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

Wow. Certified letters because your kid can’t compete. This sport has gone bonkers.

Does anyone know why the madlax b team doesn’t play AAA? The A team has a lot of under used kids

No B team in any program is good enough to succeed in AAA, and programs like MadLax define success as challenging for the championship, and at least finishing in the top half of the division. MadLax would prefer to have them a division or two below AAA and potentially win a trophy.
You are right that the A team has under used kids, but I don't follow how that would affect the division placement of the B team, since the non playing A players are not on the B team. You would think that those families might request to go to the B team and get more playing time, but that rarely happens. The reason why those kids are under used is stated on MadLax web page, which is that their philosophy is play to win, which means some kids won't get on the field. Not a deal that I would take for my own son, but to each his own. The "short bench" philosophy is especially so on the A team because the team relies heavily on one player. Like it or not, MadLax has been making $$$ from travel lacrosse longer than any program around and their model is unlikely to change. Hope this helps!

DMV are Great kids but there is zero chance they would be able to compete with most of the AAA teams in 2028 aside from Cannons and maybe Sidewinders. And the parents from the elite "Madlax Cap" squad would become apoplectic if someone suggested that their little Brayden should lower his recruiting potential by playing for a whole season with the DMV squad. And ML Cap would eat alive any of the AAA teams including 91 and Team MD. A talent differential does exist "on the whole."

There is the rare occasion where Cabel will ask ML Cap kids to come bolster the DMV roster for a specific tournament (which happens with Hawks, FCA and others as well). But it is not a regular practice.

And yes probably kids on the Cap roster who SHOULD be on the DMV roster and vice versa, for reasons of actual development, playing time, etc. But it's youth lax and it is what it is.

Hawks and FCA virtually never have b team players play up. I can think of one time and it was due to multiple injuries.

FCA Blue seems even better than last year. Did they move players down to the White team and pick up better players?

They loaded up with a bunch of holdbacks.

Did anyone go to any of the winter PLL camps in Florida? Were they fun?

If by fun you mean expensive- then Yes!

I heard from parent of kid that attended that coaching was excellent but talent/competition was so-so.

The consensus from my son's friends who attended was that half of the kids in FL were all stars, and the other half were rec kids who couldn't catch but who had amazing gear. Both of which seem plausible, given the high price point.

Agreed....usually it's in the oppositive direction. I have personally seen:
Hawks bringing in multiple kids from Richmond Hawks (which is basically a AAA team)
ML DMV 2027 bringing "down" kids from ML Cap 2027 (for sure) and "allegedly" (no proof) 2028 Cap
FCA 2028 bringing "down" kids from FCA Blue to FCA White to make sure FCA White didn't tank their AAA tournament

Not insinuating that any of this is bad, illegal, whatever. And none of these roster subs are even 50% as hilarious/illegal as your average True team in a playoff game or tournament.

Agree with the last comment, plus the West Coast Starz B team looks a whole lot like the West Coast Starz A team when they're at the same tourney but not playing at the same time.

Until these kids get older, these are the highest degree example of Money Grab in youth sports, preying on gullible parents who think Little Johnny might get more playing time on his AAA team if he gets mentioned on Instagram. “Apex is excited to have so and so from some unheard of team in Alabama.”

Preach! No lies in this post.

You know, my kids love to play and we have done all kinds of camps, national teams, etc. Some bring the kids lots of value, others, not so much (aka how are you "providing detailed player evaluations" when nobody has an iPad or a clipboard all week). The two things we have not fallen for (yet) are the Apex middle school events ("coached by the only PLL players we can afford!") and the PLL Junior scam. My bar for "lax training value" is pretty low but those two events are the two I can't seem to get behind. Seriously I haven't heard a good enough argument for the $800 price tag for each.

Wow. Holding your kid back a grade because he can't compete. This sport has gone bonkers.

To be clear, I oppose holdbacks AND whiny certified letters.

The sooner both sets of parents get their kids out of lacrosse, and into a no-cut sport like Rugby, the better.

Any Madlax dads worried about 28 Cap based on what has happened to Madlax 2024 and now 2026 with the best players leaving to join NL?

No ungrateful quitters on 2028 Madlax monuments!

Numerous kids and parents getting pulled into the snake oil salesmen selling “invite only” camps and national club teams when in reality they will take anyone with a pulse and a credit card.

“Yeah we are going down to Florida next week, Tad got picked up by this national team. After that we go to California. Lots of exposure for him.”

To be fair, this is just a logical extension of the insane club lax scene from DC to MA.
"We develop players."
"Nobody places more elite players in elite HS programs."
"We're basically an unofficial recruiting hammerhead for all the D1 programs in this state."

When, at most, what your son will get is a solid training program focused on this spring's HoCo season and tournaments leading up to Naptown.

Where do you think the majority of the elite HS players in the area come from?

To be fair, the ungrateful quitter is currently on the All World team, has a great relationship with Madlax, and there is no place he would have rather played in second grade.

The migration away from Madlax 2028 has already begun. Three or four gone, more to come.

You're mixing up cause and association. The elite clubs are not grabbing average kids from birth and turning them into lax all stars. Especially because you can't create speed and height in Tuesday practices. The elite reps they get in 6th grade...or 2nd grade.. are not why they make varsity in 10th. It's also worth considering the burnout rate of elite clubs.. .how many kids leave elite and then leave lacrosse entirely. Stop trying to make it something it's not.

I get your point.
Not mixing up anything - you are just wrong.

Look at the rosters of hawks, Madlax, crabs etc.

The core of most of those teams have been on the roster since they were little kids.

Anyone have any feedback on the showcase below? Does it fall into the same category as APEX - potentially fun, but no real value other than a fun event? Or is there real value? Thanks.

ECD All-American Rising Stars Showcase powered by Millon Events

The same factors that caused MadLax 2024's and 2026's to move to Next Level are present on both the MadLax 2027 and 2028 teams. It is only a matter of time for both those teams, especially now that NL has shown its willingness to bump incumbent players to make room.

They're all money grabs. The real value is a kid super motivated to work on his own game.

Social media and FOMO have really driven the popularity of this event and showcases like Apex, PLL junior games. Seeing the Red Hots using the same model to promote their camp. All would generally be a cash grab. Little to No instruction, but chances to stand out or look bad amongst your peers and parents. Red Hots camp is invite only will have good competition.

Method 18 appears to be a camp where you can learn something, with a strong roster of kids. Crabs have their Prospect ID camp this summer, heard good things. Wouldn't hurt to check out the camps being offered at prospective high schools and colleges kids are interested in. College and HS camps are used to pad the salaries of their coaches, so be pre warned.

My son did an Apex event recently. He walked away having learned something new, and had a great experience. I don't mind spending the money at this age when those two things happen. Money grab for some. Great learning experience for others. Perspective.

Apex offered very little in the way training for my son last summer. It was essentially a bunch of current and former PLL guys babysitting pick-up games over a two-day period. Most of the kids were from lesser quality programs from around the country. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of kids that had a good time and that is probably what is most important at this age. Team Method will probably be a good camp with good instruction. Red Hots has big time Team USA, PLL and D1 players coaching based on what I can see on their Instagram feed. Guessing Red Hots and their invitation only model will attract some top-notch talent. Team Method = High quality Instruction, Red Hots = elite competition at the youth level.

Which proves my point....the reps they get in club practice have not MADE them elite athletes. If you want to cringe, go watch the 2032 "elite" kids play this spring. The best kids are much faster, slightly more aggressive than the "not best" kids. But you'd struggle to call any 8 year old "elite."

Where we probably agree is that ML, NL, FCA and especially Hawks orgs are seriously talented at identifying at a young age:

1) The fastest kids they can get on roster (I mean, that's easy to see)
2) Kids who are above-average aggressive (some would say "dominance over talent") but are still coachable (little harder to evaluate)
3) Kids who come from D1 athlete families (hits all kinds of data points, from growth potential to work ethic)
4) To a lesser extent, kids who are above average in height, though most elite teams have a few small, extremely scrappy kids

These are all real things that drive- not just impact - lax performance through 9th grade or so. And they are not built at Hawks or 91 or ML practice. They are biological and then secondarily, are built culturally at home.

The elite club teams should get all the credit in the world for finding these kids at a young age, and (where it's true) providing a roster and a culture that the kids love and don't want to leave, and embrace hard work. Really at that point, the stage is set for the actual benefit of elite club lax, which is giving the players space to grow to their talent potential. And in cases where that happens (probably about 50% of kids on elite teams throughout the 3rd - 8th grade level), the clubs get some real credit for that too. And those are your biggest HS stars, absolutely. Especially if they have an extra year.

But you don't have to be an elite club to provide that key benefit of "an environment to grow"....and we all know certain elite clubs do *not* provide that environment for most players.

You need to settle down. The term "elite" is thrown around WAAAAAY too much in lacrosse. You wrongly assume lacrosse players -- including in college D1 programs -- are actually "elite" athletes. GMAFB. You may have just a handful of truly elite athletes in lacrosse, period....like a few (ala Pat Spencer...and even he hasn't cracked an NBA roster). If you want to see elite athletes at the 7th and 8th grade level check out the catholic track and field leagues or some of the better basketball programs around the DMV. Club lacrosse, which costs 10s of thousands a year to play, is hardly spreading the net wide for "elite" players.

Your post is beyond laughable. Enjoy your country club cocktail.

Where are they all going? Curious if there are any other viable Virginia-based teams or if they are all going to start driving to Maryland?

Looking for guidance on reclass. My son is currently a 2028 7th grader and loves his club team, we’re not looking for him to drop down to play with the 2029 team. However, we are looking at holding him back in school to repeat 7th grade next year for academic and social development reasons. If we do hold him back next year, can he still play on his 2028 club team (he is a starting middie so he is good enough to “play up”)?

Yes, he can continue playing at 2028 for the next couple years. When the class of 2028 starts high school, you’ll need to move down in order to have a Spring season.

Easy! Hit the books, not the wall.

Troll

He’s certainly eligible to keep playing with the 28s, his current team. But your club will def. steer him to play with the 29s, his new grade. And if the coach entertains your request, other parents on the 28s will start sniffing around for his PT and try to get him moved down. That sort of arrangement just doesn’t happen in these holdback dominated parts.