most, if not all the time, an 8th or 9th grader playing varsity anything speaks to the weakness of the program
. Really because Mt. Sinai was one goal away from a tie in finals in states. And that team had several 8th graders. Who started. Wouldn't call that a weak program. This year St. Anthonys is taking several 9th graders on their varsity team. They are ranked 3rd I believe. Sometimes girls are talented. And younger girls re catching up.
I think it shows that even though lacrosse seems popular , it is still a small sport that has not permeated into society. Talent is concentrated in a few areas that play. That's why you see teams that look like dynasties. Let's face it , as good as these teams are it is a bit of a fraud to say they have a monopoly on athletes. You dont see State titlist's with multiple 8th graders in other sports.
The difference is that there is much more training at the youth level noe. By the time the girls are in middle school, as long as they are good enough physically they are able to compete. In the past the girls were getting the training when they got to the High School level.
Plus in most cases the training from many of the camps, clinics and travel teams, is often far superior to many school programs. Many school programs are a joke, even some apparently successful school programs are more a reflection of the number of well trained travel girls they have. Same thing can be said about most PAL town teams.
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