BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Boys 2026-8th Grade Fall 2021/Summer 2022

So still dads. You say highly qualified. Many others say biased.......

Yeah, a college coach and an NCAA champ who ran that team into the ground over the years. Let’s call a spade a spade.

US Lacrosse Rankings
2022- 1st 91 Smash
2023- 1st 91 Bandits
2024- 1st 91 Wolfpack
2025- 4th 91 Shock
2026- 43rd 91 Storm
2027- 1st 91 Machine
Hmmmm. Shock just won World Series probably should be 1 ...Hard to make such a mess in 2026 ..Half of Express team played or Tried out for Storm 🧐 ..

We will see this fall. Shock was in the tank prior to the last year and they fixed it. 2026 made some much needed improvements this season starting with the head coach and adding/subtracting players. Should have addressed it earlier, but at least they did now. It is true that some top kids tried out for 91 and weren't taken and are on Express now. And the hometown kids they picked over them aren't even on the team anymore. Hence the coaching change.

Shock was never as low as Storm. They were always competitive.

Agreed. Orange storm was a pretty dominant team when younger. We obviously know why that’s not the case anymore. You have to accept what they are at this point. Good team that will lose to top teams. No one that sees significant playing time is going to leave a top team to go play for them.

What did you say? Or should I say what did you mean to say?

Please explain Daddy ball to me. If you have a child you can’t be a good coach? This makes no sense to me. Why do you hide behind this? Just say the guy stinks as a coach.

But do they have kids? That’s how you judge a good coach. One kid your an eight okay coach. Two kids forget about it you stink.

It’s pretty simple. If a dad coaches his sons team he will give his son more playing time regardless of their ability. On occasion their kid may deserve it. But more often than not they don’t As a result you have kids playing a lot but haven’t earned it. As a result you get pissed off parents who eventually leave. Some teams have 7 dad coaches. That’s 7 kids they will get the most playing time regardless of ability. They will also have their kids stay on the top team even if they don’t deserve it.

And all Daddy coaches do this and are bad? Why would anyone what there kid to play for a team coached by Daddies. You would think that there wouldn’t be any Daddy coached teams anymore.

Are you Dad with a son on the team? If yes, why don’t you step up and offer to coach?

"Daddy" coaches are not the problem. It's the "Daddy" coaches that forget that they are "Coaches" first & "Dad's" second that are the problem. It's not east being at the dinner table explaining to your son/daughter & Wife for that matter why your own kid isn't playing but so it goes. Hit the rebounder, run some 40's, drop the twinkie etc....

Daddy coached kids get the sense of entitlement only when the Coach allows it.

Separate the two and coach your kid like you want your kid to be coached.

Easier said than done but the guys who get it can be great "Daddy" coaches and their kids will benefit much more from that approach.

My 12 yr old is only accepting offers from Cuse and Duke. But first, he has to do 3 years of middle school, 5 years of high school, and a post grad year. He's hoping to go in as a 21 year old freshman so that he can buy beers for all the other incoming freshman.

We're planning on spending 4 years of college tuition cost on travel teams, training, and private schools so that he can get a scholarship to college.

He plays on a daddy ball travel team, but says the coaching stinks. Which is weird because I coach the team. We're thinking about switching to a team where he'll be the 30th best player on the roster because that travel team is really going to help him get into college. It's OK that he'll never play in a tournament because he'll get sweet gear and he'll be able to tell his friends who are better than he is that his team will beat theirs.

And this is all set in stone. I'm not worried about burnout, drugs and alcohol, injuries, etc. This has to be determined before he has even gone thru puberty, otherwise he won't get into college...this all makes sense, right?

Absolute best post I’ve seen on this forum!

Daddy-ball happens in all sports. When I read this I thought someone was writing about my son's former football team with 7 Daddy-ball coaches. A new Daddy-ball coach and his son joined the team. His son played all the positions my son played for the previous years. My son stood on the sidelines and WATCHED football, only got the required 6-8 minimum plays and special team on-off the field plays. The Daddy-ball coaches sons played positions both on offense and defense - taking away opportunities to play from others. The seven Daddy-ball coaches sons also were the team captains week after week (picked by their dads, not by their teammates).

We left the team and joined one in a different league, but first talked to the head coach and the athletic director about Daddy-ball. It's not happening this season and all the boys are being developed and are PLAYING football. So talk to the coaches about the positions their sons play and about Daddy-ball when you choose a new lacrosse team. Don't expect miracles if you don't ask questions up front. The goal is for your son to have fun PLAYING lacrosse, learn how to PLAY lacrosse better, and improve his lacrosse IQ.

Best post of the year!!!!!! And so TRUE

Great post. But more accurate to state "We're planning on spending 4 years of college tuition cost on travel teams, training, and private schools so that he can get a "partial" scholarship to college. With Title IX very few schools offer full scholarships for boys who do not play football and basketball. For example in socceri (he sport I played), mens could only offer 9 scholarships. We had 20 guys on scholarship. Yes there were a few full rides (not me) but most received 1/4 or 1/2 scholarships. Chasing after full scholarships in lacrosse in downright silly But this does not stop parents who do not understand the system and cannot actually judge ability talent or desire to think they are producing a scholarship kid. Just let them play and focus on this when they are in 11th grade.

That was an accurate response but I’m pretty confident the original poster was mocking the lax world these days, not looking for a legitimate response. To the original poster.. that was hilarious!

Your mistake is assuming that everyone is chasing a scholarship. I just love lacrosse. I love watching my son play a sport he is passionate about. I enjoy the tournaments with friends. I appreciate that my son works hard and it is fun seeing him develop as a person and an athlete. A scholarship would be icing on the cake, but it is not the end game for everyone.

Exactly. Not every single lacrosse dad is chasing the almighty “scholarship”. Most of us just love to watch a game that our kids love to play. Do we wish it wasn’t so expensive ? Sure. But that’s the beast us parents created. In the end sports has taught my kid many great lessons about life. The best part about travel lacrosse ? The quality time I get to spend with my kid. We’ve had lots of laughs on long car rides and stayed in some pretty crappy hotels. In the end for me it’s money we’ll spent. Regardless if he decides to play in college.

Amen!!! If you are going to pay the cost regardless (and can afford them) god bless and have fun. If you are paying the costs as an "investment" thinking you will see college dollars on the back end, you better be darn sure you kid is one of the top players in the nation at his position and be honest with yourself and get judgment from others that he actually has a shot at doing it. For me, I love the car rides to practices and game. I love watching games, tournaments and practices. For me driving to practice, it is the only time all week that we have one on one time together without siblings and spouses. That truly is priceless and I do it with open eyes that there might never be money for college.

Have fun. Enjoy the ride and know that for our 8th grade kids, we only have five years -- at most - - to spend time going to practices and games.

Could not say it better. Same with our family and our kids who play in boys and girls. Gives my kids alone time with Dad or Mom on the road trips and time will never get back. Time is short before they hopefully go to a good college and maybe lacrosse will help maybe it will not. In the end it is the time with them that will be remembered. good to see there are other parents on here who cherish the right things.

What roster size for the big guns ? 91, Express, Sweetlax, etc. How many kids do they bring to a tournament ?

In my experience, the top teams carry between 25-27 (which is way too many). However, they know they can carry more even if kids do not get playing time because the parents want to brag about playing on a top flight team.

Most second tier teams carry about 20. Because you cannot justify the cost of a second tier team while not get playing team.

Express still tops in 2022? Or will other teams compete? holdbacks are definitely going to change the game this year, IMO. Have teams seen significant roster changes and/or improvements?

I predict holdbacks will be one of the most discussed topics on here next year! Things will def change. It’s becoming the norm. , unfortunately!

Why bring up 2022 on a 2026 thread ? Not to mention holdbacks have been discussed WAY to much on here. Post your question on the 2022 forum.

In 2022, not the class of 2022. Which 2026 team will be tops in this upcoming season? Also, not initiating a moral debate on holdbacks. Simply recognizing that it may change the landscape. I hope you approve of this post Angry Elf.

Hmm, maybe the year 2022? Not the graduation year.

Pretty sure they're talking about calendar year 21-22 season.

The same teams will be the tops teams. Express, Sweetlax, Hawks, Tigers

Heard some changes may be in store for Laxachusetts

How soon we forget about Towermen who beat two of the teams above and lost in OT to the other two.

Oh stop it

Who did Express merge with/buyout to form Express East.

nobody, I believe they have one east team at a younger age group. there is no '26 east team yet.

Is it true a good amount of their 25's are now playing 26?

What is “a good amount”? Like 3, or their whole team?

My older kid plays for S2S. Good team and getting lots of commits. Younger one plays on a good 26 other team, any feedback on s2s at this age? What is reason s2s won’t become a powerhouse at 26? Thanks.