US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Westchester NY/Fairfield CT Youth Lacrosse

can anyone explain how the #11 2025 team in the country only has 2 commits?

Express North has 2 commits so far - UNC, John Hopkins

Prime Time - 8 commits - Duke, Notre Dame x4. Princeton, Georgetown, Airforce

Eclipse- 8- ND, Michigan x2, Yale, UNC, Villanova, Princeton, St Johns

as a dad with a middle schooler, i would like to know what the real issues are

And 2way has Princeton, Briwn, Yale, UVM so far

Quality, connections and effort. Best players play for PT, Eclipse and 2 way (likely in that order) but the differentiation is in the program directors.
PT Director- Hussles like no one else, has the connections and track record with college coaches.
Eclipse Directors- All Americans, Captains, Team USA, Darien, etc. Look at their connections and effort and again consistent delivery of players from a hotbed of lacrosse
2Way- Former ND Captain, tied to every prep school in the area, Brunswick pipeline, and smarts.
EN- Mrs S is very nice and you play a lot but there are no connections, effort or track record.

I wonder if it more a function of minimal effort rather than an actual lack of connections. My son played for EN - noone from the "head office" ever had a recruiting conversation with us (as a larger group or with my family). Nothing about the process was communiated to us. We were not asked about my sons interest in colleges. In retrospect, it was very strange but at the time I had no idea what was normal.

Team rank is irrelevant for recruiting!!!! Training and recruiting track record of the club is all that matters.

I think it’s multifactorial each with a different weight. I will say first of all that it is a good tournament club run by well meaning people. They always play in the best tournaments and you get a lot of them, both fall and summer.

However for recruiting it is an combination of three things ranked from most likely to least likely:

1) recruiting effort - it just falls flat. The effort is not there. I don’t know if it’s a lack of caring or lack of personnel to put in the groundwork but the other clubs definitely outwork them on effort. I remember a yale commit a few years back who was doing all the work themselves.

2) recruiting connections - I believe they have them. Maybe not as deep as the other clubs which becomes a self fulfilling prophecy year after year as clubs ahead of them lengthen their recruiting lead and leverage which each year that goes by

3) talent - maybe not as talented as the other clubs. But they are a program that will have 1-2 high D1s, 1-2 mid/low d1s, 1-2 high d3 and the rest lower d2 / d3.

TL:DR - great tournament club as you get a lot of tourneys for your money. But don’t expect as much help on the recruiting side and expect to put the work in yourself through video, email, prospect days and showcases. But in my opinion, I still feel like your high school is much more important for recruiting than club with some exceptions, if you want to go to a high level program. I actually think it is very unlikely to play high d1 (top 15) without a solid connection, either high school or club assuming the talent is also there

Schreiber should get rid of Morgan and bring back Potash - that 2025 team is a mess

3 more commits for pt

Michigan, loyolax2 makes 11

Primetime is a 15 to 20 lock per year quality. The kids who keep at it every year get the results. No complaints for this 3x kid paying customer hoping for 3 for 3 girls and boys.

My son plays for a lower level club. Team was at Prime Time's tournament this year though. I literally saw with my own eyes the hustle and effort the prime time coaches/directors (really just people with PT golf shirts from my point of view) had with college coaches from all over.

Also keep in mind that announced commits don't always mean a lot. Many of these kids come from families with money, and there is not a lot of scholarship money available for lax anyway. All D1 teams have absolutely huge rosters, and if your lax playing son wants to go to a certain school, the school will take him. Just like the school will take anyone who applies and gets in. All of these commits are subject to admission anyway. Whether or not the kid ever plays is not something the school really cares about. The best players will play, whoever they are or wherever they come from. By way of example, I know of a kid who never played a meaningful minute in HS, only played at the lowest of the lowest levels for club, and at the town level was basically the worst kid on the team. He committed to a D-3 program with all the typical instagram fan fair. He will never step on the field while a game is still contested. I get that kids at Prime Time, Two Way, etc are not this, but there is a bit of "so what" to the commit game. Without a doubt, some of these commits will never see the field at a meaningful time in a game. But if the kid is going to the school he wants to go to, does well academically, and is happy, so what.

i dont know what you are smoking but your wrong- you cant just commit to a top lax / academic school

You are the one who is "smoking". Your reading comprehension is horrible. So is your statement, which makes little to no sense. Isn't this forum moderated?

I agree with a lot of this except strongly disagree that any school will take anyone and never play them. There are only so many slots despite the hugs roster size. There are plenty of lacrosse kids who get in academically but don’t get a walk on slot. That is more the norm. These schools don’t just take anyone, even if they have the academics + money

Never play vs never play in a meaningful part of the game are two different things. I qualified my statement to include only the later. It is absolutely true that some of these 2025 already announced D1 commits will not see the field at a meaningful time in a game. A certain number of those in this category will transfer somewhere, where they may or may not get meaningful time, while others will stay on the team or just stay at the school.

The programs mentioned in recent posts push D1, and have kids who want D1. These kids are all exceptional players to varying degrees, and they all have the potential to be contributors at the D1 level. If scholarship money is used up on players deemed better by the coaches, and the kid can get admitted and pay on his own, nearly all, if not all, D1 programs will take a kid with a Prime Time, Eclipse, etc pedigree. And if the coach is a good guy, and I think most of them are, it will come with a disclaimer such as "as of now you are not projected to get meaningful playing time, but if you work hard, practice well, and earn time, you will get it"

"All D1 teams have absolutely huge rosters, and if your lax playing son wants to go to a certain school, the school will take him. Just like the school will take anyone who applies and gets in. "

you are wrong!!!! is that clear enough for you!! you cannot just write a check and go to harvard, duke princeton unc

"... who applies AND GETS IN".

Why is this so hard to understand?? If your kid wants to go to D1 school XYZ and be on the lax team, and he can get admitted academically to the school without any help from the lax coach, and you can pay full tuition and board (either with $ or loans), and he plays on one of the blue blood travel lax teams, the coach will take him, and the kid and the travel lax program can promote the "commit". There is not a coach in America who is telling a Prime Time kid "no, you can't be on my team" when the kid calls and says "yours is my dream school, I can get in on my own, I don't need scholarship money, and I will work my [Censored] off to earn playing time". That is why Prime Time kids (and kids from programs like them) largely dictate where they go, not the other way around. Keep in mind that this dynamic exists because of how little scholarship money is available. Sure, some of these elite talents come from more modest backgrounds and have no choice but to follow the money. And many of them may be driven by where the playing time seems maximized. But at the end of the day, these kids can largely pick their own school (if they want to), subject to admission.

How does that kid coach convo go? Hi Coach, you didnt want me as a recruit but Im here anyway. What time is practice?

Don’t disagree that the bottom of the roster has a bunch of kids who will never or rarely see the field. My disagreement is that these schools and/or teams will take anyone just because you applied. Any even if you are fortunate enough to get in, not all walk ons make the team. In fact it’s quite the opposite.

at the end of the day- the issue is really that a kid from Westchester/Fairfield county will have almost an impossible time getting into an ivy. Lacrosse is opening doors, look at RYe - Villanova, Princeton, ND . Somers- Brown, ND. etc.

so when you say "if a kid can get in on his own" thats not the norm at an Ivy or top ranked school.
zero pot of gold at the end of the rainbow unless you can leverage athleticism for admission to a good school

If a kid plays for PT , or Eclipse etc, are many kids going to just show up at lehigh and try and play? especially when they can go to Nescac maybe or a really good lax school salisbury etc

No. You could not be further from the truth. There are far more dynamics at play. Roster size is not unlimited, particularly in lacrosse. You have budgets, space, travel limits, roster size restrictions, Title IX and more all to contend with. Simply playing for a blue-chip club team and getting in the school on your own does not mean he has a spot on the team. IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY.
Full Stop.
Putting this out there does not make it true and is factually incorrect. Please stop saying this, it is patently false.

Can Mr This is True give an example across an ACC or Ivy where this actually happened. Your sceario is, no conversation with the coach during recruiting, get in to the school on own, played for any club at this point and made the team. Playing time not relevant but actually on the roster.

Any news on Somers, Arlington, Briarlciff HC hirings?

Arlington still vacant
Somers, haven't heard anything, likely nothing official until after the new year.
Briarcliff - assistant is taking over with AM perhaps coming back after his son finishes college?

Tough time to have a vacancy. Schedules just came out and it's this is when non-league matchups are put together. Tough to do if you don't have a coach to speak with. Typically, most districts don't formally make the hire until Jan Feb board meetings so who knows?

I have numerous kids that played for me. High level club programs, got to the schools on their own and tried to walk on. A few made it, more didn't.

The point is this: you don't just get a spot because you showed up. There are recruited/scholarship then preferred walk-on spots all in-line in front of you THEN you still need to tryout and earn your spot.

Somers is going to have the toughest time as they have to replace the entire staff - JV Included. When the admin gives the parents too much power - or any for that matter - that word gets around the coaching community real quick.

We are at a time now where there are more high-quality coaches in the stands than on the sidelines. Admins and Districts are shooting themselves in the foot by trying to placate demanding parents instead of supporting their coaching staffs. We are seeing it more and more and its across many sports. Yeah you can get a person to occupy the position of "coach" but that doesn't mean you will be successful.

Push to fire the coach because your kid didn't get playing time he didn't earn last year? Okay. Now he has the playing time, for a "coach" will limited experience and isn't developing players/teams. This year the team is worse off because shockingly, the players on the field didn't magically get better, the better players saw the writing on the wall and 1-2 left for private school, the coach can't adjust because he doesn't have the experience or he's trying to make sure everyone get's playing time to quiet the - largely small, but loud - group of parents. AD or Superintendents detest getting complaint emails all season, so they let that coach go. Third coach in 3 years....

Rinse, repeat.

Truth. I have no idea what the guy is saying about getting into school and just showing up to practice and bam, you are the team. That’s just fool talk.

ok - Commitment update

Prime time: 4 kids Notre Dame , Airforce, Michigan, Loyola x2, Georgetown, 2 princeton , Duke, =12

Eclipse- 2 ND, BU, St Johns, Yale, Princeton, UNC, Villanova, Michigan x2= 11

Express North- UNC, Hopkins, Yale- 3

Dont forget 2 way - Yale, ND, Brownx2, Princeton, Vermont=6

7 local kids to the defending National Champions, wow! That has to be more than half ND's recruiting class.

Noticed on IG that Westchester Warriors are having a mid-week (11/14-15) sixes HS tournament and they have at least 8 schools signed up.
I think it's a great opportunity to add in the fall.

Also, heard that Fox Lane lacrosse had a 6v6 or 8v8 play-day this past weekend.

To bad there are only a few coaches willing to break from tradition and introduce different opportunities, especially in the off season.
My son's HS coach wants to only teach and reinforce spring season drills/concepts. Even though he cannot get enough players to do full field drills.

Then you are not paying attention. It is happening across multiple sports and has been a issue in lacrosse in several programs. When you look at coaches leaving a program, its a safe bet - though not always - that a disgruntled yet ill-informed parent(s) is/are involved.

Coaching Carousel updates:

Somers - No news
Briarcliff - seems like the asst will be keeping the seat warm until AM's kid graduates college
Arlington - no one yet
Bronxville - according to their social media. This is a bit surprising as he was there only 1 season. That is a solid program with great returning talent and Spillane is a great coach.

These are all contending programs without head coaches. I think you are going to see some HC movement here with these openings.

Somers with a solid hire. Jordan Hirsch as HC and Chris Spillane over from Bronxville.
Just announced on twitter.

Somers - Jordan Hirsch
Briarcliff - may NOT have a new HC this year - it depends on who you ask
Arlington - Bryan O'Gorman per Arlington twitter.
Bronxville - open, but early in the process. This should attract a solid hire, there is a lot of talent there and would contend for a Sectional Title vs. Pleasantviille.

Anyone else missing?

Great to see new (and old) upcoming local fall HS lax events:

Battle of Yorktown, Section One Sixis and Annual Battle at the Big House are happening next month.

Battle of Y, Nov. 10, brings West Genny down to play Iona, Step, Greeley, L/P, Pelham and Y.
It will be interesting to see who is running the sidelines for the public schools. Will it be the school coaches or parents. I believe Greeley will have the best results.

Section1sixes, Nov 14-15 at Lakeland HS: Looks to be a fun event and they have 8 teams already. Money on the P’ville team to win that

The 7th Annual Battle at the Big House (O Town) is a youth & HS tournament on Nov 4.

Kudos to those that are leading these opportunities.

lol .. Greeley!! lets see them play a real schedule first..

interesting thing about Greeley, while every program with the exception of Rye is dying , Potash is building a culture at Greeley !!!

Wow, the Kool-Aid you're drinking is silly. So, please think about these points:

1. Has Greeley ever won or even competed for a chip? (talk about being a dying program),
2. Potash has lead the revitalization of the youth program?!? I'll give that credit to Gashi, despite not liking him.
3. Every program...is dying. So, let me guess what your excuse will be for not winning the 2024 chip; "blame the refs"

I'm the person that picked Greeley at the Y battle. Because, I believe their Jr class and grades below are stacked.

Take the compliment, enjoy the moment and do not put down other programs, just to pump-up your insecurities.

i think you have misunderstood the comment - while many programs are losing quality players to boarding schools or local schools like Wick, Iona, Stepinac, Greeley has been doing a very strong job. I for one see Greeley youth lacrosse all over the place 12 months a year , Potash is always coaching these kids, Potash is coaching those juniors at Express North, point is, Greeley is def on the rise up . no one is implying they will win the championship . but making great strides

I’m not sure how he picks Greeley against the likes of Iona and Stepinac. Greeley had a very weak schedule last year. Iona and Step played very tough ones. Building takes time. Test yourself against tough opponents. See where you stand. Making that type of prediction is a bit early.. kudos to those guys putting the time in to better the program, it takes a lot of time and work.