BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM MD Girls 2028

Being seen is one very important piece of the puzzle. And of course you can get recruited from any team if you’re good enough and do the work throughout the process. But connections and club reputation help. If you’re a top player who has your options open, do you stay on a team because they’re winning or leave for another team (that will also win) where the path may be easier? The decision will be different for every player, but to assume a player will stay just because the team is good is ignoring the bigger picture of what this is (or will be) about for some girls.

I would like to get some perspectives. Is it off that a coach only play 14 kids out of a full roster? Not just one game but multiple consecutive games? Not championship game and not top 20 teams. Even the kids on the field complained that they can't run anymore. Many if not most of the benched kids were not weaker players than many kids who played a full game, may be weaker than the best player on team but not compared to the 14th kid. To make this worse, both kids and parents were blind-sided.

Everything you hear about Skywalkers is true. They will continue to attract talent, spending time on all the skills for all the players will become a benefit instead of a liability, they will continue to get better, and will be highly recruited when it matters. Are they going to win this weekend? Probably not but they are better and will be even better next year. They may be too good when you realize your daughter should have tried out a year earlier.

The app was incorrect for awhile and it kept changing but only to make it more incorrect. At one point they had the same team in the semi-final but also playing in a different bracket at the same time. MDU went undefeated all weekend and did beat Monster 10-5.

Hopefully we can keep this forum from being shut down because I would like to see how this comment ages. I don't disagree that the formula has been there in the past, I am just interested to see if it continues with the success that MDU and Coppermine are having

Curious what team you are referring too and if you are speaking with first hand knowledge or as a 3rd party? Might help our family make the decision on which teams to tryout for this year and which to avoid.

College coaches recruit good players. They actually watch teams with losing records and who don’t win tourney tshirts every weekend. They definitely don’t watch girls sitting in the bench on premier teams.

Is it right? No. Does it happen too much? without a doubt. The girls who aren't playing are pretty much subsidizing those you are.

OP? Does your club have a policy about playing time? It might be something you should ask about prior to tryouts.

I believe most clubs state that playing time isn't guaranteed. It's based off many factors; including lacrosse skill and practice attendance/intensity. This is Club lacrosse, not rec lacrosse. A lot of girls getting the playing time put in extra training outside of scheduled practice. Unfortunately, some clubs accept players for financial support rather than lacrosse skill.

OP here: Does it really happen that much in this age group. I can certainly see it in older age group but 14 girls can't really play several games in a row without subbing. They don't have that stamina yet. I understand the mentality of playing to win and I'm okay with that. But 14 girls? How about 16-18 in each game and with the your truly 6-8 top girls staying in and the rest can be on the field with playing time according to their ability?

OP here. Policy is that you have to earn your playing time which I don't have a problem with. I am just wondering at this age group, is there truly 14 kids in any club who stand out so much better than the rest of the group and that they can play several games in a row without subbing. Even in college games, they play one game a day and they sub more than 2 people in a game.

Not playing your bench much when I counts certainly happens, but this specific scenario seems very odd. Not even subbing midis in back-to-back summer games? Has anyone asked what was up? Were they in contention for a tournament playoff? Only thing I can think was they were trying to keep goals allowed low/goals scored high in the event they needed it as a tie breaker and they thought they needed that specific crew to do it. Otherwise why not sub your bench in games against easier teams?

Not exactly the same situation, but my DD team is a low level A/high B team and their best players never come out in any game. That is more about the necessity for them to stay in due to 2 issues. Lack of subs and lack of quality subs. It's unfortunate as you mention, the top players all get tired and don't play as well when tired etc. It's not the fact that good players are sitting on the bench and the coach just won't play them, it's the fact that the top players have to stay on the field for any remote chance of winning or being competitive. The limited subs is an issue. If your case is where only 14 players play and there's a good set of subs, that doesn't seem right. I think in most cases where limited players play, its usually due to lack of subs and lack of quality subs.

SW doesn’t really care about wins/losses until going into 8th grade. They tend to focus on fundamentals and getting everyone to a certain level of competency and get them game experience.

As they get older, the bench gets shorter

Cant really compare college level play to 6th grade level play. Games are a lot shorter with a running game clock. With 22 minutes halves most are only getting in about 15 minutes of actual game play (depending on how many goals are scored and how quick the refs are to set up the next draw). If the starting middies are running the whole game I can see that as a possible issue, but most teams have two reliable midfield lines.

I know equal playing time is not guaranteed, nor should it be because like you said it is club and not rec. However, I don't think at this age there should be an entire tournament that goes by where kids never see the field. If a kid is that bad that being on the field for even a shoet amount of time can cause you to lose multiple games, then why are they on the team?

I think this is the right answer. It is a cowardly way for a coach/club to let a family know that it is time to move on. There are many other places to play 6th grade lacrosse and I am sure these girls can find a place easily.

ABSOLUTELY!

Exactly! Integrity is an example of this- their 26 team took 5 girls after summer tryouts going into NGLL w 27 on the roster. So important going into tryouts to ask what their policy is, AFTER tryouts are done/over the winter. Hearing that made me rethink our plans for tryouts in AA county. Playing time is so important moving into MS, then HS years. Our girls won’t grow as players if they don’t have game experience. More time on lower A teams is so much more important than never seeing the field on some teams.

^This

Middle school club should be about development first and winning second. No college coach is looking at anyone younger than 2024 (maybe 2025 if you’re all world) so getting kids game experience and meaningful reps is the right move.

Honestly, parents care more about wins than the kids

I know equal playing time is not guaranteed, nor should it be because like you said it is club and not rec. However, I don't think at this age there should be an entire tournament that goes by where kids never see the field. If a kid is that bad that being on the field for even a shoet amount of time can cause you to lose multiple games, then why are they on the team?[/quote]

^This

Middle school club should be about development first and winning second. No college coach is looking at anyone younger than 2024 (maybe 2025 if you’re all world) so getting kids game experience and meaningful reps is the right move.

Honestly, parents care more about wins than the kids[/quote]
I thinks its important to strike a balance between the two. Player development and winning are equally important to a players self esteem and confidence. Lets be honest, no one likes to lose...that's why we compete against each other. Its up to each clubs director and/or coach to make sure they are playing teams equal to them and also placed in proper tournament brackets.

^This

Middle school club should be about development first and winning second. No college coach is looking at anyone younger than 2024 (maybe 2025 if you’re all world) so getting kids game experience and meaningful reps is the right move.

Honestly, parents care more about wins than the kids[/quote]
I thinks its important to strike a balance between the two. Player development and winning are equally important to a players self esteem and confidence. Lets be honest, no one likes to lose...that's why we compete against each other. Its up to each clubs director and/or coach to make sure they are playing teams equal to them and also placed in proper tournament brackets.[/quote]


Agree on this. No one likes losing and what's the point of playing if you just go out and get blown out every game etc? The point about playing time and development is key. However when the lower A teams don't have strong rosters, player development is somewhat limited as the top players aren't playing with better players to make them better. Playing all game but with limited talent around them does not promote growth or player development. That's why alot of top players leave lesser teams/clubs for the top teams to continue their growth.

If your kid didn't play in any games at a tournament, that's certainly a question that must be addressed with the coaches.
Were games tight? or blowouts? Has this happened before? Was there an off the field issue?
What does she need to do to get on the field, but at this stage, make other arrangements for club next season.

Excellent club options for a late bloomer player in middle school seeking development, game experience and excellent coaching are the B teams of M&D, Heroes and SW (colleges are recruiting from these teams later in high school as well - low D1, D2 and D3).

Just received a notice that M&D will be having a Red Team for the 22/23 season. Another option for the girls out there.

PT can an issue caused by us parents too. We let our egos prevent us from playing our kids on the correct team and feel our kids must play on the best teams when they aren’t playing at that level. I was guilty of this and since moving my child to a different team that plays accordingly to her level of play she is much happier and seeing more PT & responsibilities. Wish my ego would have allowed this sooner. After all it’s our children’s turn to play the game and find what makes them happy. Hopefully this helps others facing this same issue we had in the past. Maybe she is a later developer and advances but if not she’ll be happy in the present moment.

M&D has been trying to have a Red team for the last couple of years but there has never been enough players at tryouts to make a second team. Will be interesting to see if they are able to form a competitive second team this year. I can't imagine any players from the top teams would be willing to accept a spot on Red. Maybe a few players that currently don't get playing time hoping that some day they can make it on Black. More than likely they are using it as a landing spot for some of their current Black roster.

They have tried before in the past two. all depends on numbers at try-outs

This is why you see girls from Mid tier A teams who don’t play go to places like TLC / c2, they get more playing time and can compete against top talent

This isn't entirely accurate. The year before COVID they put together a 27/28 combo team because there was enough interest at tryouts. Since then, they've never put any effort towards putting together a red team by proactively identifying coaches, etc.

I don't agree that most teams at this level have 2 strong middie lines. Most top teams will play their starting middies 60-75% of the time and when they go out they will usually bring in a couple other starters (usually defenders) to play middie and bring subs on in defesnse/attack.

Not sure I can name a top MD team who ever makes a 3 for 3 middie sub in a big game.

But to the OP's point. All girls should be getting some PT (ideally in different positons but thats another post) in all tourneys for the sake of development.

This is a good realization and I think a good message and lesson learned for other parents to see and realize. I do agree that a lot of parents are unrealistic where their kid can play etc. Takes a lot to admit this though and a good message.

One honest question, when you all went to tryouts, was there any indication then that PT would be limited based on the level of other players etc? Just curious to how long it took to realize or recognize the move was needed or not seen during the original team's tryouts etc.

I agree that parents are sometimes overzealous in guiding their children. I am not blaming them because I don't think their actions are malicious and they are doing what thay think is best for their child. The only point I would add to the comment I am quoting is that parents should involve their children in making the decision. I in no way think the conversation should include comments like "you aren't good enough or as good as other children". I think the conversation should be primarily about whether they want to play for a team where they will have more or less playing time. They probably will choose playing on the team where they have the best/most friends anyway. It is not surprising that it is us adults that focus more on winning/losing, level of play/competition, college options, etc. Most children care more about having fun and being with friends.

Have they hired coaches in the past? They have two coaches on board for the anticipated Red team.

These are all excellent points along with many other comments and thank you. I critically evaluated my child and honestly can say that there are 6-8 kids on the team who deserve more playing time than she is. But what we are struggling with is that the coach chose to play 14 kids and very clearly some of #9-14 are only marginally better and some are not better than the ~10 kids that was benched for several games. At least some of the benched kids could play 30% of the time. It makes no sense from coaching perspective and even if you win the several games, the best players can't even run anymore then you can't win in the semi or championship.

No.

Since they already hired coaches, I guess they already have a big commitment for tryouts. I wonder who is leaving Crush, Coppermine, etc for greener pastures

If it does end up being a landing spot for some of their current black roster, that will be a decent start to a solid second team. There's no reason why M&D couldn't field a B team that will grow to be competitive.

So you think current Coppermine or Crush players would leave those teams for a spot on the Red team?