BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Crabs Lacrosse / Baltimore Lacrosse Club

Who cares what other parents do with their kids. Keep your side of the street in order. I'm sure parents are really concerned with what the NY parents think when they reclassify their kid. Hmmmm hold my kid back which may enable him a better opportunity to get into a really great academic school thru lacrosse which the extra year of maturity will help with....or make my decision based off the feelings of a NY parents?

Again, take it back to the real issue...the late/early birthday cutoff is one thing, there will always be someone a year older on the team no matter the cutoff. The issue here is the early cutoff AND hold back, PG, reclassifying, (whatever you choose to call it) Its a problem during the "maturation" years. Justify it, complain about it, whatever... its not a level playing field at those ages.

I think we in MD and you in LI are on borrowed time. I have a 2017 and agree that the NY, Phila, MD/DC corridor just dominates, then there is a material drop in skill, depth of talent and lacrosse IQ outside these hotbeds. I also have a U-13 player and can assure you that there is little drop in quality from the hotbed teams to the warm state emerging teams...especially the Denver, Atlanta, Florida and California regions. East Coast dominance still exists with the 2017s and up, but it is on borrowed time at the youth levels rising now.

This is precisely what the data supplied by BOTC has been suggesting. The conventional hotbed representation in the NCAA Division I pool this year decreased from 57% to 54% and while some readers relegate this to a single year statistical variation, BOTC thinks that this is a major tipping point.

this is the second time "sage", a soccer expert, has put up this chart. The first thing that comes to mind is that it is a chart of 2017 players, Freshman. This chart is telling us that before season starts that N.J is taking over as a hotbed over L.I. because, as of February, there is a little over 3% swing in Jerseys' favor in D1 recruiting and he is willing to call this a trend. The other 2 big gainers are Canada and Cali. Canada is no shocker because Lacrosse was the national sport for decades before they changed it to hockey back in the 80's if I'm not mistaken. Cali is a surprise but if you take there 1.4% combined with the other non-traditional, non east coast regions on this list Ohio at -0.7% and colorado -0.1% you come up with a whopping +2.2% gain in freshman recruits in "non traditional" areas as of February. I for one would not consider that a trend until at least that percentage becomes common for high school juniors for at least 2 years. As of today for 2015 recruits the same % from the mentioned areas is about 0.18% . Long Island alone is 0.123%. not exactly a threat

[/quote]this is the second time "sage", a soccer expert, has put up this chart. The first thing that comes to mind is that it is a chart of 2017 players, Freshman. This chart is telling us that before season starts that N.J is taking over as a hotbed over L.I. because, as of February, there is a little over 3% swing in Jerseys' favor in D1 recruiting and he is willing to call this a trend. The other 2 big gainers are Canada and Cali. Canada is no shocker because Lacrosse was the national sport for decades before they changed it to hockey back in the 80's if I'm not mistaken. Cali is a surprise but if you take there 1.4% combined with the other non-traditional, non east coast regions on this list Ohio at -0.7% and colorado -0.1% you come up with a whopping +2.2% gain in freshman recruits in "non traditional" areas as of February. I for one would not consider that a trend until at least that percentage becomes common for high school juniors for at least 2 years. As of today for 2015 recruits the same % from the mentioned areas is about 0.18% . Long Island alone is 0.123%. not exactly a threat [/quote]

With due respect, your post has a few inaccuracies. Lacrosse has never been above hockey in Canada in terms of participation or following. It is accurate that hockey was discovered and played in Thunder Bay Canada nearly a century before hockey was an organized sport in Canada. You are correct that the box game became Canada's secondary winter sport in the 1980's and is immensely popular since.

My point was there is a material edge to the LI, Phila, MD/DC corridor in the 2017 age and up, and that this delta appears to be immaterial at the current U-13s. This corridor includes NJ...my plain error and no slight intended but Northern NJ is I feel part of the NY tri-state cluster and it is not unfair to put Southern NJ and parts of DE in the Philly cluster for simplicity. No slights intended to NJ folk, I meant the NY TO MID ATLANTIC to be a corridor in the comment, nothing more.

Sage correctly pointed out that the dominance of this corridor has been eroding, albiet in small increments, in recent years and the trend showing a lower delta of dominance for the Eastern Atlantic hotbeds is reliable and consistent. The lacrosse world is going rounder each year and that is plainly evident, and I think great for the game.

Instead of the data, use your own two eyes and check out a U-13 tourney bracket of games this Summer. It is astonishing how many great programs and coaches there are in non-hotbeds and how terrific some teams from GA, TX and CA are...among others. People like Liam Banks are changing the game in places like Alabama and Louisiana now.

LI is still fantastic and at a highest quality level. It is a mistake to take any of this as a negative onto LI. Look at it as lacrosse going from an "East Coast prep school" third tier off-the-run sport 10+ years ago at NCAA and HS levels to a "real sport". Wouldn't you feel prouder if LI was a big fish in an ocean rather than a whale stuffed into a mason jar? Game is changing. Be happy.

I nerve said Lacrosse had a larger participation than Hockey, Just that is was the national sport of Canada for decades.

As for the stats, It seems that as of this early date for recruitment for 2017 to say that L.I. influence is on the decline is a bit premature. Without even knowing where this list came from it seems a bit self serving. One thing for sure it did not come out of Laxpower which in my opinion is the only reliable source for recruits.

This being a thread for Maryland I am more surprised about all the negative numbers down your way. You have produced some of the best players to ever play the game. Whats going on down there?

What is going on down here in MD is the same thing that is going on up there LI. Baltimore is a small city about an hour away from DC (where the #s are going up small). LI has 5x the population of the state of MD. Your %s are goig down by the same delta as a percentage of the basis, or more, as compared to the other hotbed markets, DC excepted.

Get over yourselves a little. The point is valid. Lacrosse dominance in MD, LI and the rest of this corridor is declining. The non-hotbeds are rising. LI and the others will NEVER be the same in terms of figures this dominant.

This precisely captures the point of our original posting. US Lacrosse is clearly more interested in expanding the game nationally than spending time on regulations in already established areas. That mission of expansion will open new areas - and therefore expose many new athletes - to the game of lacrosse.

Unless NCAA Division I programs begin launching and funding lacrosse programs at a faster rate than the expansion plans of US Lacrosse, the pressure on existing hotbeds regions will only increase.

I think all-in-all good - as long as the sport continues to grow. Meaning more colleges make lacrosse a major sport. If there was a decline in the hotbeds and the sport became less popular than that would be alarming.

My son is friends with several of the kids on the U15 team. None of the players should be in 10th grade. Would love to know where you get your information.

Crabs have a 2021 team? Where do they play?

3d coming to maryland and doing an invite only summer high school all star team...they've already picked off a number of the top DC area club players. what team(s) are most affected? madlax, crabs, blackwolf?

Hoco league

If they played npyll they would have to play u13

2018 Team 91 parent here.

Crabs are a first class organization. Love playing you guys. Too bad we don't play each other more.

How was the game? Who won?

Why? 2021 is 11uAA

Because not all fifth graders meet the US Lacrosse birthday cutoff for U11.

Because half of their players are aged for U13A even though they are in 5th grade

Why do you people cry about kids being 1 year older on these teams. We all want our kids to get better and play the best. And guess what when they get to high school they will play kids 3 or 4 years older then them. Get over it. The other funny thing is most of these people on here are the same people who have aged there kid up a level at some point in some league because they wanted them to get better.

You said it..."when they get to high school they will play kids 3 or 4 years older than them". Much different story. Everyone is aware of it when they enter HS. when they are in 4-7th grade & parents (& coaches) are covering it up, its a problem. You can debate it all you want, at the younger ages there is an unfair advantage. LI people should stop whining about it an the southerners should stop defending it. Until someone does something about it, some ppl will take the easy way out

Not sure who is complaining

The Crabs 2021 team is made up of 5th graders regardless of age. Because of this, they need to play in the HoCo/MYLA league instead of NPYLL

Come tournament time, they will have to find grade based tournaments instead of age based ones, or they can move up to U13A

I don't think they are trying to hide anything. Many people think grade based teams down to the youth level are the future of lacrosse

in my opinion grade based teams keep the age disparity at a minimum or at least the same as U11,13,15. yes there are families that hold back their kids in Kindergarten or 1st grade. Most are kids with summer bdays. and I don't know any that are held back two years. Maybe there are but I'd hope that's rare. So when you're in a grade based tournament (most have separate divisions for each grade) the bulk of kids will be in about 15 month window. Tournament that are age-based it's a double year division ie u13, u15. So you can have teams made up of predominately older kids for the age group vs teams with mostly younger kids. I've coached in leagues/tournaments with both and I think the grade based has been the best in terms of matching up size and skill

I agree with most of the people who wrote back about the crying about 1 year post. The grade based teams should be the way to go. But either format the kids are not far apart in age no matter how you look at it. The U13 and U15 age groups will always have kids a lot bigger and a lot smaller then each other. Would you people like a weight limit like football thrown in so all the kids will look the same size out there. Lacrosse is a great sport because you can make up for size with stick skills and IQ. I am sure none of these clubs are breaking the rules for the tournament they are in. I have heard of many clubs moving kids up and down to fit the format of the tournament. If your club is large enough it should be also doing this. If a kid is U15 age but in the 7th grade he should be moving back and forth based on the rules of the tournament his club is in. And the other clubs should be doing the same. So my point is when you leave the house with a U13 team to play in a grade base tournament you should be picking up some U15 kids in 7th grade or just go and get what you get and do not throw a fit. Thanks I am done with my RANT LOL

So the crabs 2021 team is really a 2020 but all held back so they can complete is a 2021 league. A true 2021 team gave no kids older than 08/31/03.

No that is not how that works. A grade based team is based on the year the kid will graduate high school. Its set up so when a scout is watching a game he will know what year the kids on that team will leave high school. Like it or not with a grad based system those are the kids from your sons class no matter if they are 1 or even 2 years older then him. Its lacrosse people the bigger older kids can not tackle your sons so everyone will live just fine.

As long as your kid is the one 2 years older, ya know with the size and physical maturity to go along with it. You see, I play my kid up against kids two years older so he has to work hard and play tough. You play your kid down because you know he can't compete with kids his own age. So sad. You're probably one of those guys that calls the LI parents whiners because they just want a fair game. For those of us in MD that play with in the spirit of the rules and honor the game, you make our kids look pathetic. As if our kids can't play with kids from LI that are the same age. You're an embarrassment.

My son is on the correct U13 team and in the correct grade. The thing is if a kid is in the 7th grade no matter what year he is born my son will be going to have to beat him out or play vs. him no matter how old he is. So I would rather him start it now and find a way to get it done. We are talking about very high level teams on this forum. Not Rec. ball. I think all these kids baby egos will be find if they go 14-1 for a summer not 15-0. And the biggest part of these travel club teams is to make the player better not win games. I am upset that people think every kid that got held back a grade is up to something evil and his parents are crazy sports people.

Crabs always preach Bigger, Faster, Stronger...and a lot of times it means older...there are 2 boys in 9th grade, moving private schools over the summer and repeating 9th grade and I have no doubt they will be on the Crabs next year. More talent migrating away from Crabs to other clubs. In fact I hae seen a number of Crab players on their HS JV teams that don't pass, always shoot...all about them..that's the way they are taught in that system...forget fundamentals

Help. Where can I find stats on Maryland high school teams (St. Pauls, Boys' Latin and Calvert Hall). I'd like to see player stats with regard to goals, assists and points; other stats would be helpful too. Any suggestions?

So crabs have the Advantage with play back players if the kids are that good why not play up or just play with their own age if they are that good. Instead it is just about winning games.

Add to that "Winners"

Great day yesterday for Crabs Nation! Still on top.

How did club blue look? I heard they gained some strong players from next level.

Which age group Club Blue?

U13 Crabs beat them 12-0

2018 Young Gunz bracket looks interesting. 5 teams in Pool A. 5 teams in Pool B. 5 teams in Pool C. Only 4 teams in Pool D?? It's a shame there aren't any other good 2018 teams in the Baltimore area that could round out Pool D. I'm sure the kids could think of one.

You FCA parents are machines. Stop crying about not being invited to top tournaments on this forum. Talk to people face to face if you want different results.

I know a team! How about that FCA team Blue Team, I am sure they would love to play in that tournament!!!!

"Respect all, Fear none" ????