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

There's enough room in MD lacrosse for boys of all skills and that's great for the sport. Teams change every year and are not the same team that competed the prior year. Some boys work hard and get better, some coaches improve their lacrosse IQ and coach their teams to become better - some don't. If boys are having fun playing and competing in lacrosse at any level and making friends they'll be playing with/against for 4 more years, then that's a big reward for all their hard work. Enjoy the ride with your sons while you can.

Hawks vs DC Express - MVP DCE Goalie and the Hawks coaches and players would tell you the same thing! The kid made at least 20 saves and simply shutdown that Hawks Offense. And before the haters jump in the post; no I’m not the dad and no I’m not a parent on DCE. I simply stood and watched the game after my sons game ended. Amazing performance by DCE. They will give the Crabs some trouble today without question.

It's all fun at games until you run your next kid out of the sport like you did your first. So many lost parents trying to relive something at the expense of their kids sanity. Get that social media post while your kid spends his childhood in a car or a plane. Enjoy. Congrats to the 2026 class. Great group of athletes.

Believe me. I wish there was another competitive league in MD OTHER than HoCo.

But the fields are good and the facilities are clean and generally well-run.

No one really cares what level their kids are in.

The consumers want competitive games on Saturday or Sunday. Period.

The way the league is run with small divisions, barriers to entry and alignment requirements/meetings generally accomplish that.

VLC Blackops beat the Hawks again (like last summer) in HOCO semi, congrats to the Crabs.

2025 crabs win 2026 HOCO. Congratulations to such a fine team and coaches.

Just VLC (part of Crabs), Black Ops was the name of the team created for WSYL - made up of boys from 5 different clubs, a lot of those boys are on DCE now.

And what is wrong with a filled solo cup on the sidelines and some good stories from the past.

If you want to be competitive and play in MD, then holdback is your game. This will not change as MIAA is the land of holdbacks and the best players. If you want to run with the big dogs, better hold them back to have a chance. WE can all dislike it all day long, but your son is not playing unless he is a holdback

name three people that are older than 14

Sorry but there is only 1 VLC kid on DCE.

But you walk around like they accomplished something when the rest of us know it’s just a bunch of older kids that should have won, did. And get kids from other states. Just a joke of a league and most of these kids won’t do garbage in college yet every parent thinks they are D1. Amusing to the rest of the league. And embarrassing for you. But you don’t see it.

Is that supposed to be bait that someone will stupidly reply to?

It’s in appropriate to name a player! However, there are several 06s on that team.

Congrats Ryan and the 2025 Crabs.

I am!

Most of Black Ops stayed at VLC and Next Level. Most of DCE are Bethesda kids.

As a DCE parent, Congrats. You just have more horses than we do.

Congrats to DCE- Rocket played his butt off

My son is on age as is the majority of the Team so please don't generalize your misinformed opinion which is truly embarrassing.

DMV - if you can’t compete your age group just hold them back. Cheat the on age kids out of their spot and future scholarship money.

Congrats 2025 crabs with a few 2026 kids! You guys rocked 2026 HOCO.

Congrats 2025 Crabs! Few years ago 2026 Crabs had zero wins in HOCO and walla! 2025's show up and win it this year!

Good job fellas!

How many on age kids start on 2026 Crabs?

Seriously? LOL, The majority of the better MIAA players are holdbacks or the non holdback according to many MIAA parents the prefirst ( LOL) . If you are not a holdback/prefirst than you are born in Sept-Nov on age,,, The rest are holdbacks excluding the VERY RARE player born after, Have Two boys in MIAA A Conference school , know the drill and ages. Please stop your misinformed delusional information about majority of team not being over age. Just admit it and move on, It is within the rules and frankly more and more are doing it.

It is what it is, Like many say, No sense complaining , If you want to play MIAA A , My suggestion is to hold them back before 9th or do a prefist ( prefirst preferred, as that way you can claim it isnt for sports) . For anyone to say other wise , well it is funny and just not true. Frankly it is a sad part of lacrosse the amount that are doing it now, and will not change.

Pure example of what having older players does for you in youth lacrosse. Say what you want, it works.

Yes, but VLC came within 1 of Hawks, and they beat DCE. MadLax also didn't make the playoffs but came within 1 of Hawks. After Crabs and DCE, there is not much difference between the other teams.

How many on age kids start on 2026 Crabs?

Zero...mostly double holdbacks

And Hawks beat DCE last week- what’s your point? This could have been anyones year. Crabs did what the Crabs do and they took it. DCE goalie played lights out this weekend against the Hawks.

My point is that Hawks used to be head and shoulders above everybody, and now they are middle of the pack.

What a sad existence you've carved out for yourself focusing on a middle school club lacrosse team with the clear intent of trashing them. It's sickening. If you're kid got cut them I'm sure the Hawks are "middle of the pack" because they don't have him or your high caliber parenting anymore.

You can make your "point," but just because you feel a certain way doesn't make it true.

Congrats to the Crabs and all the teams, players, and coaches who worked all season and good luck representing yourselves this summer.

Is DCE goalie best in country?

I am not sure anyone can honestly answer “in the country” but I’ll go out on a limb and say he’s the best in the area. I think the Hawks and Crabs parents would agree.

If the Hawks performance teaches anything - that is don't get too happy about where your son or your club is before you reach 10th grade. Boys are growing, learning and changing. Superstar kids may not stay super stars if they don't continue to get better and work hard.

Our crabs starting lineup is all prefirst and holdbacks. It just the way the lacrosse world works. If you don't like it, have your kid play a different sport.

Final best of 2026

1. Best Goalie: DCE
2. Best FO: Hawks
3. Best Attack: Crabs
4. Best MID Line: Crabs
5. Best D: Crabs

Not nice rage

Speaking of which; will he still be the coach during the clubs HS years? I don’t know of many clubs having “dad” coaches in HS. Sounds like a lot of the parents aren’t real happy with the kick of development. I can see DCE and Crabs seeing some Hawks boys at tryouts.

He is a multiple time all American like him or detest him. There are a lot of very good dad coaches in this area that were also very good college players. And one thing I've learned about Dad coaches is they show up. They have a vested interest in the players getting better including their own. Yes there is favoritism at the playing time that you can see. And yes they do give their kid the ball an offense a bit more. But also sometimes that is because a coach's kid may just know the game or the game plan a little bit better because of all of those extra conversations in the car.

One thing that all of the holdback parents seem to be forgetting, is that success in eighth through 11th grade against younger kids does not translate to success in college against older kids. Yes they may draw more attention now and get more confidence, but the kids who are actually struggling to play against the older kids who you keep mocking and ridiculing or not understanding that this is how the game is played, are the ones who will actually excel in college because they have always been playing against your kid who was bigger older stronger faster and maybe a level up. If your kid is peeking in 8th grade or even in high school then you're probably failing as a parent. If they are having productive struggle now so that they can thrive later then they might not have a middle school trophy to displace when they're putting their achievements on the shelf.

Hawks kids will stay right where they are and the parents and players love Mollot. Dont try stirring the pot