BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2032 Grads - Mid-Atlantic Region

This is to talk about 2032 grads playing in the HoCo league, Tourneys, and school teams.

What clubs will be sponsoring 2032 teams for the Hoco AAA/Elite? Team 91 MD has focused on developing at the younger age groups, now going down to 2033/34s.

Elite will be Annapolis Hawks, Next Level, Bethesda Blue, Blue Claws, Clippers, LTLC Legends, Madlax Capital and one more I'm forgetting.
AAA is a pretty big drop off and will be Prostart, Team MD, HLC fighting for the title.

+1

All of the Elite would run through most of PA, NJ and LI.

But those northern teams won't play anyone from down South.

Hoco only lists A, AA, & AAA divisions for 2032s at https://www.ghclacrosse.com/ Of course, northern teams will play MD teams in tourneys later in the summer.

Correction, that was for 2023 lax year, when only 4 teams fielded 2032 (3rd grade) teams (Hawks, Sidewinders, Next Level, Bethesda). More teams field 4th grade teams.

That was last year. They generally don't do "elite" the first 2 years of hoco. But almost all of those AAA teams should be classified as elite this year. All are excellent teams and heads and shoulders above the rest at this point.
Just a matter of how the other rickie feels and how divisions shake out. Low talent and team registrations in the under divisions could lead to the top division called being called AAA. Just depends what RickyD wants to do on any given day.

Whoops, total 8 teams at AAA in 2032, add Blue Claws, LTLC Legends, Green Hornets, & Madlax to top teams. Right about favorites going in to 2034 Hoco. Team 91 MD could be in the mix at some level. 91 beginning & putting development efforts in for first time to levels down to 2034 class year.

What are the top 5 most prestigious/toughest tournaments (including national or all-star tournaments)?
1. Future Champions
2.
3.
4.
5.

Tourneys don't really matter for 32s.

For older kids NLF and Crab Feast are really tough/good.

Great exposure and competition for MS kids

Not talking recruitment. Tourneys, intense competition and multiple looks at different styles and talent so important to top level development.

HOCO brackets have surfaced for other age groups. Any word on 2032's team brackets?

Clippers were moved down to the B bracket. Update the rest soon

It all depends who enters. Generally the ones mentioned are good. And Naptown.

Try the boutique tourney companies for much better teams. Millon, 2way, Adrenaline and MDLX are generally pretty good for better competition. But you run the risk of getting put in a fool tough pool if they have an associated club...They generally want their own teams get a favorable pool draw to play in the championship...

Avoid Aloha. Unless you are a rec or first year team. For kids just learning they are generally ok.

2024 Hoco League Lineup

2032s

Elite:
Annapolis Hawks
Blue Claws
Clippers Blue
Legends
Madlax Capital
Next Level
Severna Park Repsnakes
Team 91

AAA:
Baltimore Swarm
Bethesda Blue
Crabs
FCA
HLC Black
Kelly Post Grey
ProStart Blue
Team Maryland

AA:
Bethesda White
Clippers Red
HoCo
Ville Lacrosse
VLC
Zingos

A:
G
Cannons Select
HLC White
Kelly Post Green
Madlax DMV
ProStart White
True Baltimore
True Chesapeake

This is the age (in 2024) where boys are starting to put it together. Who has the most talent (stickwork, running, size, aggression, Lax IQ, teamwork, coaching)? Toughest games?

Agree, this is the time to start seriously thinking of a path for your son. I know there are the naysayers, but ignore them. I know this is hard and especially hard if your son has been keeping up with others, but if he is on age and born after Dec , you should consider holding him back. Your chances of making an impact on any MIAA team are very low without it. If public is your goal, dont worry about it, but you will more than likely not be on a top club as time goes on.

Got to be or get on the top club now. Do whatever it takes with private lessons and extra training. Got to get on top club now!

From someone in the know

From someone in the know:
1. If you fast forwarded the current 2032 rosters to their 9th grade season, you'd see that 1/3 are still playing high level lax, 1/3 are playing mid/low level lax, and 1/3 (or even 1/2) are not even playing lacrosse anymore. Elite team rostering is NOT the trajectory you think it is. Absolutely nobody on 2032 Crabs, Madlax, or 91 will still be on those teams in 9th grade. Get comfortable with that. If that's a surprise, you got sold a bill of goods. Feel free to ask those club directors why there are multiple boarding school kids from New England, or Big Boys from Texas, on their "Maryland club" rosters in 9th grade and beyond? 5-10 kids per roster who never even attend a practice. If you believe the "we develop elite players" sales pitch, that is on you. You'll either realize it when you show up to a tournament and there's 6 giant kids there to "help us out," or when you get the "your son should be on our practice team / B team this year" email.

2. Talking about "making an impact" in the best HS league in the nation, when 0% of these players have hit puberty and 0% have worked through a serious sports injury yet, is laughable. These "4th grade elite" kids haven't faced a single adversity on their own, if only because they were born athletic and/or tall, and because most of their parents have resources. A few will squeak by on those merits, but not many.

3. Almost 75% of elementary school athletes quit ALL SPORTS by mid-9th grade (yeah, I'm sure "not my kid"). #1 reason, it's not fun anymore; #2 reason, the average 14 year old doesn't want the hard work required to continue (despite dad yapping in their ear about work ethic). In the case of Crabs, almost half of their 3rd-4th grade rosters quit lacrosse entirely before 9th grade. Look at those two reasons above, to see why. It's not a lack of talent, or a lack of Dad's money.

4. Holding your kid back is a statistical advantage. But If he can't outcompete 2032s now, he'll have to beat 2032s-2030s in 9th grade, 2032s-2031s in 10th grade, and 2032s in 11th grade. The problem isn't going away, whatever you believe the problem to be. All this for maybe a $5K - 6K partial scholarship to high school? Great job Dad.

You are mean. But not wrong

This makes me want to vomit. Every.single.word.of.it.is.vomit.inducing.fool

You arent in the know at all. You answer my question, on 1 . Only top players are on Top teams, GET ON ONE NOW ! Do some fall be wayside, of course, but doesnt change the fact you need to be on TOP Club now !
2. Impact is what you need to do. That is the goal, sorry you cant see that.
3. Who cares about the 75% of kids quitting, we are talking about your son and mine who are going D1. They need tools to get there.
4. Hold back is a must, why put the other irrelevant facts in there. Hold him back if you want a chance. Period !

In the REAL Know . Dont listen to naysayers, they only want you to not work hard and possibly compete with their son.

A bit o'reality- If 91 wins a game in HoCo this year, it means the opponent had to forfeit due to a covid outbreak. The Crabs have entered and quit hoco each of the last 2 years due to blowout losses. None of the kids currently on these teams will be rostered for them in 7th grade. But MM and KingKrab appreciate you paying their bills.

Someone in the know is CLEARLY someone who has seen this before. This person describes exactly what the late in MS and early HS years look like from what I have seen. Good luck to all the boys and try to have fun throughout the journey.

Tell me you're a club director/owner trying to sell parents on a "We Develop Elite Players" ponzi scheme, without telling me.

To the rest of you actual humans not trying to grift on parents' dreams, just wait for it. You'll soon meet an 8th grade Crabs player who "can't wait to quit lacrosse" and a 9th grade Team 91 player who will openly tell you he's relieved to have a year off, for ACL surgery recovery, and who won't openly say that he hopes his dad won't make him try out next year.

There's tons of HS and collegiate opportunity for these young men. Some of them will get biologically lucky, some of them will get hold back, but most importantly they need a work ethic, a love for the game, good coaching (outside of the [Censored] drills run at lax clubs) and PLAYING TIME. If they can get some or all of those things from an elite club, they should do it. But you have lost your mind if you think that being the #9 defenseman on FCA or the #3 FOGO on Madlax is going to push your kid in the right direction.

2023 HoCo Regular Season Final Results

2032s
AAA

1. Annapolis Hawks
2. Sidewinders Black (now Clippers Blue)
3. Next Level
4. Bethesda Blue
5. Blue Claws
6. Legends
7. Green Hornets/Severna Park Repsnakes
8. Madlax Capital

New to the mix: Team 91
Moved to AA: Bethesda Blue

Team 91 is forest hill.

Should be in A or AA.

Maybe they were a pretty good team. Maybe the boys developed through lots of training and growth. Maybe they recruited other good players.

Any new thoughts after the first few pre season tournaments?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Team 91 lost 2 shortened games to Elite division teams 22-1.

Good teams in division, including Next Level and Clippers. Madlax also looks good, but may need some offense.

Hats off to 91 for stepping up and taking that last elite spot.

But it's going to be a long season for those poor kids.

Clippers and Hawks are the best teams, by far.

Next Level looking good. Severna Park stronger than last year too.

Hawks have the #1 middie in the world

Are there any solid AAA teams on the rise?

No.

Have you seen the middie on Clippers, #1?

Some scores from Elite teams in action this weekend-

Blue Claws goes 2-0
beats Team 91 Maryland 6-4
beats Team Money 11-2


Next Level goes 1-1
beats Team 91 South 4-3
loses to RedHots 5-7

Madlax goes 2-1
Beats Nxt 11-4
Beats FCA 6-5
Loses to Dukes 10-2

91 teams are pushed to elite by the club owner, despite the fact that other than the 2023 and 2025 teams (teams built around the owner's sons), 91 teams have never finished in the top half of the elite division in the last ten years, and IIRC they have never won AAA either.

The fact is that 91 youth teams only really exist to be a fundraiser for the 91 HS teams which <<checks notes>> will not have any of your sons on the roster. The 2025 91MD had (last year) players from 6 states, who never attended a 91 practice. In all seriousness, why are CT kids living full time at a New Hampshire boarding school playing for 91 Maryland. But that's why you'll see 91MD teams move in the national rankings from #140 in 8th grade to (ta da!) #45 in 9th grade. It's player development.....sure! And to be transparent, 91 is not alone in this model....far from it.

Just keep all this in mind when you're being promised "development" and are writing big checks to these club directors living in $1.9M houses.

Historically, 91 at the middle school and youth levels is not very good. No development. They don't make cuts and will keep your kid as long as you pay. But might not play you.

Previous poster is right. They are just a money maker for the HS programs. Which is fine. Just know how they are structured. Their only value is at HS. They do a good job with placing kids in colleges. But good luck making those hs teams. Complete roster turnover in 8th grade.

91 Md only began lacrosse teams for the youngest kids last year, 2023. Someone said here that the 91 Md 2032 was created when the Wolfpack team left for 91. It takes time for recruitment, years of tryouts, and yes, development. 2033 last year was made up of more than half 2034s, the only team like that. Other teams like Hawks amd Crabs (and now defunct Breakers) had young youth development teams far longer.

Missing the point entirely. I'm talking about the track record of the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030 teams for 91MD. I know that for the 2026-2029 squads, 91 started in 3rd grade. Every team they field is something like $60-70K gross profit, and about $18K net profit to the owner, so if HoCo is offering a league for that grad class, 91 would really, really, really like to field a team.

If they weren't offering a 2032 team, it's because most "new" 91 youth teams are composed of kids/coaches brought over from other clubs. But this happens irregularly to the benefit of 91, and as a result, there are frequent year-to-year gaps in team offerings.

For comparison, Crabs also starts in 3rd grade, and in the last 12-13 years they had *one* age group they couldn't field a team, for *one year.*(2029s). And frequently, Crabs will add a 2nd team in middle school grad years. Other clubs at the youth level just don't seem to have this youth recruiting problem unless they are in the process of falling apart (Breakers, Looneys, 3D MD, Ground Control, Rough Riders MD, Rebels MD, Green Turtle, Koopers in the past 5 years). Not saying that 91 is struggling whatsoever because they aren't. But it's an interesting phenomenon to share with those other clubs that fell apart.

Maybe reputations shouldn't matter, but they apparently do.

91 MD Club director ( we all know who he is ) is developing teams for the future. So many people have no idea what has gone on with this club. Two teams got all the resources for the last years. Two players got everything thrown their way for years while they came up to High School.

I suspect he will get along just fine as no one remembers the past it seems. I can still remember , " Throw it to the 9th grader " as the opposing team 7th grade boy came by him. Or the " Break his arms to the 8th grader" those were the days. The recent highjinks filmed by MTV guy were great too. Nothing like garbage talking a player in the handshake line after you get beat. Now that is sportsmanship

Do you mean, "BREAK HIS ARM!!!!!! NOW!!!!" Ah such good fatherly and coaching advice. This is the same guy who was screaming obscenities at Loyola HS kids at the MIAA semi-final, with hundreds of people walking around in clear view.

The 91 HS product is all about buying their (significant) access to college coaches. The 91 youth product is, "Maybe that'll be you one day, little Johnny!"
What's not stated is that those 91 HS teams are very competently curated (for the future, as you say)........but not from the 91 youth teams. By 6th grade, kids on 91 will start to hear, "you're on the practice squad, you don't travel with the team." By 8th grade, they'll notice that 18 kids from the roster were signed up for the tourney, yet somehow there are 26 kids on the sideline with random jerseys out of a box. By 9th grade they'll be cut, or have already taken the hint and don't show up for tryouts. What's worse, is this experience leads a lot of good athletes to quit the sport.

A lot of detest & emotion in all that typing built on innuendo & irrelevant and uninformed info. 91 teams of all ages often practice next to Crabs and there isn't an observable difference. As far as all the complaints about money, you might as well complain about Apple and Google as you type away on your phone or Toyota profits as you take your child to his latest rec tryout in your Prius.

In HS there's little difference between Crabs and 91. That's true and both clubs build great rosters after 8th and 10th grades especially. But aside from the 2023-2025 91 teams, which were giant killers from day 1, I don't recall a single time a youth or middle school 91 team beat a Crabs (A) team in the last 10 years. In fact very few 91 youth teams ever had a winning record in the elite hoco league.

Also, responding to a claim by saying it's irrelevant and uninformed, but not refuting the accusation, sounds like a courtroom defense of somebody who knows they're on tape. And innuendo? A selection of comparable public facts about a person over a number of years is a "pattern of behavior." Not an innuendo.

You arent following the posts and info. 91 only started young youth teams last 2023 year for the express purpose of development in-house. For such new young youth teams, they are building fairly quickly. At the youngest ages, it is a brand new history.

Above is correct. 91 in the last year started 5th grade and below teams and it’s a process. Both ‘33 and ‘34 had good showings at recent tournaments considering both are for all intensive purposes new teams this year

Not at all specific to 91, but some life advice: If you think that providing the same product (3rd grade team) with a different name (3rd grade development team) is a new product, you are going to spend an unnecessary amount of money on youth lacrosse in the next few years. There's nothing that 90% of Maryland clubs have done with 3rd-6th graders that demonstrate they know how to develop youth talent, or really care to do it properly, vs. knowing how to annually pick the biggest, fastest, and oldest kids (which is a proven formula, sadly). , Take a look at any coaching resource, or even USL , about the "best practices" for running high level youth lax practices in 2024. Make a checklist. Then watch those things not happen at your son's practice.

And if you think that "following their posts" is some kind of beacon of truth or bellwether, then you'll always be surprised when coaches call or don't call all the way through your son's 12th grade, because that stuff has very little bearing in reality.

Again, nobody's getting "developed" by playing fall tournaments at 3rd-5th grade after having a half dozen fall practices. That is nonsense.

And by the way, the 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030 91 teams, starting in 3rd grade, played fall tournaments.

Don't get exhausted while convincing yourself that you've happened upon a new and unique product. Enjoy the ride, it's a fun club to play up until your son gets the "you're only practice squad material" talk in July before 9th grade. Your son will have developed some skills by then, and he'll surely have the opportunity to go to another club at the Hoco A or B level, that way 91 can say they never cut a player.

Look who is here , Hi Mark !

You don't know anything. In 2021 (3 yrs ago), the youngest team 91 had was 2026 (end of middle school, 8th grade).

Development occurs through all types of play, practice and training.

HoCo Boys 2021 Season:
- 2028 Team 91 (https://www.ghclacrosse.com/page/show/6198314-2028-aaa-spring-2021-)
- 2029 Team 91 (https://www.ghclacrosse.com/page/show/6198333-2029-aa-spring-2021-)

Your statement would appear to be factually incorrect. Or no?

He knew that when he put it. Just making excuses for their lousy teams

Unlike many of the other notable programs (Hawks, Crabs, Madlax, FCA), Team 91 Md was originally a middle school program. Team 91 Md is only now starting to recruit at the youngest ages. As you can see, Team 91 Md began with 7th graders, only moving to 5th and 4th graders in 2021, but phasing them in at lower levels. With the exception of the 2028 and 2029 teams at 5th and 4th grade respectively, all subsequent teams played in the Elite division. This 2025 HoCo season will see Team 91 Md's first complete team of 3rd grade recruits.

In 2022, when the 2029 Team were 5th graders, was the first year that Team 91 Md. recruited a complete 5th grade team to play in the Hoco elite level.

​Here are the Team 91​ Md. teams ​as they established themselves in ​the HoCo league:

​2026 - 7th grade yr (2021)

2027 - 7th grade yr (2022)

​2028 - 5th grade yr (2021) - began as a AAA team, next yr AAAA team, and then Elite
​
2029 - 4th grade yr (2021) - began as AA, next yr Elite

​2030 - 4th grade yr (2022)

2031 - 4th grade yr (2023)

​2032 - 4th grade yr (2024) - team put together mostly from Wolfpack in Harford County

​2033 - 3rd grade yr (2024) - 2033/34 team, more than half made up of 2034s (2nd graders)

2034 - 3rd grade yr (2025) - first time Team 91 fully recruited a complete younger team