BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2028 Grads - Mid Atlantic Region

Hawks win by less than 10. 12-4 final.
FCA handles BLC no prob, 8-3.
KP in wrong division, Madlax 15-2.
True hangs in, NL 9-5.

Sorry but crabs BEAT hawks 8-6 so they took their first L

Hawks parent told us that they’ve been ravaged by covid over the past week. Bench was visibly light.

Crabs played well and deserved the win. It was their day. Probably the best thing for the Hawks heading into next weekend.

Bad loss for hawks. Great win for crabs.

NL/TA & FCA/BLC tighter than expected.

Changes nothing for playoffs.

Then they’re not as deep a team as they’d like everyone to believe.

Are the haters going to give 91 credit? Terrific job beating blue claws and are third in AAAA.

Proud of those kids despite all the botc drivel.

Don't color me politically correct, but the people who do the hold-backs are families with the means to send their kids to prep schools. People who do not have those $$$ in the family budget must be 2nd class citizens.

COVID is an excuse. That team is stacked. Crabs came out ready to play and the Hawks didn’t. They got out coached by playing the same players.

They lost to True DC week 1 and were given the win, tied the last place team. Don’t get too excited.

Not to mention their best attack man were there to play/not out with covid.

Huh, what the what?

Good to get the win. See you on the golf course next weekend.

Crabs dad. We’ll save you and your son a place in the stands during the playoffs next weekend.

AAAA division was awesome this year. Congrats to all 7 teams. They all battled and anyone could beat anyone. Any given Sunday for sure. Any of the 4 playoff teams can win the championship next weekend.

91 haters love to detest, the haters aren’t going anywhere. These are the same dudes that said 91 wouldn’t win a game before the season started. Now it’s something else. It will always be something.

Hahahhaa. Hawks parents r the worst at losing. So whiskey tango.

Sorry your son was cut.

Too bad 91 doesn’t make cuts

It was a shame that the blueclaws were missing their #1 offensive holdback due to a broken arm and others due injury. but by all means Good job!!!

I like that this was posted without quoting what message it was referring to, since it would be an appropriate response to like 90% of the things people write here.

Does anyone know what HOCO playoffs are supposed to look like in terms of number of teams or dates? Our coach disclaimed all knowledge.

Not a dad of either team but Hawks dad sounds like bitter person who cares too much winning in 6th grade.

Good win for the Crabs, congrats. Great way to go into the summer.

Probably the team with 1 coach

Ahh the modern day parent. Better to make a excuse for young kids then to accept and give credit. Losing stinks but a lot of good lessons and growth can happen after a loss. Unless of course you always have that built in excuse.

Breakers is trying to form a 2028 team again, they have tryout for free this weekend. I haven’t heard from Koopers. We were on before they folded. We will be at breakers. So far low numbers signed up.

Where could you possibly be playing where breakers would be perceived an upgrade?

I guess any kid who isn’t happy.

My question is why are they trying out in May? Seems really early.

My question is why are they trying out in May? Seems really early.[/quote]

Summer tournaments.

If you want to keep your top players from leaving for other clubs you guarantee them a spot. Not sure why some clubs don't do this. Or advertise the positions you are looking for. I think Crabs does this well.

1. If you're a "top player", you're not likely to be concerned about being cut so a guarantee wouldn't have a much of an impact - they are not trying out elsewhere for fear of being cut, they are evaluating their options
2. Programs risk causing division in the team by guaranteeing spots for some and not all - if I know some got guarantees and my kid didn't, that tells me my kid is not valued and I need to make a move

Breakers will be lucky to form a team , and then lucky if they will be able to play at Single A level. I would go rec with Cockeysville , etc before Breakers.

If they can form a team I think they will be fine, depending on coaching. Have you seen some of the A teams this season? But I also don’t hold my 11/12 year old to ridiculous standards

Not everyone is looking for the same thing. We aren’t at risk of being cut, but also aren’t set with our current team. Evaluating options is ok. I wouldn’t have my son try out for a level I know he isn’t capable of. He is a solid A/AA kid and that’s ok with us. Breakers has not had great success at this age, true.

Not sure where you guys are not but at that level I’d also consider LTLC or HoCo. From what I’ve observed both are much better developmental options. To a lesser extent Swarm.

At AA Ville does a nice job.

There are kids on teams from A-AAAA that are rec players that literally can’t pass, catch or run. They only hurt the team when they are in. Some of these clubs are just taking your money. Elite teams would never allow this. If this is your kid shame on you as a parent. This is why they have rec lacrosse programs.

Shame on parents for letting their kids play club? Sure there are rec programs and I would wager a lot of them probably play it. But what if the kid wants to play more? I know mine does. Maybe they aren't the best, but WTFC in 6th grade if the kid is behind the curve? I say god bless the parents who pay for their kid to play club, travel with their kid, likely play catch with their kid and organize playdates on the field with friends to help them improve. You can get close to a perfect fit (re skill level) between A-AAAA, but there are other factors that every lax parent has to deal with....managing expectations, available teams in your area, do your son's friends play on it (which is HUGE for a 6th grader)?, etc. Also, the DMV is a lax hot bed...so a lot of kids have been playing since they could walk...but maybe your kid started "late" (say 4th or 5th grade...which is funny). If the team stinks....oh, well, they have a lot of years to get better.

Elite teams blah blah blah. You need to chill out likely hawks or NL dad.

Oh now you've done it. Here come the AAAA parents who insist there is zero overlap between the HoCo brackets in terms of skill.

Even at the "elite" level, skill evaluation is hit-or-miss. You'll note when you see a Crabs, Hawks, 91 or FCA helmet playing with another team (usually at a lower bracket), that kid isn't "on another level" compared to the kids he's playing with. And if you mention it to other elite parents, the response is always, "uhhhh, he was the worst one on the Hawks/FCA/Crabs, he's no good." I've heard that argument so many times. Obviously the Hawks/FCA/Crabs/91 coaches thought enough of him to cut other kids to make a spot for him? But 12 months later that kid "can't play." Yeah, sure.

What takes the skill evaluation process from bad to worse (borderline "without basis") is multiple dad coaches at tryouts. And you know it's true.

The problem with Breakers is that the new ownership (3Step I think) really is not investing in the staff or the program. I don't know how active or intentional this is, but there used to be (2013 to the 2026 class) a buzz about the program even if it was generally second tier AA/AAA. The 2024s even played WSYL. Since the corporate acquisition, the brand just seems to be DOA, which does not attract lax players or their parents. The people running the club day-to-day are good people and are fairly transparent. I'd be cautious because the ownership's intent for the program is not really known.

As others have said, there are a number of basic rec club options in the area with good coaches and good kids. Kelly Post (B team), LTLC, Cockeysville are all solid....it is worth asking each one if they intend to continue past 8th grade.

At the 2028 level, I would guess that Koopers and Predators will both be running at St. Pauls next year, both at some mix of AA or AAA, whatever those mean anymore. Koopers would have run this year if they would have secured a coach earlier in the summer. Whatever you think of their on the field results, families are very loyal to the club.

Questions I would ask, based on our (few years ago) experience at A-level ball (as the boys move towards elite, these become bare minimums):
1) Is the current coach under contract for next year? (be wary if they won't name the coach)
2) Does the club have a lease on turf fields for the entire year (Sept 1 to June 30)?
3) What does the club do in the winter, and does that cost extra?
4) What is the max roster size anticipated?

These are excellent questions. Maybe it's implicit in #2, but I would also ask about practice locations, as driving 45+ mins each way multiple times/week (especially on weeknights) is not fun.

What you are missing is that many of the elite teams, while they get competition for the top spots, don’t get that next group of really talented players. Most of the kids in the next group choose other options (and rightfully so) where they will get more playing time. The result is often a significant drop off from starters and bench players who get plenty of time to the last group of players on the team. That’s why those Hawks/FCA/Crabs/91 players who eventually get cut or drop down in level and play with AAAA, AA, A etc don’t stand out. They were never that talented to begin with.