Hey there. LI parent here. 91 is a very strong program at every level; however, their 2020 Crush team and their 2023 Bandit team are on another level. The coach is a lunatic (also coaches NY Lizards, the reining MLL champs, and Stony Brook Women's Lacrosse, currently #5 in the country) but he gets results. The team has probably swapped out 10-12 players since 2nd grade and always upgraded with 2 or 3 every season, so it not like they have all been playing together forever. LI has a very large pool of really good players and, with a few exceptions, he gets his pick every year. There are some very good kids that won't go there because they would be fighting for playing time.

I know some people were talking about cost, but the cost for the Bandits is no more than any other top-their LI team. You get what you pay for. Their are probably 25 options for club lax on the 2023 level. The top 10 all cost the same (aside from travel expenses... some travel more than others). But they all practice twice a week in fall and winter. I would say Bandits, Warriors, Express A, Shore2Shore and Igloo are the top clubs. Then you have teams like Leg a Sea, Empire, Outlaws, Express B, True Blue and Igloo B (new club) that are below them. Then there is a ton of new or smaller clubs that may be better fits for developing player and parents who want to play locally. All of those clubs, even the developmental ones, have good players. Most have st least one stud player.

You need to understand how crazy lax is here. People buy their houses and settle into towns based on their varsity lax coach/program. That's not even a joke! Phili has talent, but it's still new there. Every dad in your area is not getting his kid a lax stick for his 3rd birthday. Grandfathers aren't taking their grandkids out to their back yards to shoot 100 righty and 100 lefty.

As long as the boys are having fun, don't worry about wins and losses. If your team is good, like BL, Sons, Dukes, etc) and you're losing, then it means you're playing the right teams. That's how you get better. Bandits and Crush play up very often.