Ladies and gentlemen for anyone who has played at the D1 level in college you go from being the big boy on campus to just another player as a freshmen. Competing against players for your position who could be as much as 4 to 5 years older than you. Do you have the work ethic, the mental toughness to last and make it? The luck to be injury free. I have known many players who were projected to be college studs and they have come no where close to meeting those projections. Then comes along a player that no one gave a second look at and they turn out to be an amazing college player. So if parents want to believe all the BS that Ty Xanders posts go right ahead. Most of his selections are good because these are the most heralded players in youth lacrosse. A lot changes from 9th grade to freshman year in college. Look at Rob Pannel, Smithtown to a PG year at Deerfield to Cornell. Only played varsity 3 years. Really peaked senior year and the PG at Deerfield. Would anyone consider Quinnipiac a major team? Nope. That's where he was headed after Smithtown. Please read and take these rankings for what they are, ways for Ty to get more hits to his website and make more money. Don't you think some of these elite programs have influence on who make the rankings. There a plenty of players who he has not seen and has no idea about. There are also those who don't play for teams like 91, Express, Dukes, and a few other Elite programs that are great players who will never get the recognition they deserve. Keep your kid grounded. School first and play lacrosse for the love of the game.
There is no doubt that what you say is 100% true, however, the ranking of HS players is no doubt a very interesting topic in the world of all sports, not just lacrosse. This is evidenced by the fact that everyone reads these lists and the thousands of opinions that are generated. Also, most of the people critical of these lists are the first ones to run to the websites to read them. LOL! Some of these kids that will be ranked will succeed and some won't. No revelation there. It's all entertainment folks! Not nearly as big of a world issue as some want to make it.
Exactly, and if those kids don't have the grades or scores when it is time to actually become admitted to college, they will be out of luck.
The lists are typically the most hyped players in the east, ignoring the kids who are breaking out in places like Colorado and California. I have a 2017 and have seen many a top 20 kid get beaten or scored on repeatedly by an unranked "nobody".
If your kid isn't ranked, all the better, why peak at freshman year?
Agree with most of what you say, however, just because kids are very good and ranked in freshman year doesn't mean they WON'T be very good when they are Srs. in HS or playing Div 1 lacrosse. There are many examples of kids who are great throughout their whole career as well as many who peaked early or who did not end up AA's. That is what makes it an interesting discussion for those who take all this too seriously. As with every class, we will all know in a few years.
Have been watching this game with mine since 3rd grade when the first PAL games began. I understand that some kids will get better and some kids will get worse, but most of the best kids have been the best kids since they started playing all those years ago--at least in our town.
The true athletes will remain as such and for a 9th grader that was recruited early, the odds are in his favor to remain the best. These D-1 coaches are not stupid, they are recruiting early for the best athletes knowing full well that the majority of the best athletes will remain as such.
Of course there will be kids that come into their own later, but speed and athleticism are gifts that can't be trained and learned. Stick skills on the other hand will certainly evolve with time.
