Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous

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.


If you are not at the top of your game and and on a top club at 8th grade you chances are less than 10-20% of going D1. Do some make it. Yes, but that is the minority. Keep saying it doesnt matter and you have time.
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I didn't start playing until my Jr year and ended up on the Cuse National champ team. All players are different and with new clubs exploding out in the West thinking these Md/Va top clubs are the only way into DI you are dead wrong. Show us these stats you speak of - or did you just make them up on the spot to make it sound like you know what you are talking about. [/quote]

What he is really trying to convince us it that his kid being on a top club in 8th grade means the kid has a 80%-90% chance of being D1. He's not counting on blokes like yourself that come out of nowhere. Or the kids on Tx or Fl that aren't quite D1 football athletes but are far superior athletically to the average AA 8th grader player Hoco this spring.
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Nor apparently does he care or give consideration to the fact that a great academic pairing for his son's athletic abilities might be at a DII or DIII school. Academics seem to ALMOST be a forgotten consideration on this board. Playing lacrosse, though tons of fun, and MIGHT give you an assist to get into a college/university that you might otherwise be a marginal consideration for, will not pay the bills! You can expect you little D1 millennial to keep up residence in the family home after the conclusion of his "successful" D1 career at say "Canisius" by way of example. No knock on Canisius, but it is no Carnegie Mellon -- oh wait, Carnegie Mellon though a top rated engineering and computer sciences school doesn't even field a men's lacrosse team. Sorry son, they might train you to put the next man on mars, find a cure for cancer, or provide the data administration to the world's most dynamic companies -- but MY dream (I mean YOUR dream) is to play lacrosse at a D1 school! Never forget that, son.[/quote]


Not everyone forgets about edumecation. My son has strait A's. As a two year holdback he can now practically teach the classes. :p