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Thanks for checking in Dukes Dads, sounding a lot like Mets fans looking up at Phils right now

Freedom - the home of holdbacks

Their holdbacks are some of their smallest guys…they are just figuring this holdback thing out still!!!

Despite what Inside Lacrosse, USA Lacrosse and Malvern try to tell you Haverford School has won the Interac Championship the last 2 years. You cannot control rankings but you can control your destiny in the Interac. Facts are facts.

Haverford is Philly top dog! Two years runnings. And they play actual lacrosse.No baby zone defense.

Winning the inter-ac? Every year, there are only 2 teams in the running to “win” the inter-ac. When was the last time one of the co-ed schools won the league?

Today is the day all “holdback” dads hope to be a part of. Happy holdback day.

Not sure what you are implying. Haverford beat McDonogh and Landon who each won their conference and top 7 teams. Malvern beat St Anthonys the LI champ and Culver so yeah winning Interac pretty hard to do outright. Haverford also beat Wesstown handidly and Western Reseve. What else would are you looking for? SCH and EA were good teams as well.

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Congrats to ND on winning the national championship. Catholics are the best lax players.

Amen brother!

How many time was Pat Kavanagh held back? Extra year at ND, PG year after Chaminade, any before that? Can't argue with success. Just have to deal with it.

Thank you for the insight! He is an on-age 2028. He's dedicated and hardworking but, like a lot of boys his age, he's going to be growing into his body for a while yet.

100%. College coaches want holdbacks. They want older guys who are more mature. I don't understand why people don't accept that as fact. As long as that is the case, it doesn't matter how much everyone whines about it.

Regardless of reclass or not, look at the height and weight of the rosters in college. if you are under 6FT, you are the exception. The only way you are making it to the next level is if you are physically gifted. You have to have the Frame AND the athleticism. Holding back doesn't add inches to your frame or give you extra athleticism.
6'4'' seemed to be the expected height out there this weekend. Lacrosse is become a more mature sport at the NCAA level. The 5'8'' middie with all heart ain't getting looks at the next level anymore.

If you are complaining about holdbacks, it means your son can't hold his ground against a bigger/stronger athlete. He ain't making the cut at the next level. That is ok. He can play club lacrosse and probably have a great time and make some great memories. Nothing wrong with that. Considering only 3% of High School lacrosse players play NCAA, I'm assuming 97% of us on this board (probably 99%) didn't play in college either and look at us. We are totally OK... other than the fact that we are ranting back and forth on this forum which is probably a sign on mental illness.

Anyone defending holdbacks is a beta. As is your son.

Speed, strength, agility, stick skills and overall game awareness are all more important than height. This isn’t basketball. I played NCAA collegiate lacrosse and some of the best players I’ve played with or against were under 6 feet tall. The best player I’ve played with or against was about 5’9” and he was VERY good. Kavanaugh bros are under 6 feet, two of NDs first line middies are under 6 feet. Size and height can help, especially on defense, but it certainly is not the end all be all. The problem is having lofty expectations when you have none of the aforementioned attributes AND you’re small

Imagine being able to buy beer as a freshman in college? So many benefits to the holdback scene.

Does that make you an Alpha for complaining about holdbacks? I would think whining and complaining is more of a beta trait. But who am I to label you? There is no defense of holdbacks. Just acceptance that they exist, there is nothing anyone can do about it, and an outlook to move past it like any other obstacle we encounter in life.

Skill, IQ, speed, and toughness all trump size in lacrosse. The best players in college have all those qualities and the ones that dominate usually, but not always, also have size.

A few “extra years” of playing doesn’t hurt either! 3 years more experience is a “big deal”! Great if you can afford private schools and “play” the holdback game! It’s definitely a game in the LAX world. As long as allowed, those guys with extra years will be the guys who dominate. Unfortunately, another elitist sport! If you want to play the holdback card, it will cost you big $s!

Congrats to Marple and Garnet Valley. Incredible seasons. Best of luck in the states.

For the record, it is scientifically proven that the muscle mass of an 18 year old is significantly more then that of a 16-17 year old. Holdbacks are like transgender athletes. Of course they are dominant, they have a huge advantage.

Big4 HHH ‘28 are playing in the NLF summer kick off tomorrow. I didn’t realize they had a team at that age group! Good for them getting out there. Hope they do well. Looks like they have some tough competition.

The birddogs will be there as well representing the future of HHH lacrosse. Excited to see where they stack up.

Transgrade athletes. Too funny!

Listen, holdbacks are a part of the game and it ain’t going away, at least not at the HS level unfortunately. It is what it is. The issue I have is w the parents who justify it. Your kid goes to Duke, UNC, UVA, good for you, you can justify the decision. If not, your kid will grow to be a beta; you’ve shown him/her they can compete, you’ve shown them when things get tough, find a loophole. #Bad parenting

They/them is the proper pronoun.

Alphas don’t spend this much time postulating on the origin stories of betas.

Hopefully the Birddogs called Duke’s Elite and got their Daddy’s permission to play…

Here we go again with HHH.

For some reason BM decided to put together some sort of team at the ‘28 level and enter them in NLF tourney this weekend. To no surprise to anyone paying attention they lost the first game 18-0.

What is the point of something like this? How is this making those players better? People need to be very cautious when dealing with BM and HHH at the youth level.

Bird dogs is one thing where his kin is on the team. He has different motivations for that specific team. The other age groups…buyer beware.

Big 4 HHH ‘28 went 0-3 losing 0-18, 1-15, 0-16. No teams at 29 or 30. This is what people think the best club in Philadelphia is?

BM is gonna have to turn over that whole ‘28 roster to keep his recruiting numbers up. I hope those poor parents wake up and realize how the next few weeks are gonna go for them.

Feel bad for those kids, will all be replaced by players that were actually coached up by other clubs next year.

Are the same 3 losers posting about HHH and BM; time to get over it.

When it comes to participating on a local/Philly lax forum, I believe HHH/BM are relevant topics. Now, not sure why there’s such detest, but it’s certainly worth discussing/exploring, especially if parents are looking for local programs.
Sorry it hurts your feelings…chin up, I’m sure your son is killing to out there!

Just shining a light on how HHH is run at the youth level so as many parents are aware as possible. Apologies if that makes you uncomfortable. I’ll be around as long as his teams lose by 15 goals every single game in every single tournament they play- I think it is a really bad thing that he is doing. If you think what he is doing is good, I’m happy to hear your points.

That's great but 95% of parents make informed decisions on where they are going to have their son play club ball. You won't stop bashing the program and it is clear your son was not on the HHH teams that met with recruiting success. I hope wherever he landed, he is happy. In the event you are being altruistic, I can speak for the forum when I say you have made your point over the past year and people are aware of HHH's shortcomings according to you. Youth club lacrosse is a joke until they are sophomores in HS.

Everyone knows it is the psycho rival club ownner writing these lunny things who couldnt beat HHH, sad, grow up.

You think it’s Sankey?

Corrigan?

I suspect you are right about who is writing this stuff. I also suspect BM has been responsible for bashing the other club in the past.

You are right that this other club could not beat HHH, but you also have to acknowledge that was because HHH was hiding and unwilling to face them or let them play in their tournament. I still think HHH won the 2025 recruiting battle. I think it is extremely unlikely they will win the 2026 or 2027 battle. As far as I know neither club has a competitive 2028 team.

No fool conspiracy here. Just somebody who wasted too much money and too many fall, spring, and summer weekends.
I agree that most of the club stuff doesn't truly matter until high school, with sophomore and junior year clearly being the most important. So if you know you have a team of 7th and 8th grade kids that are at best a B level, why would you enter them in NLF events to go up against the top teams in the country when it doesn't matter. It's one thing if it one team one summer. It's an entirely different thing if every team, every tourney, for multiple years in a row (minus the Bird Dogs who seem to be a pretty solid team. But then again, they have a special name because they are a special team within the club).

HHH today is what happens when you get complacent. There’s no arguing their past success, congrats to them. But, it would appear those days are gone. Youth matters because we are able to visualize what club will be next. Sadly, it won’t be HHH, unless BM does some serious recruiting. The other issue is the NLF not being the draw it once was. Time will tell, I guess.

Team Ten is top dog in '26 and '27.
Why isn't Team Ten able to translate that success with those two teams to their younger teams? If I'm not mistaken this is The Dukes domain again.

I guess what drives success in middle school club teams? Before somebody shouts at me that middle school doesn't matter, I'd like to point out that HHH 25 dominated in middle school, just as Team Ten has in the '26 and '27 years.