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

Exactly. But here is an educated guess.

MadLax - more losses than gains
Crabs - more gains than losses
DCE - plenty of gains, and no losses, except to their own Orange team
VLC - few if any gains or losses; maybe pick up a MadLax player or two
Hawks - more losses than gains

Headed into ninth grade, there should not be a lot of movement. Those five teams could beat each other on any given day. At this point it is more about showcasing than wins and losses, so what are you chasing by moving from one to another?

☝🏻

MadLax - more losses than gains
Crabs - more gains than losses
DCE - plenty of gains, and no losses, except to their own Orange team
VLC - few if any gains or losses; maybe pick up a MadLax player or two
Hawks - more losses than gains[/quote]

Headed into ninth grade, there should not be a lot of movement. Those five teams could beat each other on any given day. At this point it is more about showcasing than wins and losses, so what are you chasing by moving from one to another?[/quote]

I am going to respectively disagree. There will be plenty of movement simply based on what you stated. HS club lax is about showcasing and playing on a team that wins; particularly in big tournaments, is exactly how that will be done over the next 3 summers. Right now parents are scrambling to find that type of team if their son is currently not on one. Tryouts over the next 2-3 weeks should be interesting.

Wrong……no parent who truly cares about their kid would allow them to play for KC. Why would you want your kid to constantly be demeaned and mentally abused in front of everyone?

Completely false statement. Maybe sit down and speak with a parent who has a son on the team or better yet come to a practice and see how the boys are coached. My son is having the time of his life and yes I care about him. Lol

We know CK

Its is just not King Crab's behavior, many of his coach's over the years have been awful talent evaluators(like him) and terrible game day coach's. KC does not even allow incoming coach to pick the team. He thinks he knows all the kids. He praises them to their and parents face then turns around and cuts them. The club & its tournaments are not all it is cracked up to be. There are other ways to accomplish this club thing w/o going the Crabs route and the drama it entails. That's all. Crabs tourneys are all about volume on grass fields at many times bad venues. Wall has been hit hit, no dog in fight, dinner cooked and trash taken out.

👆👆👆☝️☝️☝️

Wrong……no parent who truly cares about their kid would allow them to play for KC. Why would you want your kid to constantly be demeaned and mentally abused in front of everyone?[/quote]

Its is just not King Crab's behavior, many of his coach's over the years have been awful talent evaluators(like him) and terrible game day coach's. KC does not even allow incoming coach to pick the team. He thinks he knows all the kids. He praises them to their and parents face then turns around and cuts them. The club & its tournaments are not all it is cracked up to be. There are other ways to accomplish this club thing w/o going the Crabs route and the drama it entails. That's all. Crabs tourneys are all about volume on grass fields at many times bad venues. Wall has been hit hit, no dog in fight, dinner cooked and trash taken out.[/quote]

Yeah the 23 team is awful along with the 24s and 26s..........stay away!! Hilarious - OMG Kids get cut.....I just can't believe it. Good Luck in HS.

Its is just not King Crab's behavior, many of his coach's over the years have been awful talent evaluators(like him) and terrible game day coach's. KC does not even allow incoming coach to pick the team. He thinks he knows all the kids. He praises them to their and parents face then turns around and cuts them. The club & its tournaments are not all it is cracked up to be. There are other ways to accomplish this club thing w/o going the Crabs route and the drama it entails. That's all. Crabs tourneys are all about volume on grass fields at many times bad venues. Wall has been hit hit, no dog in fight, dinner cooked and trash taken out.[/quote]

Yeah the 23 team is awful along with the 24s and 26s..........stay away!! Hilarious - OMG Kids get cut.....I just can't believe it. Good Luck in HS.[/quote]

Over a span of years I have seen the same thing occur @ Crabs. Not just talking about the current time we are in. In the end its about the growth of the kids KC. You will still have an opportunity to make you $$. Just be aware of who pays you.

Its is just not King Crab's behavior, many of his coach's over the years have been awful talent evaluators(like him) and terrible game day coach's. KC does not even allow incoming coach to pick the team. He thinks he knows all the kids. He praises them to their and parents face then turns around and cuts them. The club & its tournaments are not all it is cracked up to be. There are other ways to accomplish this club thing w/o going the Crabs route and the drama it entails. That's all. Crabs tourneys are all about volume on grass fields at many times bad venues. Wall has been hit hit, no dog in fight, dinner cooked and trash taken out.[/quote]

Yeah the 23 team is awful along with the 24s and 26s..........stay away!! Hilarious - OMG Kids get cut.....I just can't believe it. Good Luck in HS.[/quote]

Frankly picking a Club is a year by year and coach by coach affair. No one top club program has a corner on the market. Sometimes there is a dominant team with a great staff in the area and sometimes the talent (player and coaching) is more spread out.

KC is running a successful lacrosse program but makes more of his money running tournaments (thats where the $$ is) using his crusacean trademark. He's usually pretty good at accumulating a critical mass of talent in the 8th grade using the BL lacrosse program as his foundation. If he doesn't succeed by the ninth grade, he usually de-emphasizes (translation doesn't actively recruit, rebuild or restructure) a team and moves on to other age groups. If you're fortunate to be on one of his cherished all time great teams, you will get great exposure and receive lots of love. If you're unfortunate to be on one his more mediocre (none are really bad) squads, you can say you know what its like to feel like a less loved stepchild.

Coaching wise the Crabs is a mixed bag. Most of the experienced top profile high school coaches don't coach for him. He tends to hire "loyalists (to his brand) as HCs and former Crabs (usually collegiate players) as the assistants. KC doesn't watch a lot of game film to assess player or coaching talent. He's more spontaneous than deliberate. Coaching wise, he's great on fundamentals and I don't have a problem with his coaching style but don't expect a ton of collegiate level technical instruction.

Conclusion: Getting your son on a team with the requisite critical mass of players and coaching talent is difficult for parents. Shop around and try out for all of the top teams and see where the best fit is. Talk to other parents you trust: don't trust "cheerleaders" for the Program. Try the shoes on before you buy them.

Yeah the 23 team is awful along with the 24s and 26s..........stay away!! Hilarious - OMG Kids get cut.....I just can't believe it. Good Luck in HS.[/quote]

Frankly picking a Club is a year by year and coach by coach affair. No one top club program has a corner on the market. Sometimes there is a dominant team with a great staff in the area and sometimes the talent (player and coaching) is more spread out.

KC is running a successful lacrosse program but makes more of his money running tournaments (thats where the $$ is) using his crusacean trademark. He's usually pretty good at accumulating a critical mass of talent in the 8th grade using the BL lacrosse program as his foundation. If he doesn't succeed by the ninth grade, he usually de-emphasizes (translation doesn't actively recruit, rebuild or restructure) a team and moves on to other age groups. If you're fortunate to be on one of his cherished all time great teams, you will get great exposure and receive lots of love. If you're unfortunate to be on one his more mediocre (none are really bad) squads, you can say you know what its like to feel like a less loved stepchild.

Coaching wise the Crabs is a mixed bag. Most of the experienced top profile high school coaches don't coach for him. He tends to hire "loyalists (to his brand) as HCs and former Crabs (usually collegiate players) as the assistants. KC doesn't watch a lot of game film to assess player or coaching talent. He's more spontaneous than deliberate. Coaching wise, he's great on fundamentals and I don't have a problem with his coaching style but don't expect a ton of collegiate level technical instruction.

Conclusion: Getting your son on a team with the requisite critical mass of players and coaching talent is difficult for parents. Shop around and try out for all of the top teams and see where the best fit is. Talk to other parents you trust: don't trust "cheerleaders" for the Program. Try the shoes on before you buy them.[/quote]

Hit the wall!

Its is just not King Crab's behavior, many of his coach's over the years have been awful talent evaluators(like him) and terrible game day coach's. KC does not even allow incoming coach to pick the team. He thinks he knows all the kids. He praises them to their and parents face then turns around and cuts them. The club & its tournaments are not all it is cracked up to be. There are other ways to accomplish this club thing w/o going the Crabs route and the drama it entails. That's all. Crabs tourneys are all about volume on grass fields at many times bad venues. Wall has been hit hit, no dog in fight, dinner cooked and trash taken out.[/quote]

Yeah the 23 team is awful along with the 24s and 26s..........stay away!! Hilarious - OMG Kids get cut.....I just can't believe it. Good Luck in HS.[/quote]

wow… three classes!… and absolute fool. But everyone wants to play on crabs. OMG keep lying to yourself. Good luck in high school, you’ll need crabs because your team is gonna lose… Lol

Yeah the 23 team is awful along with the 24s and 26s..........stay away!! Hilarious - OMG Kids get cut.....I just can't believe it. Good Luck in HS.[/quote]

wow… three classes!… and absolute fool. But everyone wants to play on crabs. OMG keep lying to yourself. Good luck in high school, you’ll need crabs because your team is gonna lose… Lol[/quote]
Walk away from the keyboard, kid. That extra year of academics didn’t help it seems.

wow… three classes!… and absolute fool. But everyone wants to play on crabs. OMG keep lying to yourself. Good luck in high school, you’ll need crabs because your team is gonna lose… Lol[/quote]
Walk away from the keyboard, kid. That extra year of academics didn’t help it seems.[/quote]

👆🏻Definitely has a hawks feel doesn’t it? 😂

The teams to watch for defections are Madlax or VLC.....

Madlax - more losses....bad year without out of state players hurts them
Crabs - Gains, will pick up kids from Looneys, 91
DCE Net neutral, gains and losses...losses will happen but parents will state that the players were not needed
VLC - Losses, very few gains already 2 defections to Hawks
Hawks - Gains from VLC, and possibly out of state or any UA call back
True Annapolis - Gains, they will add from other teams
91 - losses, coach rubs people the wrong way
FCA - Gains, need to build their offense, possible Looneys additions
Looneys - Non Existent
Predators - gains, players from Looneys
Next Level - Gains, players from various locations to try and build to match other age group success
Top Caliber - losses, trying to find better teams may go to VLC or Madlax
TRW - Losses, trying to find better teams, may go to VLC or Madlax
Zingos - need to lick wounds and add, but from where?
Sidewinders - some additions from cuts from true or hawks?
Roughriders - losses, scramble to find an actual team
Hoco - Additions from Zingos, RR Tm MD or anywhere

Don’t sleep on a club who may have great coaches and more D1 connections than you think you know. Join a team who will make your kid a better player and keep him improving through high school. Some of the best coaches are out there would never boast about how good they were in college or how much they can help your son with their D1 connections. And it’s not just the ones we hear about on every post. Do your homework. And do right by your kid.

MadLax kids all over tryouts from other places and word is a few of them have already committed elsewhere. And there are some good players at those lower teams that could help some elite teams. Last weekend, Average joes competed well, and that was players from TopCaliber, Rough Riders, and TRW. Traditionally stronger programs like VLC, FCA, NL could improve a good bit with some of those kids as the better ones look for teams where they can get recruited in the next few years. Should be interesting to see how things shake out.

Nice try DCE Dad!

My understanding is that VLC and DCE are bringing everyone back. Both clubs had rumors of kids leaving for each other, but that none actually are now.

Best advice on this board in a long time.

Are you asleep? VLC is losing at least 2 if not 3 and DCE is losing 2 or 3 and will cut a few as is VLC. Both will pick up a 2 or 3 as well. Free agency is wide open!

You are right that free agency is wide open, but you are confusing rumors and gossip with actual movement. This time of year, players attend multiple tryouts, and there is plenty of chatter at both the player and Dad levels. Come back in September and report on who actually changed teams. Trust me, it will be less than you think.

Yes I am 😀

Let's play a game...
Take the 50 best rising freshman, based on where they live,not what team they play on who wins?

DC area, montgomery county, Fairfax etc

Annapolis area including Kent Island

Baltimore area, Baltimore Co, hoco

Lots of movement in all 2026 divisions happening.

For anyone still looking for a team for their players, MD Roughriders 2026 tryouts are tonight, 7/26, at Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) Catonsville, 6-8PM.

Update for Semi elite

Roughriders need to improve in the Midfield and goal rumor lost a lot
HOCO needs more speed everywhere
TRW looks good at goal but needs a bit more speed on defense
Zingos needs to improve attack and move ball faster too easy to defend
Sidewinders are pretty solid need middies with speed
FCA so much talent need change at approach by coaches
Next Level needs more continuity among team

Ah yes, the update no one needed or asked for.

Nice to hear about other teams in the local lacrosse world. Not every kid plays on the Hawks/Crabs in the elite bracket. This update gives families whose kids play for those teams or against those teams insight into teams that they are familiar with.

There is no more elite bracket. That was something HoCo league made up.

They are all elite and thanks for update

So now the looney kids are elite!!! Lol

Show us on the doll where looneys hurt you.

So are all tryouts over now? How did the elite teams end up?

Each team got seven players each.

Looking ahead to the fall, 2026 teams will be entering into a whole new world of lacrosse. What do you think of these events? Which draw the most college coaches?

B'more Fall Classic
NAL Fall Invitational
NLF Fall Elite Invitational
Autumn Gold Showcase
Legends Fall Kickoff
Inside Lacrosse Fall Invitational
Fall Lax Invitational

No college coaches at 26

These events are for all HS-aged teams, so college coaches will be at all of them. Maybe they'll see something they like and will watch for a couple of years until recruiting age. These kinds of events will be on the agenda for 26 teams for the next 4 years, so to which ones are college coaches drawn?

No college coaches at 26