BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Long Island Top Guns Lacrosse

Not sure if 2 2021's on the YJ 2020 team should really be considered a mixed age team......and not all YJ's parents felt good about the lopsided scores.

there were 4 2021 players, my daughter was one of them. I thought the coach did a great job balancing playing time. All of the guest 2021 players were treated great and played plenty in every game. The players and parents could not have been more welcoming to us as guests on their team. I have seen nothing but class from CR and YJ in my first year with the program.

As a TG parent, I am sorry you and your daughter had such a negative experience with the organization. Unfortunately, being a "good sport" can be challenging for us all and is often dependent on the circumstances.

For example, lets assume your team takes a comfortable 8-2 lead, relaxes and gives its opponent an opportunity to pull out a last minute victory. I will guarantee that the players from the losing team will have difficulty being gracious in the post-game handshake. Their parents, in turn, are likely to be disgusted by the deterioration of their daughters' level of play.

In the ideal world, players and parents alike would take a step back and congratulate the opponent for their effort / resilience. In the real world, emotions tend to dictate behavior, which can sometimes get ugly, especially if its the players/parents first experience in "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory."

Learning "how to lose gracefully" is not easy.

I guarantee that whatever club you have chosen, there will be parents whose actions make you roll your eyes. While far from perfect, our TG experience has been overwhelmingly positive for both daughter and parent alike. I hope your experience with your new club is just as good.

Shannon is good coach.. goes down hill after shannon.

Shannon is good coach.. goes down hill after shannon.

Get a life. Loser.

Shannon is good coach.. goes down hill after shannon.

I grew up on Long Island in a town that lived and breathed Lacrosse and I began playing at a very early age. I played year round, every chance I could. Fall ball “out east”, winters indoors with the PAL and Box Lacrosse in Nassau, summer camps upstate and Maryland, Empire Games (Go Long Island), weekend pickup games at the high school and the handball courts, which in my town never saw a game of handball because the LAX players commandeered them. The list goes on and on…
I toted my stick with me everywhere I went as if it was an extension of my hands. The walls of my bedroom were filled with lacrosse posters of the greats of my time and covering my door was, what other than, the infamous Air Gait image that cost most every attackman of my generation to be reprimanded by Coach, at least once, for attempting to replicate. Some of my greatest childhood memories and greatest friends were and are a direct result of my love for the sport.
So, where am I going with this you ask? Back then Lacrosse wasn’t just a sport it was a culture, much as it is today. But, I believe it was a different culture. I believe it was a community, an extended family of sorts. I loved the sport because I enjoyed the competition, win or lose. I valued the comradery I shared with other players and enthusiasts, regardless of what town they came from, team they played for, or what club they belonged to. Did we have rivals? Yes, of course we did. That is what makes the game exciting and what makes us strive to play better. The difference was that we respected the competition and when the game was over we genuinely shook hands and more times than not, shared a wall, a pickup game, or a summer camp within the weeks to come. Lacrosse was a community of ladies and gentleman. A community built on mutual respect and a shared passion for the game. It was a community I was proud to be a part of.
Now, years after I’ve hung up my college jersey, my children are into LAX with a passion much akin to mine. Although the game hasn’t changed, the community has and it is heartbreaking to see a something I once loved in the state it is in today. Name calling, finger pointing, club / team bashing, snide and underhanded remarks… AND about children and youth programs! For the adults who feel the need to post negative comments about groups of children should be ashamed of yourselves! You are destroying the community I once loved and I urge you to take the high road so our children can enjoy the game without the drama and love LAX for what it is.
As I am almost certain that someone will have something negative to say in response to my post, I will advise you in advance that I will not retort, as this will be the last time I visit BOTC.
GREAT POST AGREE COMPLETELY

Come on now... you dont think boy smith and bs are good coaces. Lol

Yj have man rose ....tg have man smith and boy wonder

Might be old news because I haven't checked in a while, but the 2014 rosters are posted now.

Just in case, Obama was re-elected

Just in case, Obama was re-elected

I agree my daughter has been with the team for a few years and BS told us he wanted the purple team to be as good as the black team and we were almost there but not quite. The Top Gun family is honest , sincere and loyal and if the kids and parents give the same effort your kids will get an honest look from the recruiters and100% endorsment from the Smiths which carries a lot of weight believe me when they call on your kids behalf the college coaches listen. I cannot thank them enough for there effort in my daughters recruitment process and fair assessment of her talent. You cannot go wrong with this program.

I agree my daughter has been with the team for a few years and BS told us he wanted the purple team to be as good as the black team and we were almost there but not quite. The Top Gun family is honest , sincere and loyal and if the kids and parents give the same effort your kids will get an honest look from the recruiters and100% endorsment from the Smiths which carries a lot of weight believe me when they call on your kids behalf the college coaches listen. I cannot thank them enough for there effort in my daughters recruitment process and fair assessment of her talent. You cannot go wrong with this program.

Did they take all the 2021's that went to tryouts this year? Just asking because many programs seem to seldom cut at this age since these players have only begun to develop.

She is on the 2015 purple and is committed to a Division 1 program. Remember its a group effort and it takes a lot of work on everyones part and the Smiths were great in every aspect. When they give the recruiting seminar I would make sure that you and your daughter attend and follow what they say. It makes all that traveling worthwile when the time comes and the recruiters are lining up on the sidelines to watch the Top Guns play. Stay committed to the program so it continues to develop and the Top Guns name is on everyones mind and it will be more than you expected.

Thanks for the advice. We're doing everything they suggested at the recruiting meeting, and looking forward to the process, going forward. It's great to hear that your daughter is also on a purple team, and going D1. People talk about how the black teams will get all the attention, and all the coaches watching. We're trying to target realistic, lower level D1 teams, and hoping to get to camps and clinics, at those schools. This way, we don't have to rely solely on her getting seen at the tournaments. Did you approach it this way, or was most of your activity and success a result of the TG tournaments?

Did anyone go to the stick skill session that SS ran a couple of weeks ago? Just curious how the sessions were in case they run a similar program again. Thanks for the feedback.

Did anyone go to the stick skill session that SS ran a couple of weeks ago? Just curious how the sessions were in case they run a similar program again. Thanks for the feedback.