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How does Mass Elite improve? Where did the talent come from?

Why is Team 180 much improved?

180 has older kids play in some tournies. Team vary greatly. I’ve seen it last 2 years. G8 is one team. And nationals is very different.

No they don't. Their director is well respected. they don't pull that stuff. They do add guest players, but not kids illegally playing down.

180 is a legit good program, 27s are solid

Anyone catch the action at the Chesapeake this past weekend in the 27’s?

Thoughts?

My unbiased review of last weekends action in Baltimore area on Saturday. And Continental Cup on Sunday. First look at the teams and their new additions. In no particular order.

Capital. Was really interested to see how this new squad would perform. it was about as expected. Lots of talent. Not quite cohesive yet. Lots of speed. But ball tended to stall on settled offense. They have enough talent to get back to a top 10 squad. But it will take a while. For some reason, they were in a tier 2 Division for Saturday play...which was baffling.

Fl Select. Added a few players. Tons of speed. Upgrades at draw and D. Were very impressive. Possibly the most improved group I saw over previous summer. I'd be surprised if they aren't battling for top 4 or 5 by years end. Speed, Speed and more speed.

Aces. Still super tough. As per usual, everything seems to run through their top Mid line. Goalie play was strong. I just wonder if they got any better. Even if they didn't they are still a top 5 team. They pass really well. And in a one-goal type game, they still have that young lady who can take over.

M&D. Not sure what to make of them. I was hearing 4 or 5 girls out for possibly the year with injuries. Plus many more were missing. I think they had some 27 Red players filling in Saturday just to be able to field a team. Or maybe some 28's (just not sure). But they added a couple of middies that are legit. And Sunday, they were beating top teams even with a limited roster. If they get healthy, that offense between Mid and Attack is frightening. Defense passing and goalie passing looked shaky.

Hero's. Looked similar to last year. Which is to say they are organized and always in the right spots. They also looked like they had a few injuries. Not quite as bad as M&D but still a few key pieces. Defense was stout. Goalie play was strong as usual. It seems like the faster they play the better they are. Looked like they struggled with the draw a bit. Maybe they were missing their draw girl (not sure). Not my first time watching M&D and Hero's play. But those 2 games were heavyweight prize fights. Impressive. And yes, I was watching even when my daughters team was playing.

Eagle Stix. Pretty similar to the summer. Great draw control. Sharp passing. Thought the goalie play was a bit off. Defense needs to be more physical. But they win the draw and get downhill in a hurry. They are the type of team who will never be out of a game. Can(and will) beat top level teams on a regular basis. Their scores are super tight regardless of who they play. Thought they looked a lot better Sunday than Saturday. As an aside. The parents are cool. And that team is willing to travel any time, any place.

NXT. Props for playing in the toughest division against the toughest teams. But just not enough firepower to compete. Although at a level down, they would really be a tough out for anyone.

Skywalkers. I really wanted to see them take a step forward. They are pretty easy to root for. But they still have problems finding ways to score. Not sure if it just needs more time. But time is running out. Defense is pretty strong. I just wonder if this 27 team is going to be a good team that doesn't ever compete with the top 5-6 Maryland teams.

Didn't get to see Coppermine or Hero's White. But sounds like White is still tough at the tier-2 level. They are well coached. Coppermine appears to be stuck in neutral. They added a few pieces. But not enough to challenge the top tier teams.

3D Maryland (Renegades I believe they were). Hard to gauge. They seem to have a decent squad. But they were playing really bad teams. Maybe they are trying to gain confidence. But playing the level of competition they play, I wonder if they just want to win regardless of the level of competition.

Lastly, props to the schedule makers for Chesapeake Tournament. 5 highly ranked teams all playing each other. Hero's, M&D, Aces, Fl Select and Eagle. The scores show how close these teams are in terms of talent. Every game was super tight and competitive. Only exception was when they were beating up on NXT. Otherwise, every game went down to the wire. Good job organizing and letting the best teams in the country battle it out.

That is part of it. Also a bit more difficult to get into some tournaments because they are technically a "new" team. But they are known to just want to win vs play talent because they get exposed when they play talent.

My 2 cents:

Capital has some really good players but needs time to gel as a team.

Florida Select has amazing athletes and will be a force in coming years

Aces is still an elite team with probably best player in the country but gap is closing

M&D has a ton of injuries especially on defense, and has some red girls playing up.

HG is probably the best team and don't get rattled.

NXT is a good team but not an elite team. Also very tall and athletic team.

Skywalkers added lots of new girls and saw lots of "me" ball as girls trying to find roles on the team. The defense is very tough.

3D is high end B team or low end A team

Didn't see Coppermine but they are well coached and will be fine

"Skywalkers added lots of new girls and saw lots of "me" ball"
Doesn't this describe every SW team? It think it's part of the ethos of the club.

Any feedback on LI clubs this past weekend?

Not at all but thanks for playing.

If you're asking as it pertains to the Maryland/PA tournaments, I did see Liberty on Sunday for about a half against FL Select. Looked like they were outclassed. But I see they did beat NXT.

Feel like Aces may not be able to keep up without pulling in out of state elite players like others have done

Liberty is a dangerous team, very very aggressive

Is there a playoff bracket for the Mid Atlantic Championships this weekend? The bracket page is blank for the 27 age group

No playoff

Early morning game times and some pretty big mismatches on tap for this weekend at the Mid Atlantic. Not going to be fun.

What mismatches are you seeing?

Jesters and M&D should be a fun match. I hear Jesters got a lot of new players from FLG, Tradition, Liberty, maybe their offense will finally produce. M&D should be interesting with all their injuries but I’m sure they’ll be fine.

27s are in high school now. MidAtlantic is only a championship for the youth in the fall.

Florida Select and Heros at 7:30am Sunday should be fun.

NEMS no showed today?!?!

Horrible. Hope they get banned from all Robinson sports tourneys moving forward.

Hope the tourney folks find a way to get Heros and SW another game.

They did and it worked out but it was really strange.

General feedback on the day:

Florida Select is a legitimate top 5 team
ACES has taken a step back
Shore is solid
United is either really good or meh, game to game
Skywalkers looked decent against M&D who is dealing with a lot of injuries
HG is still best overall team

Fun yet cold morning

Not sure I’m ready to crown HG best overall just yet after watching Florida Select dismantle MDU today and tie M&D last week.

What part of a 10-3 loss to a depleted M&D team were you particularly impressed with, Skywalkers Dad?

Lol.

The opening draw was pretty good.

M&D Black still have the best athletes and better than Heroes

M&D beat Hero’s last week with a depleted roster on Sunday and they tied on Saturday with 5 red players called up

MD hasn’t been better than Heros in a few years. Keep holding on to the past.

ummmm... is the past last saturday ?

Are you joking? M&D does not have the best athletes if you watched any of the games this or last weekend you would have have seen that and it ain’t close.

M&D Black is significantly better than Heros and it really isn't that close. Heros peaked in 8th grade.

So we have possibly the 2 best teams arguing about who is more athletic? I assume someone stirring the pot. Nobody from these 2 teams dense enough to be the genesis of this conversation I hope.

How did it work out?

Haha. I wouldn’t put it past them

Hero’s played M&D Shore and Skywalkers played M&D Orlando.

Team 180 parents are not Colorado chill at all.

Watched all the games from the past 2 weekends between these 3 teams. While M&D has injuries other teams do as well and you put on the field who you put on the field. Here’s how I have it ranked as of today. The top 3 are interchangeable within a goal of each other imo all with different strengths.


1)Heros
2)Florida Select
3)M&D
4)Aces
5)EagleStix

They seemed ok to me. But you would be salty as well if you flew across the country, spent all that money and performed like they did. I'd be a little heated too.