BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NEW JERSEY LACROSSE NEW JERSEY FORUM Club Feedback: Tri-State

Can someone give feedback on this club for their "all-star" team?
This would be for 2026.

Tryout for BBL, Leading Edge and BlueStar. TriState is hit or miss based on age

Agreed. I would lean more towards BBL or Bluestar at this age, LE does not have a strong youth program. BBL and Bluestar also have more options with respect to skill level at each age group. If your son is very good, he would be placed on their top teams, but both clubs also have a strong developmental programs. At this point, I would go to both tryouts and get a feel for the programs and the coaches, I would also seriously consider the practice locations.

2 of those clubs are the usual suspects, one isn't. seeing lots of chatter about bluestar in the last few weeks. Is it just the marketing department doing a guerilla campaign or did they have a great summer?

Not sure, but Bluestar seems to be drawing in a lot of kids. As with every club, they have a mix of teams, some stronger than others. 2021's and 2023's are pretty solid, and I know that a lot of kids have moved from other clubs to the younger teams. As for marketing, I don't think that they are any more prevalent on social media than Tri-State, BBL or Leading Edge, perhaps the program is simply generating more interest.

For the 2026 level, BBL and Tribal (Jersey Express) are the best 2026 in NJ. Those top teams are fairly well established and harder to break into. There are a few other teams like United which are very good and also pretty well established. Followed by a few others like United. Tri-State, Leading Edge and Blue Star are a step below. Blue Star (like BBL) has a variety of teams so kids will likely find a place on one of their teams. LE and Tri-State have good programs especially at older ages but their 2026 teams are not as good. However, unless you are playing for BBL Elite or Jersey Express type team, I would consider factors like coaching, year round opportunities and travel time as bigger factors than prestige of the team.

Towermen have beaten all teams listed above this year. Except Bluestar since haven’t played them.

this must be loud sweaty cursing towermen dad. Hey NL try performance material instead of cotton bud.

Where in NJ do you live? If you live in Bergen county you don't want to be driving to Middlesex for practice 3 nights a week. At that age pick a team that is close and he has some friends/future teammates. You can always change teams as his talent progresses.

This is spot on based on my experience. My advice, be honest in assessing the level of skill of your son (or daughter) THAT YEAR. Most important is he's with a team that fits his level and get appropriate amount of playing time along with having fun with his team mates. You'll do him no favor if you drive an hour for practice for a team where he seldom see the field. My 2c.

I think the poster was looking for advice on teams that have tryouts and are options for his kids. Could be wrong, I do not believe Towermen has tryouts.

Blue Star has a new team called the Devils out of westfield. Does anyone know anything about that team?

My son went to tryout and it was great. The coaches coached the whole time and they filmed the tryout.
Is this the type of club (like LE) that has no loyalty to former players and will cut most for new?

Tri-State (2026) is certainly looking to get new players as their roster size was small last year. I do not think they have a reputation for cutting players like LE. There is more loyalty at Tri-State. You keep developing and working hard and they will likely keep you.

While we left tri-state some time ago for other reasons, they are definitely much more loyal than LE. That being said, they have cut legacy kids form the high school teams in the past.

Why did you leave?

My son felt like they weren't developing his team, and that practice time was not being used efficiently. That being said, I have no ill will towards anybody associated with the club, they are all really good people, and it was a very difficult decision, it was just time for a change.

why did you leave?

What year?

2023, 2024 & 2025..

That’s fine of course to make adjustments of course if you need to improve talent. I know all clubs cut.

Very true, but it is definitely hard on a kid who has played on a club for years and developed close friendships. Unfortunately, some parents simply expect that their kid will always be welcomed back to the club and ignore the fact that their kid may not be developing with the team, whether as the result of not really caring, lacking the necessary athleticism, or just not putting in the time to get better (i.e hitting the wall). Also, one could also argue that the club is doing the right thing by letting a kid go, as opposed to keeping the kid, not playing him, and collecting a check. At least NJ has a lot of options, so a better fit always out there.

Been around the block in NJ lax. Have had kids in HSTri State and LE that came up through some other lower level programs to start. Tri State is a very good program and if you want to play college lacrosse at any level it’s a solid choice. As far as coaching, most clubs have HS coaches and college kids as assistants they are no different. They do have some loyalty factor on their teams. All in all we were happy with that experience.

If your kid is D1 material, LE is the better program, it’s not close in my opinion, been through both, it’s also not he best fit for every parent or kid. College Lax needs to be #1 priority or the grind isn’t worth it.

Is Tri-State putting together a WSYL for 2025 and 2026 this year.

I believe at least at the 25 level

QGWCRO2BWCCM10CWXF www.google.com Where are you located ? I want to come to you one of these days

Hi in response to the person who had a kid at tri-state how was the communication? And how was the playing time?

How was their communication? After 1st tournament I am disappointed that not one note from the coach before or after. Nothing. Also no hotels for the summer yet.

My son played with Tri-State this weekend. I appreciated that they communicated with the players about when they needed to be at field etc. if they played this weekend, they were in middle school and thus coaches should be communicating with players and not parents (with maybe the exception of team hotel information) but I would prefer to pick my own hotel as opposed to being told where to stay. The kids were well informed which they need to get used to as they get to HS.

Communication was inconsistent. Very little communication before the season, other than the money emails (not unique to Tri State with regard to money emails). Playing time was fair, but definitely favored the better kids, but that is the norm for club lacrosse at the higher levels.

My son is new to the team (and played this weekend too) and I was glad to pick my own hotel too, although we went with one the team mom sent. Communication was similar to other clubs we were at. My son likes the coach a lot. He is prob the best club coach he has ever had Remember a lot of the coaches have high school teams too so are super busy. I hope this helps. Tri-state is a good club!

Playing time seemed very uneven for Tri-State. For example, there were two goalies at the 2026 practices but only one played in the entire tournament. Similar to attack and defense which saw little to no substitutions.

Which tournament are you referring to? A past tournament?

last week's world series qualifier

WSYL qualifier, best kids are usually on the field most of the time, nothing new for Tri State, and most other clubs for that matter. Not sure if this still happens, but they used to take younger kids that were going to age-out the following year, those kids did not see a lot of action. The summer season is different than the WSYL, but this is not town lacrosse, kids have to earn playing time. Tri State typically plays very competitive tournaments, if kids are not putting in the time and getting better, they will not see equal playing time, but again, that is pretty much every club at that level.

Agree with every point you made here. Club lacrosse is not going to be equal playing time for every kid. That’s what town ball is for. As the kids get older and older, you will see this even more, as these clubs are in the business of competing and putting their best foot forward. If this means little Johnny gets less playing time, then that’s what is going to happen, if it is giving the team a better chance to win.

This is good feedback. My son will be trying out for LE in about 10 days, and is currently playing for Tri State both winter box and now summer. His coaches are hard on him because they say they see his potential, and my son is handling that well, and I see his confidence growing and the coaches actually seem to care about him. So there has to be some level of chemistry. I don't know if LE would be the right fit for him but doing the tryout at the urging of someone I trust. If he doesn't make LE, I would be totally fine with it, and so would my son. Tri-State has been a great experience and I have no regrets there and neither does my son which is the most important part.

Tristate will give you exposure to college coaches in high school and coaches seem consistent. If you can make LE go for it. However what attack, middie, ssdm,lsm, fogo and or defense line will you be on if you make the LE team? Starting on a team that goes to AA tournaments is better than LE 2nd or third line or specialist.

Towermen 2026 is the wild card this year. Every year everyone says this is the year Towermen will end. I think you will see Towermen at tryouts this year. The key to holding Towermen is their top defenders. BBL with a Bosco connection could be in the mix for defense. If the 5 main players on defense and offense stay Towermen will survive.

If folks have stayed with Towerman this long, don't know why they would leave now. They are going to the big boy tourneys and performing well.

Tri-state has excellent HS coaches, they are in the right tourneys, and helpful guidance with recruiting.

BBL has made a lot of investments in the college recruiting and the results speak for themselves - their '24 class was the best in the state in terms of going to top schools. And it seems like many of their players approaching HS age that used to jump ship to LE are now staying w BBL.

LE still does a great job with college recruiting like they have forever. It's just nice that they are not the only show in town any more. You can play for these other clubs and still go ACC, Big 10, Ivy, etc. I don't think that was always the case.

The 2025 bbl will show nj what it is able to do. The 2024 was bbl/riot class mixed.