I would say 1 division 10 teams play everyone once and 9 games top 6 make playoffs make 1 and 2 get a bye and 3 to 6 have quarter final
No way there are 9 games. Only played 6 last year. Who cares about HoCo anyway? The kids almost all play 5 days a week at school. Some clubs use the spring to get ready for summer and others take it far more seriously. Too much is made of spring results.
You clearly have no clue regarding 8th grade lacrosse. Middle school lacrosse is intramural in nature. Everyone plays and most schools don't care about winning and losing. Harco (with the demise of the NPYLL) is now the only game in town. Everyone takes it seriously. Summer tournaments are great but the reality is, folks go on vacation and/or play in showcases. As such, you never know if a team is at full strength. Aside from illnesses and injuries, most teams are playing with a full roster (save the super regional national teams like the Dukes) in the Spring.
Sorry to break it to you, but not everyone takes it seriously. Families don't go no vacation during Crab Feast and other tournaments like that. And clubs would much rather say they won a tournament then a HoCo game. LI clubs don't even have a spring league. A win over LIE, Igloo, 91, PrimeTime are much more gratifying then playing Hawks, FCA, Crabs, DCE, etc over and over.
You're right, not everyone does. Most club coaches (for the top club programs) ask that families hold off on vacations until late July or early August. That's a reality among the top clubs. No, middle school intramural games really don't matter and often reinforce bad habits. Of course beating top OCC opponents matter but not any more than beating a strong local rival.
The reality is 8th grade lacrosse really matters developmentally. Let me tell you why...kids are starting to hit or come out of puberty. You can tell by the 10th grade for 90% of the boys (there are always outliers) who's D1 material or not. How much a boy develops in 8th grades directly impacts whether he makes a F/S, JV or Varsity team as a freshman. Why do you think the top local high school coaches are out at the top 8th grade club games? Because it doesn't matter? Where a boy is slotted in 9th grade often has a direct impact as to his progression. Am I saying an obvious superstar can't leapfrog a bunch of laxers...of course they can but all else being equal higher level generally means better training and competition. Keep deluding yourself that nothing really matters....its like when a coach tells you don't worry because you're not being evaluated...you're always being evaluated.
