US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Crabs Lacrosse / Baltimore Lacrosse Club

There is no one on the Crabs 2020 team that is 15. All of the players are either 14 or 13, including the 6'1" midfielder.

Did anyone notice the scores in the tournaments when the Crabs 2020 played teams that were 2018 and 2019? They still won by a lot.

They must be playing B. Laxachuetts, Dukes and Leading Edge 2018 and 2019 would smoke the 2020 crabs.

Not from Maryland and I am not the original poster. My son's team played in Maryland 2 weekends ago in a u15 tournament. One of the players on one our opponent's teams had a yellow helmet. According to his parents, the Crabs told them that their son either had to reclass to 2021 or find another organization. They said they chose to find another organization. Seems like there is at least some truth to the accusation.

absolutely true, I know a kid who lost his position to a 2019 player who reclassed.

The poster who said "this is a complete lie you jackass", well he is the jackass. Crabs has a boatload of holdbacks, this is the way that sh#$%hole organization works. And if it was 2020 players last year who were told they need to reclass or find another team, well that is no other than Ryan M, the fat [lacrosse] crab daddy coach. It is a known fact that the present 2021 team has 5 holdbacks and 2 double holdbacks, I know one of the holdbacks. The only ones who come on this forum and deny that this is happening is either coaches/admin of Crabs or the parents who want to deny that their son is a holdback. The poster that stated that no one on present Crabs 2020 is 15 is most likely correct, it's just that a few are a few months of turning 15 and they will be 15 next spring. Again, if this isn't true Crabs should show their rosters, names excluded, just show date of birth. Crabs is a pos organization, all for the $$$.

Its fall ..I still am surprised that no one is 15 yet..But give it a few months and they will start turning 15 and by next Spring and Summer your statement will be completely false..They will have plenty of kids 15...All the prefirst kids will be 15 on 2020..And spare me they are only summer birthdays. We all know better... And in Crab land it is optimal for 15 year old kids to play against 13 and 14 year old kids..RM said that is the Crab way,,,

And exactly what tournaments were those ?? 18's lol

By next summer all will be 14 or close to it. If it was still U15 would there be a controversy? There wasn't when my older kids were in 8th grade and playing U15 a few years ago. Pre-first and reclassing aren't new inventions. At some point if your kid is tracking to be an impact HS player and potentially a college player you should let go of your hang-ups about playing with and against kids a year or even some close to 2 years older. He probably doesn't care unless you put it in his head. BTW my kids are public school kids, No hold back and never Crabs.

So if everyone went with US lacrosse age guidelines then all of the crabs would be u15 eligible and no one would have any grounds to complain. That is the best argument I have seen for age based youth lacrosse.

When you get to high school and college, no one cares. As long as you meet the age requirements and are good enough, you play on the same field regardless of holdbacks or not. Plenty of playbacks fizzle out when the younger kids grow at age 15 or 16. If your kid is good enough, he'll be a star, if not, he won't. If you're a can't miss star in a top high school league, a college coach will find you.

And it surprises you that the parent had a reason why their son was no longer on Crabs other than they found someone better? Always easier to point fingers

No is saying that there aren't holdbacks. The argument is that someone posted that 4 kids from last year's 2020 team were told they had to reclass and that 2 did and the other 2 left. If this was true, there would be two kids on this years' 2021 team that were on last years' 2020 team. There are no kids on the 2021 team that were on 2020 last year. Therefore, what was posted is an outright lie.

It is not a known fact that there are 5 holdbacks on 2021 and 2 double holdbacks. That is absolutely a false statement.

great point! but keep the different ages playing each other to high school and college.

plus in high school kids generally play up, not down. you don't see 11th graders playing on the freshman teams do you?

Of course at YOUTH level age based is the best for grouping. But 2020 is U14 and many Crabs are U15 age..so RM gets his advantage...Majority of Crabs play down at youth level.

This is about Crabs and there players playing down at youth level. At least at 15 it starts to somewhat even out do to puberty.But even then older kids are usually better. But at 9, 10, 11..There is a big difference between a bunch of 11 year old players and 10 .. And if the older player gets on better teams, and better coaching along with more playing time...that is an advantage that carries thru. The majority of kids are in a certain range of ability. That older year makes a difference in the way they are played in their small youth career.. The true great ability players will surpass the holdbacks..but the majority, the one older year makes a difference. Most MIAA teams are loaded with First Year college Freshman...Well are loaded with seniors in HS who were held back at one time in school.

You miss the point of many posters. The problem most people have is playing down with all these holdbacks/reclassify at YOUTH level. it is not in the spirit of youth athletics,,Get your advantage when you get to your school. Whether that be MS or HS, youth sports was not meant to give a select group of children a advantage, Yet that is what is happening now...A select group and only a select group gets to play down ...

There may not be anyone who is 15 on the 2020 Crabs right now. But in January there will be at least 1. And by May 1 there will be a whole bunch. And by August 31 most of the team will be. Actually, I would love to know what % of this team is actually "not reclassed" and my definition of reclassed is (for the year 2020) the player would have to have been born AFTER 8/31/01.

Do you really wake up every day at 5 am, waiting to write anonymous posts railing against kids who have repeated a grade?

You realize that college coaches couldn't care less, right? Whatever helps you get through the day.

If you are a can't miss high school star as a junior, every coach did miss you and it is too late.

I understand why people reclassify their kid to audition well in 8th or 9th grades. i have sons, two are older now. The physical difference between 15 year old and 13 year old school boys is enormous. It is a much bigger difference than later in high school or early in college when boys have ended the steep part of their physical growth period.

What I don't understand is the supply side. Using academy soccer as a long history guide, picking early teen winners is a losing bet. Academy soccer has an abysmal track record and one that has NCAA soccer coaches complaining and changing their methods of recruiting. Lacrosse isn't as seasoned or sophisticated yet, but it is very obvious now with the 2016 and 2017 classes that early recruiting did one thing well: identify the most advanced early teens. Those same kids aren't the best high school upperclass players.

If this really is survival of the fittest like Crabs owner believes, the market will correct and slice out the early kids who fizzled once the age advantage lessens into the later teens.

I really hate how youth lacrosse is driven to what the college coaches think or could care a less about. There is too much emphasis on appealing to and appeasing the college coaches. How about enjoying the game and competition for what it is - a game! The arguement by parents of holdbacks that the college coaches don't care about holdbacks as a justification for screwing over tne non-holdbacks is nauseating. Yes, it does adversely impact a good on age player that is now a role player simply because the kid in front of him is a year more advanced. If there is an advantage to one kid, that means there is a disadvantage to the other kid. Simply put - I am gaming the system because I can. Yes, the current rules allow it, but it is wrong. The only valid arguement for holding a kid back is to give him an advantage. Don't say it does not matter and that the college coaches don't care. You are clearly gaming the system for an advantage because you can.

Low point for me was listening to a club coach giving college recruiting and college planning advice to my son's 8th grade club team. This coach is an Ivy grad living with his parents asking some of the team dads about day jobs he could send a resume in for.

My wife made a comment she wished our son liked another sport more. Never heard the term swimmer bros or wresting bros before.

This thread is really getting out of control. It is full of falsehoods perpetuated by people with misinformation. Any bit of attempt at setting the record straight seems to be met with more angry misinformation and pettiness.

But it is pretty scary to see how crazed people get when their team loses or their kid gets cut.

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No money in in pro or college lax. If you kid is not playing for fun then he should not play. Playing for scholarships is crazy. Your son can have fun playing lax and not have any issues with holdback at the club level or tournament level. The solution is to not play for clubs or go to tournaments that these clubs go to. It is well known the top clubs in the country (crabs, madlax, Laxachuses, team 91, Leading Edge, and many more) do this. Have you club play tournaments that these teams are not in. These teams are pray on the week parents who are chasing money that does not exist. Merit money exists at the DII and DIII level. I enjoy the banter of this forum as the crazy parents all think little junior is a d1 player. When he gets to college and has to eat breath and live lax, try to keep is grades up and you have a 1/5 scholarship, reality will sink in. I do appreciate the banter as it help with alleviate the stress of my job. Happy Thanksgiving. Please keep complaining. Love it.

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Feeding the trolls is not permitted

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Disgusting diatribe.

Knock it off.

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Uggh. Looks like I missed some good stuff. Damn work.

Has the 2020 crabs team scrimmaged against the 2019 team this fall? If so, what was the score?

Not sure how I was "railing against kids" pointing out birthdays is really not a big deal, everyone has one😝 to me it is super silly to play down. I am of the thought that if you are good enough you play up. I also would be super worried if my kid looked like a stud at this age and he was older, because you don't know if they look like a stud because they are older, or are they really a stud. I guess time will tell. If your only goal is to be recruited at an early age then holding back your son sounds like a great idea. However, I want my son to be recruited later, so he really knows how he will fit into a team. I also put lots of emphasis on my son getting top grades and repeating a grade doesn't fit with that.

Oh, and the board is my amusement before I go to work, which is why I posted that at 5:00AM. Apparently I missed some heated exchanges yesterday! LOL

Darn - looks like I missed the car crash. What happened? Birth dates posted?

They scrimmaged themselves, they are the same team

Well if 2019 was involved, then there were likely kids that were 2018's and even 2017's at one point in there youth career...

the answer is no despite the pithy relplies

My son played for 2 Aa teams In Baltimore. He had a great time meeting new kids and good coaches. Great group. After high school and college no one cares where you played or how many goals your boy got.
Lax is kinda like high school football 20 years ago. Parents are wrapped in this nonsense, then no one cares after the child of the sport. I was one of those wrapped up parents.
Club owners love us wrapped up types.
Focus on academics and diversifying into other activities.

^^^^This guy is smart!!!

Most players I've spoken to (those not coaching for a living) have mixed feelings about the time commitments of D1 and high level D3 lacrosse, even those who have won national championships and been AAs.

I've encouraged my boys to use lacrosse to get them into a great academic college (D1 or D3). If your kid enjoys the grind of collegiate lacrosse, keep playing. If not, focus on academics, career development and have fun.

In high school, teach them to play life long sports: ski, tennis, golf. Participate in a play or join the debate club. Being a laxbro is not a vocation or even a desirable life style.