already unbeaten and tied team? Will anyone other then Heros, Pride, MnD, and Skywalkers record a win against them in the NGLL? Sounds like 3D Fredrick was close.

NEMS is a good team too. just wished they would use their athleticism vs killing the clock and slowing the game down. alot of talent and speed. doesnt help the girls in the long term.

I think it is wise for NEMS (or any team) to slow the ball down against a team that likes to run (like Skywalkers). It takes away the fast play advantage and makes a team that runs actually work the attack. Not just beat other teams down the field with their speed.

Who cares about winning!! its about developing your daughter to be able to compete. Its like running a zone defense in basketball in 2nd grade. pointless.

Learning the strategies (how and why) behind running a settled offense and defense is more important in developing a player than watching the two or three fastest players run continual fast breaks.

Teaching kids how to win is a skill too. College and high school like smart players. Not just the ones running to goal and a bad shot leads to them losing

Skywalkers were much better team than MDU East. GK kept them closer than it could have been but MDU just not as talented/fast as SW.

MDU needs to figure out how to consistently win the draw. They have a lot of strong players and they can compete with the top if they can figure out the draw.

MDU parent here. Cannot agree with the more talent or fast comment. Yes, to a more cohesive TEAM. SW's offense was a thing of beauty. Roll the cage, dump back to X, roll the cage, dump back to X, roll the cage, dump back to X and then last girl reverse and and set low (sometimes moving and blind) pick. Worked like a charm and the SW team executed it very well.

Difference in the game was the dropped balls by MDU players and turnovers by back half of bench in the first half. They were not competitive getting the ball down the field until they moved some players around to let them "try" other positions. I think it was 5-0 at one point and 5-1 at half. Second half was a different story.

SW killed MDU girls on the draw. Not so much with the other games this season. Spoken like a parent whose kid doesn't do the draw and ignores the turnovers a few girls consistently make.

You can definitely tell which teams consistently work on the draw and with players around the circle.

I think SW is starting to spread the draw out a bit between different girls on the team. Maybe a good thing.

Whether your kid does the draw or not it's pretty obvious winning the draw is a major part of the game. Also, winning the draw and trying to go straight to goal at this level and causing turnovers is ineffective. At this point Suzy goes to goal should be over with.

Having a few different girls do the draw is a good thing imo. Most teams have 2-3 girls that consistently take the draw. Not one that primarily does it with a few sprinkled in here and there. Their results speak for themselves. Just look at the NGLL rankings.

You are correct, it has to be your BEST two girls doing it and progressively getting better each time they do it.

You are correct, it has to be your BEST two girls doing it and progressively getting better each time they do it.

Skywalkers tryouts are July 19th-21

Can Stars light blue hold onto 3rd spot in the blue division? Big games this weekend for Stars. Can LBC get back into the mix? Big game Stars vs M&D red feels like elimination game for playoffs.

[/quote]Skywalkers tryouts are July 19th-21[/quote]

So what.

SW tryouts are for the money. You need to be invited to the secret tryouts where they recruit players from other clubs during the season (MND, NEMs, Heros).

I had always heard rumors that this club did this, but never really believe it. One of my daughter's teammates switched to SW mid season and I was shocked. Now I can't wait to see if they can hold onto her for next season. That would be telling about their program.

Doubtful. I don't see M&D Red losing to Stars. My bet is HoCo taking the third spot since they already have a win over M&D Red.

I am not sure it is all settled in that division. Pride Red does not look unbeatable 2 close games with LBC and HOCO. Would not be shocked to see them lose twice in last 5 games. I am giving Hero's a spot in the playoffs and then I am not certain of the rest except FCA and 3d Frederick not making it. I would rank the remainder pride(80%) Hoco (65%) Mnd Red(45%) Stars(30%) MC elite (10%) and LBC (5%) chance to make top 3. Huge weekend for Stars if they can get a win vs Pride or MnD Red. Is LBC any good? Close game vs Pride maybe they could go on a run. 3d Frederick is a tough team, no pushover. I do not think they will rollover for Pride and LBC might win one of those or both.
Other side I do not think any of the bottom 5 teams can beat the top 4. The Nems win over Md united could be decisive. Md united will need to beat MnD black and hope.

If you are coming from Hero's or M&D don't go to a secret practice/tryout until late in the summer because it will " mysteriously " get back to your club/coach.
Also - you need to get past the 25 blue team moms or you don't have a chance. They essentially say who joins that team . they're gatekeepers to who makes that team.

It doesn’t matter what team you’re coming from. The second you show up at a secret try out, within hours it will be known by everybody that your kid was at a secret tryout. When everyone’s only looking out for their own kid, nothing is a secret. Club lacrosse at its finest.

When are M&D tryouts?

Probably the same as Skywalkers.

The day after Hero's.

Same at 24 level. For the record that team mom is also a coach at one of their teams. People are saying how great is that sw doesn’t use parent coaches. They just can’t coach their own kid. Can still influence the team though! And invites only the ones they want for camps clinics and leagues.

How much chance of moving from B team to A team is there at these tryouts? Is it really at the tryout or is that decided ahead of time?

If you are on a "b" team and want to move to "a" I think your best shot is switching clubs. Every club wants to have the first look at all the players to pick their squad from so you see all tryouts on the same/overlapping days. This prevents player movement for the most part except the prearranged poaching. So it is a risk to tryout elsewhere that they do not want you to take on your own. 364 days commitment to the club 1 day free agency for the players, and you get to pay for it all. With that said I still think you should move if you do not like your role, want to play "A", want to switch positions etc. Watch some games. Many ok/ bad "A" teams are well coached. I do not think coaching skill is the same as team record. Even better partner up and move as a group of players. The 4 best "b" players on the big clubs "b" teams should go somewhere and they would make a pretty good "a" team.

I would agree. If you wait for the tryout date it”s probably too late for most players. You should be using this time to scout teams to see how your daughter matches up with the talent on that team. Especially at her position. At that point you should start reaching out to teams to coordinate a private tryout or a guest practice. From experience this is the year girls start quitting, especially at the lower levels. So if you are on a b team, it’s not a bad thing to start putting your feelers out there.

Agree I coached a B team that was B+ always 2-3 players from being solid A team but would lose a player each year to girls that would sit the bench on A team with supposedly better rep. If they stayed and brought a friend or 2 with talent they would have been showcased for recruiting much more effectively. The name of the game is to be on the field and showcased at your position.

This aged real well.....

I'll own it...I still think HoCo takes the 3rd playoff spot. Scheduling worked out well too. Looks like they will be playing for that last playoff spot the last game of the regular season. Should be a good game.

Could LBC run the table and have Hoco beat Stars? We would have the 3 way tie for 3rd and go to goals allowed to break the tie. For the most part it looks like it is holding form on who you would predict to make the playoffs. Heros + Pride and SW and MnD looks like they have clinched though big advantage getting first round bye. HoCo(48%)/Stars(48%) LBC(2%) and NEMS(79%) /MD united(20%) Coppermine(1%) hanging around looking for the 3rd spot in each division. It sounds about right in the DMV area for grouped order of teams- alphabetically
1-4 Heros, mnd, pride, SW
5-8- Hoco, md united, NEMS, Stars
9-10 Coppermine, LBC

Teams who are pretty good as well lurking around top 10 MnD Red and 3d Frederick
Should be fun last month. Some really good players at this age group.