BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2029 Grads - Mid Atlantic Region

So if Legends and Crabs have the same rosters and the same coaches, why do you keep hiding behind the Legends excuse for mediocre performance. Beating teams ranked 50-150 is no accomplishment. Yep, you got that one surprise win against Madlax who was missing 4 kids with arm injuries. That's great. But the rest of performance is suspect.

Better watch out... King Crab won't tolerate mediocrity. Junior will be playing for True Hoco before long...

Totally agree... if your kid is truly talented, you should be picking from Hawks, Madlax, FCA, Crabs and DC Express. True Chesapeake is a dominant 29 team but the larger program is not at the same level when it comes to getting kids visibility.

Can you explain what you mean by that?

I think if the current coaches stay with true Chesapeake it could possibly work with recruiting and higher level play however I think the larger true company could really careless about college recruiting and more about the income stream. Simple business.

Wait, did your kid get cut from Legends too? Or just Crabs?

Sometimes this thread has useful information that you can't find anywhere else, which is great. The negative talk about one club or another is probably landing on a group that already has their minds 100% made up about the clubs in the mid-Atlantic area. All it really does is showcase the fool lacrosse parent profile that those on the outside looking in think about this scene. But keep chirping. All of this stuff about tryouts, who's up, who's down, who's good, who's bad, new clubs, folding clubs and everything in between will take care of itself, regardless of what the BOTC trolls say. For those who really want to know or learn, talk to parents, watch a team practice or play a game. Don't look here for your answers.

Unfortunately, you first sentence isn't correct. Go to https://www.ghclacrosse.com/ and hit the age guidelines. Last year to play as 2029 in HOCO your birthday couldn't be before 6/1/2010, for next year it is 6/1/2009. So it looks like HOCO and others are taking the 8th grade will be the repository for all the holdbacks. In essence, holdbacks will get to play 2 years in 8th grade HOCO.

What were the surprises/take aways from Naptown? Any fireworks on the sidelines or on the field?

I was surprised at Project Midwest making the championship. The team must have been more similar to the Resolute team that won NLF last year than the Circuit team that gets steamrolled.

Nationals and Red Hots aren't the cats meow anymore. Maybe RH retools after using the CK camp to boost their roster size to triple digits.

Reputation matters. Just as D1 programs have lines of communication and relationships with coaches of top MIAA schools, they have the same relationships with the clubs that traditionally produce the top talent. Ryan McClernan, Mark Millon, Brian Kelly, Brian Spallina, and Matt Hogan have spent decades talking to D1 coaches and putting kids into their program.

Take a look at some of those "Where did they play" posts from inside lacrosse where they show where all of the top players from Duke, MD, Notre Dame etc. played club ball. It's always the same.... 91 LI, Express, Hawks, Crabs, FCA, Eclipse, Primetime, West Coast Stars, Sweetlax....

True Chesapeake doesn't have that same cache or reputation with college coaches. It would be like Fallston having a great team one year vs those same players being on Boys Latin. Brian Ferrell and BL are going to get those kids waaaaay more visibility than Fallston's coach.

Wait.... you came to BOTC for answers???? hahahah... This is a forum for $hit talking and pot stirring...

Project Midwest and Red Hots had virtually new rosters. Several of the top Red Hots players chose to play on Bostons Phinest or for their home club if they were in attendance (Express North, 3D Garden State) Several Crabs and FCA players chose to play for Shuckers instead of RH.

Bottom line if your Kid can play then the D1 coaches will find him. No D1 coach is going to make offer to a kid just because they have a certain relationship with a coach.

How was Shuckers?

Surprisingly competitive against some really good teams.

But word is the FCA and Crabs/Legends kids aren't looking to jump ship for Shuckers full time, so if they're anything more than a tournament team, it'll be mostly predators..

The Red Hots name and pay-to-play, free-agent model seemed to lose a lot of its appeal to my son once their regular Pittsburgh teams started to enter and get wiped in tourneys.

As the dad of an MIAA HS player, you are right but off target. If your son's headed to a serious lax program for HS, club becomes secondary unless he's a starter at an elite club. You can crow all you want about "holdbacks ending" but when he tries out for JV in Spring 2026, he'll have to compete with 2027 players born as early as Fall 2006.... and that's assuming his school doesn't allow 11th graders on JV.

It's not ending. Numerous 2028s are holding back from 2028 to 2029 this summer. Specifically for lacrosse. Sorry to be the one to tell you.

And yes it is insane that these dads are having their sons repeat 8th grade, as their classmates make fun of them and call them "Pops" and "Super Senior" etc. All for some brief moments of glory on the field.....maybe.

While I agree with you in principle, the same issue applies... MIAA kids who ride the bench get offers while studs from less known schools lanquish in purgatory. Most D1 programs have VERY limited scouting budgets. They don't have time or resources to be at every prospect day or top tournament. Yes... if your kid is an absolute beast, he will wind up on someone's radar. But if your kid is just really good, you are definitely at a disadvantage if you aren't at a program with a premiere reputation. At some point, a phone call from a trusted contact from a top program will come into play.

If you disagree, you're kidding yourself.

Why do top football prospects choose to play for Ohio State or Alabama instead of Maryland? All are D1... All are televised?... The reason is certain programs get you visiblity and get you drafted.

Heard their coach and some player parents were out of control and received numerous flags form refs during game.

Heard from a parent that they were so appalled by the behavior that they will never associate with the program again.

Sad but true... I feel like there should be Public Service Announcements or at least warning labels on Lacrosse Helmets "Be advised, spending tens of thousands of dollars on your child's lacrosse career will not pay off in college and you cannot relive your glory days."

Your son has to do his part, but like everything in life, relationships matter.

Interesting take. I don’t know about their Pittsburgh or Black/AA teams, but their National team, like other “national teams” provide an opportunity to play in tournaments where your home club is not playing.

This is an excellent explanation of how things work. Top MIAA programs will get the looks.Top clubs will as well, but it’s unclear to me how much is actually the club when many of the kids are already playing for top MIAA schools.

It’s never ending. Wait until you hear about the transfer portal, when a 5th year kid from another college takes the last roster spot at your dream school.

Lacrosse is not a money sport like the NFL or NBA. The money we spend will be gone, but we support our kids to obtain the highest level they can achieve.

You meant to use “supposedly.” Maybe you should have been a kindergarten holdback or pre-first student yourself.

Speaking of RH, what's the background on their IG exchange with the Welcome to Youth Sports IG account? Saying you're IAmInsecure?? Makes me think the organization might be worse than some of their sideline parents, which is saying something.

What happened to Madlax at NAL this weekend? They went 0-3.

D1 programs can't have scouts everwhere. When they need a player at a certain position, they call the coaches from top programs that they trust and with whom they've built relationships over the years.

It's the same reason bench players at Calvert Hall are getting offers while stars at Allegheny High are struggling for visibility.

Heard the FCA core of players is staying put with the new coaching staff. Also adding a few pieces. Tryouts will be interesting.

Tryouts will sure be interesting for every team.

The Supremes parents were somehow more obnoxious than the Madlax parents.

They’re the same team / parents. Yeah, lot’s of comments and complaining.

Yeah, I know. I was being facetious...shoulda added a "winking" emoji. It was awful...everytime one of their little midgets got touched you'd think an international incident occurred. They're a good team, but the parents make you want to root against the kids.

That’s the problem with Madlax, and their coaches will say it too. It’s the cray cray parents. Always has been and always will be.

Their team is small. Even at the dman spots are small. Almost as if they havent hit puberty except their one big middie. They are fast and quick but they run across a big team with some speed they suffer.

No idea if this is what happened over the weekend.

ML shows you week in, week out that size doesn’t matter. They play elite lacrosse and are a fun group to watch. Unfortunately this prodigal son arrives next year and ruins a great team. NL, DC express gains. Can’t wait for tryouts?

From a math perspective, this argument has "confounding multi variables." I highly doubt that the stars at Allegheny HS would make the top 3 lines of any position at CHC varsity.

Also, *most* college coaches including the lower 2/3 of D1, don't have the visibility or the leverage to just call up ol' Mark Millon and say "deliver me your best!" Every day right now, we're seeing 2025 commits from "elite" clubs to very random D1-D3 schools to play. Other than Crabs and the 2023-2025 91MD teams, nobody local beyond the highest level club starters are going top 20 D1, despite "relationships." I know that you are all being sold that outcome, but with OR, TX, CO, GA, and FL pumping out big, fast lax players that college coaches will definitely (to their detriment) take a chance on starting with the 2025 HS class, it's going to be very different. If your son is the #2 FOGO for Hawks, yes he is probably a great lax player and will have a chance to "play in college" but be realistic about who is going to put resources into recruiting him.

And the worst of all truths, if your son doesn't get on the field (for his club team), it does not matter if he is playing for Hawks or True Glen Burnie or Breakers Reborn or Sidewindclippers or whatever. He won't be on the field if a coach visits, and he won't have video highlights or stats, and the coach will name other players "when asked" before they get to your son. Haven't seen any club handle this well in MD, but this is something that Leading Edge does really well in NJ (aside from roster violations) - they will seek out a few events to make sure their lower roster HS age players get PT and exposure as well. Suddenly in January of 12th grade "the entire Leading Edge roster has received D1 offers."

The parents are painful. Same set of dads that stand next to each other. They don't stop yapping until the momentum shifts in which case the "All Day" chants peter out.

Who is the prodigal son?

The prodigal son is the son of a guy who owns and runs a club team. The son plays on said club teams 28 team and will be reclassing to a 2020 when he switches school. The rumor is well known in NOVA lac circles.

And how is that wrong ?? Reclassing to get better ? MD and most of NE region does it for their players.