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

I hope this is an attempt at trolling. The Hawks parents are a lot of things, but they’re not wearing vineyard vine quarter zips. You wouldn’t be able to see the tats.

Who is the #1 attack unit? ML has one kid who can score.

What clubs should we avoid that have this kind of behavior? Or is it just all club boys lacrosse acts this way?

1. Hawks
2. FCA
3. Madlax
4. NL
5. Crabs

It is interesting that when MadLax coach was absent during the NAL title run the other coaches just rolled the lines, kept everyone fresh and scored 7 goals a game against top teams. Coach returns, shortens the bench for the entire FCA/Hawks back to back games and wonders why they ran out of gas in the second half against Hawks. Hawks are just better and your reasons are spot on.

1. Madlax
2. FCA
3. NL
4. Hawks

Hawks strength is the midfield. Average attack

This forum is getting stale again. The Madlax vs Hawks banter gets old. On a new topic....will there be any movement among teams/players/new coaches or perhaps a new team.

Amen to this. I think that there will be lots of movement this year. Most programs at elite or AAAA played short benches during HoCo and coaches pushed for specializing (offensive vs defensive middies in particular vs two-way players). This is on top of the usual daddyball and favoritism issues that simmer all season. If the teams under perform this summer, lots of very good players will be looking for new homes. Those same teams also don’t have a lot of loyalty and it will create musical chairs for anyone who is not a coaches kid. It would be nice if Maryland would go to the town/rec model that would have kids play locally in spring and for their club in summer /fall for club travel ball. That ship has sailed and the clubs have all of the power now.

crabs are getting a new coach

Hawks are getting more holdbacks

91 is attempting to recruit anyone with a pulse

Madlax will start to see more player defections

FCA will have 5400 kids at tryouts

Kelly post is going to implode

Next level will continue to recruit midfield help

VLC will move up to AAAA and probably win it next year

Preds remain talk of Baltimore

True Annapolis loses more talent

BLC wins 2 games next year - a 100% improvement

Right on all Levels. Well Done !

For DC, expect lots of movement on the bottom half of the NL, Madlax, and BLC rosters. There are also quite a few Mater Dei holdbacks dropping down from Madlax and BLC 2027 teams. So rosters should see a lot of turnover. But I doubt that all that many difference makers change teams and things stay basically the same in terms of hoco. NL and ML on top for DC. BLC far behind (when DC express takes over in eighth grade it might make a move) and VLC soon overtaking BLC.

Madlax average attack. Zak the attack can score. He’s run in some camps with the Hawks. Don’t count him out.

How are we handicapping Naptown? Who is your favorite to win it and your sleeper picks?

I’ve got 91 Venom as the favorite. But I’ve got my eyes on Texas Nationals as a sleeper.

TNB is probably the favorite until someone beats them. Sleeper is 3dCo which is very fundamentally strong and ADVNC is a super sleeper that is good other age groups. Tx nationals and hawks play early so a favorite could emerge from that game that can run the table. Madlax with an easy draw and summer rentals will also be tough as will Venom who is very hot right now after Tri Star. Deepest tournament field at 2028 so far!

LOL this is fantastic and accurate.

I was very curious to watch the Kelly Post "elite experiment" and wondered if it would end up costing them talent in the end. I guess we'll see in about 6 weeks. Sideline chatter at the other Towson area clubs has been that "KP is going to fold" which makes no sense, given their huge base of players across age groups and their financial backing from True.

And honestly where would this mass defection of KP players go in Towson that is not a downgrade, aside from some very limited spots at Crabs and FCA Blue. Everywhere else (FCA White, 91, HLC, Predators, Koopers (who has no 2028 team at all)) are all downgrades from KP's current level of "elite adjacent."

Imagine being from McLean and calling people from other cities "loud and aloof".

Texas Nationals beat Venom 2x already this month. Venom also got blown out by Madlax.
True National has yet to lose… likely the favorite. Madlax’s rental player is from TX Nationals, so he won’t be there to help.
Hawks will certainly vie for top spot as well

I wouldn't say FCA White, Preds and 91 are really a downgrade. FCA and Preds both gave KP a game and could of gone either way for both. I doubt the KP defection wants to play for FCA's "B" team, but maybe i'm wrong. Preds facilities are right next to where KP practices and they don't have daddy ball and would probably replace 50% of the Preds roster, 91 has a huge roster, dad coaches (attack) and seem to be up and down. Might even see some Crabs kids move to these 3 clubs due to the holdbacks taking their spots.

[quote=Anonymous]Madlax average attack. Zak the attack can score. He’s run in some camps with the Hawks. Don’t count him out.[/quote

Zack #20 when I watch him possesses the ball better than the other attack-men and he has a great eye and sees everything and everyone and when he finds even a slither of room to make a good pass when he does and its usually a very good pass. he can score when they need him to with that good face dodge of his. he is also crazy tough and draws at least 2-3 penalties a game which makes great opportunities for the team because they have good shooters on man up which zack set up with a good pass. Zack can score under pressure and with no angle but also does great in general under pressure and always makes the right choice. staying cool on that team with their coach yelling at them half the time is hard. he is all around a very good player and I think he is going to make it far in lacrosse even with the small body he has.

Does the Texas Nationals rental D-Pole play for TX Nationals or Madlax in this tourney? Lots of talk from ML parents that "he's part of the team for the summer" and not just at NAL trying to inflate the wins for rankings. Shockingly, this integral part of the team wasn't there for the Hawks game (rental anyone?). I guess we will see if he's really a Madlax player or not. Something tells me Madlax coaches have been quiet on the subject for a reason...

Couple of good games in Vail today. FCA and Next Level won their pol games against weak opponents, but some great matchups with Mad Dog West Elite and JM3 today. I suspect Mad Dog West beats FCA, and NL beats JM3 in semis. NL with the tourney win

Wasn't the HoCo championship a one goal game between FCA and NextLevel? Why does this forum talk about MadLax and Hawks as the top teams to beat in this age group?

Because this forum is 87% Hawks and ML dads who either actually forget that other clubs (and kids) exist, or pretend to forget, just for fun.

I love HOCO but summer season tests a team far more.

That all makes sense. But still, if my son is playing on the KP "4A" team, and KP is now pushing HS age teams (they started a 2025 this year I think for the first time), why do I leave KP (unless being recruited by FCA Blue or Crabs)? It's cheaper than those other clubs (Preds, 91, Crabs, FCA) by 25-50% and the on-field result is (at least slightly) superior except for the 2 elite teams. If there's a defection I'd wonder if it's just based on parent nervousness of "future years."

Interesting perspective. But I always considered HoCo the more fair test of how team A compares to team B, because the teams are playing one game per week, with fixed rosters, on the same fields and with the same refs, and each team gets only one shot at the others (plus playoffs) as part of league play. In summer tournaments you never know what roster a team is bringing and whether they beefed up with out of state kids, plus they are playing five games in one weekend, and teams play each other multiple times over the course of the fall and/or summer. So I always thought that a HoCo game (esp. a playoff game) is the one that "counts." Just my two cents.

You get what you pay for. All those clubs have connections with high schools and colleges. It's all about opportunity and who you know.

One of the big benefits of a club-level league like HoCo is that there are no realistic excuses of why "normally we would have won that game." The competitiveness is as transparent as it can really be through the season. All players and coaches from AA to Elite should be blocking off those 7-8 weekends as "in season" for lax. Yeah of course, "well, a school conflict" and "but COVID," family emergencies etc, but those things happen to all teams at all ages, and a good club and good coach (from AA to Elite) can adjust for 1 kid being out on a random HoCo sunday. But absolutely, 100% of contributing players will be there 6 of 7 HoCo games.

Compare that to summer and fall tournaments and winter events (box, 6v6 etc) where there's always an excuse of "why we didn't have our top 5 guys." Or "we didn't win because the other team flew in 6 kids from TX who played entire games in tryout pinnies."

And yes, it's very ironic that the clubs who so vocally claim to "develop players" also stake their pride and their rankings on summer tournament wins where they are flying in guest players. 91 and Crabs immediately come to mind, but even FCA White used FCA Blue players in their tournament last week.....though that's hardly "flying in a player" I suppose. At least those kids all work out together all year.

“Summer matters more” when you lose HoCo. Of course, we’ll revert to “HoCo matters more” next year when the good guys retake the crown.

ML parent here. I like HOCO a lot, but it's a long period of time for a set number of games. I personally enjoy summer more because you are playing 20-25 games in roughly 6 weeks. Get to hangout at the field, have a beer and the kids get more time to bond and make friends on opposing teams. You also get to play teams you don't see that often. I don't care about the rankings. First, USCL ain't PFF.... I'm also not entirely sure of their methodology.

LSU wants to win the SEC championship a lot more than the galleryfurniture.com bowl or whatever.

Same with HoCo and these tournaments to me.

You must be the same dude who is always on here saying such ridiculous things with incredible certainty. It’s the Sugar Bowl or Rose Bowl and they’d rather with that because it’s usually against another top national team and for a national championship. Great teams don’t play in the galleryfurniture bowl you nitwit.

He’s playing Texas Nationals at Naptown. 100 percent.

Believe it or not, there are good teams outside of DMV. If you want to determine who the best teams are nationally, you have to look at tourneys because they include the best teams from outside DMV.

Im sure LSU would be more interested in competing for a national championship than a regional league championship.

Stop suspecting.

Clearly you’ve never played sports.

I love how the Madlax parents are trying to diminish HoCo because the came in fourth.

Your team needs ringers from out of state to win anything these days.

Gallery furniture dot com bowl is just where fourth place teams belong.

Ahahhaha. Sure thing NL dude with the bench player.

FCA White brought down Blue players and had 3 guest players from 91 (downgrade of players) and still couldn't win the A division at Summer Exposure. Beware of the teams you choose to play for and respect to programs who develop their kids from try-outs and don't rely on BS rankings, guest players and out of state players.

What's up with the holdbacks on HLC?