This thread will be used for discussions, news, and analysis of the Boys 2022 graduation year programs during the Fall 2012/Spring 2013 seasonal year.

The following were the results from the January 26th action at the Long Island Sports Hub in the Second/Third Grade bracket.

Port Washington over North Shore, 16-2
Plainedge over Syosset, 10-6
Rough Riders edge Express 2022, 13-12

Standings After Week 3

GP W L T GF GA PTS GD
Port Washington 3 3 0 0 42 12 9 30
2022 Express 3 2 1 0 40 25 6 15
DalerNation 2 2 0 0 21 10 6 11
Rough Riders 3 2 1 0 26 36 6 -10
Northport 2 1 1 0 23 16 3 7
Plainedge 3rd 3 1 2 0 20 26 3 -6
Syosset Braves 3 0 3 0 14 31 0 -17
North Shore Lacrosse Club 3 0 3 0 17 47 0 -30

Is it true that alot of the Port Washington boys also play for Igloo?

3 Kids from Port play for 2022 Igloo

Is that a mistake and the LI Express team is really 2023? Why would a 3rd grade travel team be playing in a 2/3 division with all town teams. If it is truly 2022 why not play up in the 4th grade bracket like 3rd grade No Name did?

It would be great to get some insight on the club programs for boys 2022. Which programs have teams and what are they like? I'm not looking for the "best" team for my son but a good overall experience with year around play and good coaching because he may look to join a club program next year.

Based on what we have seen, the 2023 Group, the Honey Badgers, are still conducting tryouts which continue this upcoming Thursday, January 31st - tryout details are on the Tryouts Forum. The Boys 2022 team playing in this bracket is properly placed.

91 has a very good all year around program for 2022, and so does Igloo. As we can see from the standings listing here, Express has a 2022 program. I do not know about Jesters, Outlaws or the others. Sorry I don't have more information.

My son plays in the 2020 lighthouse league, yesterday we showed up early and witnessed 8 3rd grace igloo kids beat a 3/4 grade team something like 25-1. Igloo wasn't running up the score, they played that well. Now in lighthouse they don't have a 3 pass rule so maybe that contributed to it but I have to say the igloo team was wicked. Not even sure who they where as they only had 8 kids but it was very impressive for this age

My son plays on the Team 91 2022 Smash team. It's a well run team with good coaching. They practice year round and play in a ton of tournaments. They almost always play up a grade and are able to more than hold their own against the bigger kids. Playing time goes to the kids that deserve it and although they've been together for less than a year, the team has improved tremendously. No complaints at all.

I have seen both 91 smash and igloo play and they are both excellent. These two teams seem to be the dominant 2022 teams. Good to see kids this age playing the level of lacrosse that these two teams play. Go LI youth lacrosse.

I know it is crazy to discuss U9 Lax, but this is the new reality. 2 or 3 years ago watching U9 Lax would have required a thermos full of Jamison. Today there are a bunch of teams that can really play, and 2-3 yrs from now there will be a ton of good teams out there. It is great to see the sport we love growing. I have a 3rd grader who plays winter ball, and I have seen 91 Smash, Igloo and No Name (what a great name) all play and I must admit I was very impressed. I'm sure there are some other great teams I haven't seen. Has anyone seen any other impressive 2022 club teams?

We played the 2022 Port Washington team at the Hub. I think there were 4 Igloo helmets on the field. 2 mid / 1 Att / goalie, all were very good players.

I believe Outlaws and Jesters have 2022 teams but I have not seen them play or heard of them playing in any of the winter leagues (unlike 91, Igloo and Express, which play in the winter leagues). They may just focus on practicing in the winter and play in spring/summer tournaments. fl$ may be the same.

Outlaws, Jesters, Team LI and Havoc all have 2022 teams. I know Outlaws and Team LI practice in water and also do training as for the others I don't think that they do. Smash and Igloo are the teams to beat obviously but the talent starts younger and younger I'm sure the others will hold their own this summer.

The results from the Saturday, February 2nd Second and Third Grade Sports Hub league are now available.

Daler Nation over North Shore, 12-4
Port Washington four-folds Rough Riders, 16-4
2022 Express over Syosset, 7-3
Northport doubles Plainedge, 12-6

Standings

GP W L T GF GA PTS GD
Port Washington 4 4 0 0 58 16 12 42
2022 Express 4 4 0 0 48 27 12 21
DalerNation 3 3 0 0 33 14 9 19
Northport 3 2 1 0 35 22 6 13
Plainedge 3rd 4 1 3 0 26 38 3 -12
Rough Riders 4 1 3 0 29 53 3 -24
Syosset Braves 4 0 4 0 17 38 0 -21
North Shore Lacrosse Club 4 0 4 0 21 59 0 -38

Watch this space for the February 9th game results as the two 4W-0L undefeated teams, Port Washington and 2022 Express, will take to the field at the Sports Hub. Both Daler Nation and Port Washington are scheduled to have double headers this weekend.

Port and Express both have firepower, the game will be decided by the Defense and goalies.

So LI Express 2022 is on par with a decent town team? How are they going to compete in the Spring/Summer?

The decent town team is loaded with alot of kids who play on clubs.

So LI Express is on par with a GOOD town team. How are they going to compete in the Spring/Summer.

LOL. They'll be fine come summer

I'm sure the Express will be fine. Are there really any great 3rd grade club teams out there with the exception of maybe 91 and Igloo? As far as I know, Express is the only other club team even playing through the winter so I can't imagine the club team competition in 3rd grade is that tough, even assuming the Express is only on par with a good town team like Port Washington.

the decent town team has 4 (FOUR) kids on its team - hardly loaded......

FYI - this decent town team only has 4 kids on club teams - hardly loaded.....

why the extra comment about the PW team? totally unnecessary and tasteless.....

What team is your son on that you are so worried about the Express and decent town team?

We have 9 years until these boys graduate HS. That is a long time to toss insults back and forth. Lets save some of these Zingers for the coming years. The summer tournament season will be here shortly, and we can get an idea of where all the 2022 club teams stand.

As 3rd grade parents who know this much about U9 lax we should all be considered a little crazy. We should set a good example for the boys on the sideline, on BOTC and as Coaches.

very well said!

Anyone know who won today in The Hub league? 3 games, no results posted.

Express 13 Northport 9

Port Washington beat LI Express 12 to 6 today

Several key Express players didn't play vs PW. Don't "rate " the Express team only on the HUB league.

Daler Nation beat Northport by one. Lost to PW by 3.

Ha ha. Now that's funny. An Express parent making excuses as to why their 3rd grade travel team got crushed by a town team in indoor ball.

what a coincidence......Port was missing several key players as well and still won by a large margin.......and did i mention one of those kids is on a club team???

I am a parent that was at the Port-Express game at the Hub. It was a great game between 2 good teams which each had a few very talented players and the game was fairly close until the end. Why don't we leave it at that.

Great day for Port Washington yesterday the beat Daler Nation and Express to go un defeated at the hub Congrats guys Good luck to all this spring season

I have to admit most of you guys are pretty pathetic, arguing over 3rd
Grade lax. It's indoor lacrosse!!! Take 5 steps and shoot!!! Get on a real
Field and see what goes on. Port parents stop thumping your chest over
A win over the express in indoor lax. Express parents stop whining you were
Missing your players. It's indoor lacrosse!!! It's 3rd graders, get a life!
The reality is no 3rd grader is that good, they are learning to play the
Game. Why don't you parents just let them. Stop worrying about scores!
I bet none of the kids care who won or even will remember. Just the parents.
pathetic.

cant wait till the spring nothing better than preseason trash talk good luck to all the teams see ya on the big feild

You have many good points but it's not chest thumping - just trying to prove a point to those who said the Port team was loaded with club team players which is not the case. The kids DO care who won or they wouldn't have worked so hard. Many more years to go but they are not in kindergarten anymore.....they WANT to win

Thanks to Express and Port for giving this thread some life.

Express, there is NO EXCUSE for falling to a town team.

Have no fear, the dirtbags at express will kick all of those kids off the team, even though the parents have all paid to be on the "A" team, when they have 4 more weekends of tryouts for Spring / Summer.

It's Lax season, let the trash talk begin.....

I love it, BOTC is great for amongst other things, the trash talking. And nothing better than when it gets under a parents skin and they get all high and mighty and tell you how pathetic you are and how youth sports works etc. Now that we are playing outside ball (for those of you not ducking the tougher competition in Spring leagues)...Let the real trash talking begin. I also agree with the post about LI Express, NEVER should a $2,000 elite travel program lose to a town team (espcially Port, which has some good players but is not a select town team that had tryouts and pulled from a pool of 60 players). And NEVERRRRRRR if your travel team loses to a town team should you make excuses that players werent there, instead you should just lay low. LI Express also lost to 2nd grade 91 in Santa Jam.

Let's face it, anyone on a class of 2022 thread on a Sunday is a little nuts, including the guy calling everyone else pathetic. Bottom line is everyone should try to keep comments on the positive side. There is nothing wrong with reporting scores of games or speaking highly about certain teams or games. But there is really no excuse for bashing other teams that are made up of 9 year old kids.

I don't buy this logic at all. If a team gets lucky enough to get two great players it changes everything. It's like saying an elite basketball team isn't any good because they lost to a town team with LBron James on it when he was 9 , or a football team that had EmmitSmith. Listen, I don't get the hub bub about Express, it's a ton of money and I think St Anthony's isn't worth the money, but doesn't that Chanawoodchuck have two kids at Maryland ? That program has produced a lot of great players, because their current 9 year old team is not that good is not a bellwether

I'm new to this whole botc thing, but it seems like there is a lot of
Negativity towards 3 specific clubs: Express, team 91 and on the
Girls side the yellow jackets. Can someone please explain this to me.
Are they bad clubs? Do they not do the right thing? What is it?
And with that why are clubs like the outlaws, team long island, true blue,
And others never really talked about? How do those clubs stack up?

Shamrock Shootout is almost here!!!!!!
I'm hoping for some great trash talk after the weekend.

The easiest explanation is that these are the largest and most prominent clubs on Long Island.

Define how you want to measure "bad" and what your family considers the "right thing". These clubs tend to be the most competitive clubs and do tend to travel to find the strongest competition. These clubs do not play local competitions as often as some readers might prefer however participants should know that before signing up.

These clubs each have their own threads on the boys side along with the Top Guns, Liberty, and others on the girls side.

All of these clubs will have their supporters and detractors based on what your family is seeking from a program.

Good explanation. And we can't underestimate the fact that with success often comes jealousy and I am sure that contributes to the negative comments about some of these clubs.

My son's friend plays for 2022 LI Express and he paid $275 for the Spring OBLL. 20 players x $275 = $5,500. The League costs $2,000?

And the guy who runs OBLL, also runs Express.
And the league is run horribly.

2022 Express is not in the spring Oyster Bay Lacrosse League, so your info is wrong. My son is on the 2022 Express Terps. We paid extra for indoor practices and the winter indoor season, that was it.

Did 2022 express not play 2023 express in the OBLL? They're in the schedule. Why doesn't express come play with 91 and igloo? Why no 2022 express at shamrock? Is terps the "B" or "C" team that lost to port in the hub and lost to 2023 91 at santa jam? Is terps different than the honey badgers?

Really if you log onto your express account there is the option for all grades including 2022 and 2023 express to join OBLL for $275

Where the express are majority owners of the Sports HUB. What no family discount?

Somebody (or somebodies) is obsessed with the Express. You guys should really find some other hobbies besides worrying about the Express and where they are playing and who they are beating or losing to. Really.

Wow somebody really doesn't like the 2022 express. I guess your kid didn't make the team or you weren't willing to pay the $. But really: the 2022 express are NOT in the obll
That is a fact, no matter what you say or what you think. They did not play he honey badgers nor are they playing any games in that league. If you think otherwise then prove me wrong and show me the results of their games from obll. And another thing calm down about igloo and 91, your acting like they are these great teams, they re in 3rd grade, half of em will probably quit in a few yrs cause they didn't live up to their parents crazy expectations!!!!

2022 express didn't have tryouts everyone made the team. And when more kids were interested they made another team. On the schedule Chanenchuk sent out lay week 2022 express was to play the 2023 honey boohboohs on Sunday at field of dreams. When will express come out and play some local 3rd grade travel teams?

SATURDAY MARCH 16TH Field #2 SUNDAY MARCH 17TH Field #2
TIME TEAM VS. TEAM TIME TEAM VS. TEAM
9AM 9AM LI EXPRESS 2023 LI EXPRESS 2022
10AM 10AM Outlaws 2017 Silver RVC Future 7/8 B
11AM 11AM Team 516 LI EXPRESS 2021 TERPS
12PM 12PM
1PM 1PM
2PM 2PM

Why isn't 2022 express playing in OBLL? Why weren't they at shamrock with igloo, 91 orange and white, true blue, team Li, excel, millions etc? Maybe they are the best team in the country but who would know, they don't play anyone. To slight 91 or igloo is to slight every 4th grade town team they have beaten and every 3rd grade travel team they beat. Li express has done nothing but lose to 2nd grade travel teams and third grade town teams

It still amazes me that you are sitting here ripping into 8 yr olds! What's wrong with you?you need to take a step back and evaluate yourself. If you get this angry about 3rd grade lacrosse maybe it's time to take your kids out all together. It seems to me you are going to be one of those parents we see on the news going crazy at one of their kids games. Way too much venom directed towards one club-express. Just say what you really feel-you don't like the directors or whatever but leave the 8 and I repeat 8!!!! Yr olds out of it. They are just playing lacrosse. They make no decisions. They don't care if they play 91, igloo or Alaska!!! As long as they play.

I dont see any ripping into 8 year olds or any mention of 8 year olds, the decision to avoid other teams is that of the coaches and directors.

Give me a break, sounds like someone's jealous of he express!!!! Up to the kids: any time anywhere baby!!!!!!

Sorry but I have to intervene here- NOBODY is jealous of express!!!!!

Does anyone have a record of who won and lost in the OBLL? That would be interesting to see. And for all the haters, take it for what it is worth, just something interesting to see. It does not mean one team is better than another. These teams change every year.

PLEASE get your information correct!!!! Express and its Directors are in NO way owners of the HUB!!!!!! Just because a program practices and plays and hangs a banner up does not mean they are owners!!! The HUB is a business that is owned by a group of business people,from various backgrounds not a lax club.There may happen to be a few business men that have children that play lacrosse in different towns included,but they are not the directors of any one "club" team.A parent of a former Express team did in the past run the lax operations at the HUB.That parent is no longer involved in the business of the HUB or the Express organization.

2022 Smash beating up teamsin Maryland in 7/8 bracket .... They're prob mostly all 9 yr olds. Same as 2020 crush in 9/10 ????

Smash will be much better!! Superior coaching compared to crush. Plus Smash is coached by a Hall of Famer! Crush is only 2 kids, not a true team.

Smash are all eligible under MD U9 rules. Learn the rule book.

Smash lost to a MD team in the finals.

Smash lost to a MD team in the finals.

That's right. Lost to a very good team that played up a division the week before. They were the best team we have faced so far. Congrats. Hopefully we can play some more. Ty for the quality game.

Dbacks are a 2022 team with a few 2023 players great game hope to see team 91 again. 91 is a great program.

Igloo 2-1 (lost in braveheart) in pool play then lost in semifinals at summer exposure Maryland.

Igloo had a great time in MD. Very well run tournament a lot of good competition. We had a great weekend.

Wasn't there, but if history tells us anything,the MD teams play down. If your an MD team and a 2022 you play in that bracket based on the grade you left, not the grade you're going into like LI teams. MD teams play down. Always have always will!

I have heard the same thing. I beleive the difference is nothing more than LI Teams adhere to grade based guidlines as well as U-9/11/13/15 etc. So in the case of an out of state tournament in the U-9 bracket, a LI Team would be all 3rd graders and all born after 8/31/2003 whereas a MD Team (and the rest of the country for that matter) would ONLY adhere to the U-9 (born after 8/31/2003). So a MD team could have 4th graders as long as they are U-9. Regardless, we have always found the competition in MD to be good and fair and if they do in fact have kids 3-4 months older than ours, so what.

I believe the MD lax kids play more of a physical game, too. The refs allowed a lot more contact than LI officials. The use of poles at the U-9 and U-11 level is another big difference, but not necessarily an advantage for all using it.
Some poles were very skilled, but an equal number were a liability. Nice experience.

All MD teams follow US lacrosse rules 8/31/03 as cut off. Long poles are used as 52 inches we played 91 smash and they had the same long poles. Some MD teams are heading to laxfest this week it should be good competition.

If it was grade based brackets and they played by their rules, the grade they are coming out of, not the grade their going into, they would be a minimum year older! Doesn't make too much difference at this age, but as they get older it becomes an issue. All tournaments should be aged based with birth certificate verification.

I really like that the Long Island teams are venturing to MD and vice-versa, I think it is great for the sport. My son's team played some good competition in MD. We had no issue with grade vs. U-9, no controversy at all. The games were no more physcial than LI tournament ball and the long pole rules were no different.

Actually LI plays a much more physical style lacrosse.

8/31/03 is the cut off period. If you where born before that you can not play 2022 lacrosse. Lax fest has the same rule as md tournaments. So to comment about md kids playing down to win tournaments is crap.

Md kids may not be playing down in order to win tourneys but seems clear that Md teams have kids born in Sept, Oct. and Nov. playing with the younger kids whereas kids with those same birthdays on LI teams would be playing with the older kids (i.e., their grade). No suggestion (by me at least) that it's cheating but nevertheless Md teams have a bunch of older kids. I think it should just be done by graduating class, 2022, 2021, etc. Then no issues (unless kids are left back!).

Long poles in u9 2022?

Those kids born in sept oct nov are still graduating in 2022 if born after August 31. US lacrosse has set the ages.

Fair enough. But LI kids who were born in Sept., Oct., and Nov, 2003 would generally be graduating in the class of 2021 and thus not be playing U9. So, again, the point is not that Md teams are not following the rules - they clearly are - but nevertheless the Md teams likely have a number of older kids. Who knows if it really means anything anyway.

Question: My 8 year old is pretty good. He did great this year in PAL. 10 goals in 6 games. He is smart and coachable. He got "cut" by the Honey Badgers in January. I want to try him out for a club team in September. I am thinking Igloo, Team 91 and Express. I live in Western Nassau. Which team does everyone think is best? Will 91 and express be unless bc they already have 2023 teams and the tryout would just be a formality? Any other clubs to check out? Am I out of my mind as my wife thinks? Thanks

First, note that if you want to introduce a new line of discussion (such as your original Boys 2023 topic line), please become a registered user and start your own thread.

Second, you should consider having your child attend one of the Long Island Outlaws free clinics which are currently taking place :

Long Island Outlaws Free Clinics

There, you might be able to get a low-pressure evaluation of where your son's proper level might be. The Outlaws will help you in terms of guiding your son's placement, either with them or elsewhere. The fact that he was not accepted in the first recruitment round of the Honey Badgers might indicate that going through this exercise with the Outlaws is worth your time. It is less about which program/team is the best and more about where your son would be with similarly skilled players to begin improving his skill set.

thanks.

LI express 2022 playing in 9u B but not playing AA at hogan Hersey tournament. I thought express was was one of the top clubs on LI.

Express is a top club but certain clubs are stronger in certain grades than others. They probably feel their 2022 team is not a top tier team yet and want to have competitive games. Nothing wrong with that.

So they feel they can't win it all. So lets drop down and chase trophies. You would never see top clubs in Maryland playing down with their AA team. B teams yes never AA teams.

My kid "worked out" this winter with Express Terps 2022. He's a 2023 and was not overwhelmed playing against 3rd graders. They are really well coached. I think 8/9 is such a tough age to judge. There are still early (Jan.) babies that are bigger than their counterparts. Also, the kids that standout can really dominate at this age.

What is an AA team versus a B team depends on who you ask. Express 2022 has entered the A brackets of most of the tournaments they played in, including this past weekend at LI Laxfest. While they are a solid teeam, at this point they are a notch below the top 2022 teams. So for this tourney maybe they decided to put their kids a position to have more competitive games. I doubt they are chasing a trophy. Kids are kids and losing is tough. I see no issue with mixing it up as far as entering some A brakets and some B brakets. And by the way, relax with these comments about what "Md" teams would do as if we were talking important matters here. We're talking about 9 year old lacrosse.

Another option to consider if you are looking for immediate (July/August) game play would be to consider the Buccaneers Lacrosse program that is still taking players in Grades 3 and 4. You can find out more by clicking their link in the right side margin in the Long Island Clubs content island.

They are still playing teams that are 2021, thus a year older then them. My son plays for 2022 Terps and we are not an "A" team. Nobody is trying to play down to win a tournament. More so find a level where the kids can be competitive. Last weekend at LI Lax Fest we played "A" and went 0-4 losing ever game by atleast 4 goals. While 91 White a team that has won at least 2 tournaments this season
JDRF and Pro Player and beat us every time we have played, played B, went 5 and 0 blowing put every team they played and won the Chsmpionship. I think before you talk about people trying to play down and win you should do a little research first. Express 2022 Terps does not belong in the A bracket. We will have a hard enough time winning a game against teams that are 1 to 2 years older.

2022 Terps have played the following tournaments, all in the A bracket.
I hope this clears everything up for you...
JDRF Tournament (1-2)
Beat fl$
Lost to 91 white
Lost to Igloo

Andy Forsberg Tournament(0-3)
Lost Manhasset 32
Lost Team Smithtown
Lost to True Blue

fl$ Tournament (2-2)
Best fl$
Lost 91- Smash
Lost Team Smithtown
Beat Jesters

LI Lax Fest (0-4)
Lost to Igloo
Lost to 3 Village
Lost to 91 Smash
Lost to BayShore

So now we are counting how many goals an 8 year old scored in PAL 2nd grade Lax...

what a joke! maybe you should try out for the team next time.

I have a friend whose son plays on the 2022 Terps and he said that they keep bringing down new kids for the tournament. Mostly kids from Farmingdale because one of the coaches is in some way affiliated with or lives in Farmingdale. If this is true, how do the parents of the primary team feel about that?

My son plays with farmingdale, but not express. About half of the farmingdale kids stay and play together with their farmingdale town team and are also signed up with the Express. Because they have a very solid town program, those kids cannot make all the express practices and all farmingdale practices. So the kids who are on both teams usually attend their town team practices/games as a first priority and attend whatever express practices they can make. Your friend probably does not know that those kids are committed and have paid to be part of two solid teams and have to spread their time between the two.

Your son should go back and prove to the HB coaches that they made the wrong choice. Let him redeem himself. They are a good team. Heard that the kids on the team really enjoyed themselves.

Good luck.

that is where the problem is. if your town is the priority (and that is fine - not opening up that debate) don't play on a top travel team.

I agree it is impossible to be fully committed to two lacrosse teams, there are always conflicts and you will always have to choose one over the other. Problem with this is that the parents see nothing wrong with their child skipping practices, and they should.

I could not agree more. If I am paying 2 grand, I want more than 12 kids at the club practice. I also do not want to hear that we are not having another weekly practice because half the team cannot make it because they have practice for their town team. I think kids and parents need to learn about what commitment is. If you pulled this in another sport- you'd be benched or would not make the team the following year. I am not sure why this happens so frequently in lax.

This happens in lacrosse due to a weak player pass situation. If players were tied to a single team for a seasonal year, players would need to choose between their town teams and premier club teams.

Soccer avoids this debate since the best town teams (U/11 and under) move to their premier ranks by U/12, so there is no notion of being both "intramural and premier".

Lacrosse's differentiation between town and club teams also promotes these "two team" players. With club teams starting to edge towards full year coverage with better training, the revenue potential will eventually force the better players to choose an exclusive premier path.

Two weeks back when we spoke with US Lacrosse, their staff members were particularly concerned about clubs in some locations (not New [lacrosse]) forcing players, particularly boys, to choose. While not an issue yet here, BOTC was quick to point out that this train is coming.

US Lacrosse asked us why we thought this would happen? Our response was simple : Lacrosse youth development structure is typically five to ten years behind Youth Soccer, at least on the East Coast. US Lacrosse agreed with this view.

Youth Soccer's "Development Academies" are forcing the better players to choose between their High School careers and higher level academy training. How long before Lacrosse sees the same system evolve? Our answer : Five to ten years.

Think about it.

I happen to think the soccer analogy is horrible. They may be more organized as an institution but where are they when it comes to player development? For the amount of time they want you to practice and play year round I just don't see kids getting the college looks as lacrosse on LI.

Let's try to define what you mean by player development. If you are looking for premier academies that support player growth, soccer academy consolidation has already taken place with the top regional academies already identified for both boys and girls.

If you are looking for college placements, my most recent data showed that 97% of girls players that were playing for premier league teams (club teams) between 2007 and 2011 were collegiate placed. Remember that in soccer, there are too many High School teams on Long Island (more than 110) with too many players (approximately 2,700 for both the boys and the girls - so 5,400 in total) to be able to argue that top quality can consistently be found at the scholastic level.

If you are looking for national presence, all I can offer in defense is that one of the players that our team battled for years (Crystal Dunn) is now a starter (not just on the team, but one of the starting eleven) for the Women's National Team.

All of this said, perhaps the soccer analogy is weak simply because it is more rigidly defined than the wild west that you currently have in youth lacrosse.

Remember, the original question posed by our 2022 poster asked why the commitment to any individual team (particularly those charging) seems so weak.In order to discuss "weak commitment", BOTC felt you needed to compare the commitment level to something else - anything else - to make the point.

If the comparison to other sports does not make an effective argument, why would anyone feel that there is weak commitment? (Hopefully, you understand our point here.)

That being said
Taken from Newsdays 2013 college commitments, the numbers are as follows, and i'm sure the number have changed since published.
Girls Lacrosse 92
Boys Lacrosse 86
Girls Soccer 34
Boys Soccer 21

Over all Lacrosse 178, Soccer 55

The numbers don't lie.

The answer the original comment of "commitment" it - at times - is weak because of the town/school vs club friction that exists. And if you choose to do both - they will conflict.

Newsday's numbers on soccer commitments are not close to the actual numbers. Remember, Newsday depends on people reporting data to them which simply does not happen in the soccer world. Much of this material is discussed on Back of THE NET (www.backofthenet.com) on the College Forum and High School threads. Perhaps I have hijacked this discussion long enough?

In my opinion (as a former player and current youth coach) there are a couple of things youth soccer does better than youth lacrosse:1) player passes with verified birth certificates that prevent any funny business, 2) age groups defined by birth year rather than graduation year, and 3) well trained and organized officiating.



However, Soccer's "Development Academies" don't sound to me like something we in the lacrosse world should emulate. Unless you are on track for National/Olympic team staus, wouldn't it be a shame to miss out on town/school teams that give you a chance to play with your local peers and play for town pride?

When you refer to "revenue potential," CageSage, surely you aren't talking about $$ for the player's benefit? I have read other forums here that claim that the "full ride" college scholarship doesn't exist for lacrosse. Also, the earning potential of a pro lax player is pretty limited. With the exception of the top players and coaches, not many people can earn their living through lacrosse. Lacrosse is not even an Olympic sport, where a gold medal might earn a player a spot on a Wheaties box (and a lucrative endorsement deal).

Perhaps the revenue you were talking about would be going into the Academy coffers?

No, we are referring to the revenue potential for the clubs themselves. As lacrosse expands to year round coverage, the premier clubs will continue to expand their programs because the revenue will be available to them. From there, premier lacrosse programs will further encroach on dates previously held in reserve for town/PAL teams. Hence, better players will be forced to choose between town teams and year-round club teams.

BOTC was not referring to revenue potential as student-athlete scholarships since, as you have correctly stated, the "full ride" is not a reality. Educating parents and players on the realities of NCAA Athletic Scholarships is one of the important functions provided by the College Forums on BOTC and our sister soccer site, BOTN.