I'm not saying that there are no A players. There are plenty. Just spread out over a lot of different teams. There are very few true A 23 teams. Unless you can be competitive with 91 Bandits - seriously compete - then you are not an A team. If you can't sit at the table with serious teams from LI or MD then you are just filler for brackets. Just because a coach put a team in an A bracket doesn't mean they are an A team.
There are 4 to 4 teams in the country that can "seriously compete" with 91 Bandits. Let's be realistic..
In order to beat them, you have to play them and learn what it takes. While the NJ teams are not beating teams like 91 Bandits, some are closing the gap. While lacrosse has been prevalent in the Northeast for a long time, its been a religion in Maryland and Long Island for just as long, so the pool of players is much larger. As the town rec. programs grow in NJ, so will the pool of talented players who will migrate to club lacrosse.
Not sure I want my son's team to be be a sparring partner for the 91 Bandits. I would rather have them winning fights in a lower weight class against teams with similar coaching and training schedules. Just my opinion.
Disagree, you are the type of parent this is making our next generation weak. They need to understand the talent and commitment that is required to be the best. Bandits are not walking out 5'10" holdbacks.
The bigger NJ issue is too many teams, not enough A players. It will never happen but there needs to be consolidation of talent within areas of NJ. Blue Star, NJLC, Turnpike, Tri State & Leading Edge all fighting for the same 25 "A" players in one area of NJ. Kid plays for Leading Edge then moves to Blue Star because the parents think the grass is greener. One club needs to rise above, or maybe 4 clubs one in each area.
Yes, could not agree more. There are clubs that do very well serving the B level players and fill the role of development programs, this is a great step for the kid transitioning from town rec. to travel. On the other hand, there are programs, some mentioned above, that are more focused on developing a national presence, this is why they enter tournaments with teams such as 91 Bandit, Annapolis Hawks and the like. Unfortunately, all of these clubs are businesses and they rely on paying customers, therefore you have A kids on B clubs and vice versa. If the clubs were to look at the big picture, they would see that there could be a redistribution that gets B players onto B teams and A players on to A teams. Unfortunately, this will never happen, because the clubs have the mindset that they need to compete for players by claiming that they compete at the highest level. If your kid is on a team that is a "sparring partner" for clubs like 91 Bandits, then the club is not playing at the right level. On the other hand despite what some may think, there are several NJ teams that are playing and competing in top level tournaments. While they may finish in the middle of the pack because of teams like 91 Bandits, they are also beating some very reputable programs.,and keeping the games with teams such as 91 Bandits respectable. I have absolutely no issue with my kid going out and playing the Team 91s of the world, it builds character every time that they play and the gap narrows.
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