US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Girls 2029-7th Grade Fall 2023/Summer 2024

I wouldn't disagree with you if it weren't for the fact that the games actually count in the season-long national ratings for all teams that play a national team and the domino affect on the rest of the ratings. I'd love the idea of these "National Teams" if they didn't count and didn't count for anyone playing against them, especially if there were "off-season national teams" that allow a little bit of fun in the winter.

Because we are talking about "ethics" here, it doesn't matter if the hypothetical I'm going to give you here is 100% accurate. It just COULD happen, or could almost happen:

Urban Elite enters a California Tournament with a 90.75 rating. They find themselves facing an unranked team, "91 National." However, the star players are the girls they have faced before and will face again later in the season when they play as "91 Roar." 91 Roar is ranked at 97.76. Urban Elite ties the team. You'd figure it would have an impact on their rating of +7 points. Nope. Based on the National team being unranked, their ranking begins somewhere in the mid to high 80's. This tied game winds up dropping their ranking and rating. Fast forward to June. Top Guns faces Urban Elite. The two teams would have had similar ratings/rankings entering the competition. However, Urban Elite's rating was artificially affected by the last matchup against 91. So now the expected goal differential is significantly higher than it would have been. Now Top Guns has to blow out a team that is likely close in ability to them. Urban Elite loses by 2, which would usually have no major affect on their rankings, but they are part of this whole debacle. So now their rating has gone up by 8 points because the expected goal differential was 10 points. And guess who they are facing next? 91 Roar- who gets another crack at them with a new artificially enhanced rating.

You know that teams do not care about goal differential when they are playing? If your daughter’s team wins a game but doesn’t cover the goal differential, do you tell her she “lost”? Or if they lose to an opponent but not by the goal differential do you tell your daughter that they “won”?

FYI the 91 national team will drop out of the rankings once the summer season kicks off as they won’t meet the minimum amount of games played.

Let the girls play and stop worrying about all the metrics of rankings.

New Balance All-America games are 1/3 of the cost of American Select. These games used to be called the Under Armour All-America Games. The senior game for this event is televised live on ESPN and the best players across the country participate in it. American Select is a pure money grab unless your daughter is on the top team, which is black for LI.

Irrelevant here. It is not a 2029 graduation year event, so it is no alternative for what's already being offered. It also attracts no attention unless you're a 91 fanboy.

Further, please allow me to offer a bit of advice with regard to listening to those "it's just a money grab" voices you hear after EVERY event is offered. I can DEFINITIVELY say that that my daughter's acceptance into these exhibitions/camps/showcases/select teams has absolutely put her in front of the right people and has led to being recognized and considered for a key position on her school's team and for some other important things.

You are completely out of your mind. But you are probably trying to justify the thousands of dollars you spent on these events. No college coach is looking at 2029s. None. They are working on 2025 and will start to heavily look at 2026s this summer. Signing up for the all American select team in 7th grade is a money grab. Plain and simple. If you think your high school coach is giving your kid playin time based on her selection for the 2029 all Long Island games you are out of your mind.. Most likely your daughter is getting playing time because she is a good player. Her selection to to the all Long Island games has nothing to do with it.

While nobody has ever made the argument that colleges are watching 7th graders, you could absolutely take a look at the sports recruits page of any D1 committed 12th grader and see that they were collecting resume bullets all the way back in 2017. These things matter. They pave the way and get your foot in the door.

Also, you can't dismiss the fact that being a return participant/applicant for one of these programs has an effect on participating again in the future for the years that do attract college attention. Being a participant now does absolutely get you preferential treatment for future endeavors, both within that program and within its affiliate networks.

Whether it's a school coach or a select team coach, sometimes already being validated by another program helps make the decision between two prospects.

No matter your position on the worthiness of these events, they certainly have more merit than sitting on the couch and playing video games as you mutter that everyone else is wasting their money. Experiences are experiences.