US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Greater Howard Club Lacrosse Conference (HoCo)

Its called a PG year post graduate. IMG, Hun school all have a PG year system. With a quick search I found 140 school in the US that have PG as a option. I am guessing most have lacrosse.

Brown does a TON of early recruiting. What are you talking about?

You are correct Brown has 1 verbal in the 2019 class and they have 7 verbals in the 2018 class. And just for kicks they have 7 verbals also in the 2017 class. So it looks like they are smart and leave spots of 6 more kids or so later on. Not like Maryland and JHU witch have already filled there 2019 class with 11 or so kids.

Is it an option to not play your senior year if you have a verbal? Do some kids just skip sports their senior year and keep grades up?

The majority of lacrosse players are not going to Wall Street to make 125K - the majority of them are going to work at a Lax store.

No. My son doesn't play up. He is on age for his grade. He plays with his grade. All the clubs, leagues, tournaments are grade based. I don't think it's right for 16 year olds to be in 8th grade, but the fact that they are doesn't bother me. My point was that the boys have been playing with older kids their whole lives. When did that become detrimental to them? If a parent wants to shell out the extra 28k-60k for an extra year or two of MIAA schools, that's their prerogative and really none of my business. I do think it hurts people's egos if their son can't make one of the elite teams because of holdbacks. It doesn't really matter in the long run though. Good players will be found if the parents are proactive and they are playing in the proper tournaments. College Coaches don't care who wins.

I find it difficult to understand how a parent can allow their child to repeat multiple grades in order to appear superior to the on age kids they are playing against. Like all competitive youth sports lacrosse should be age based. The current model is not working properly, US Lacrosse knows it, the College coaches know it and the majority of parents know it.

"Not working". Are you really that stupid? It is working just fine for the kids and the parents that are going with the flow and not resisting the current early recruiting landscape.. Do you not understand that it's all about roster spots being filled early? Your little Johnny may be a stud by the time he reaches 11th grade and there just might not be a spot for him at his dream school "Duke, UNC etc". Ok ok ..yes some schools leave a few spots open for the rare "Phenom" but the odds are not in your favor at that point. The decision makers on the sidelines this summer don't care how old all the boys are in the 2020 class. All they care about is who (relative to the other kids they are competing against) is the most athletic, most skilled player that will fit best into their program. Fact! Embrace it, don't fight it!

Actually, it's not working and the coaches know it (and most parents kids know it as well). If it is working so well, why have both the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association and the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association both approved a measure requesting that the NCAA ban any communication between college coaches and an athlete and her family before Sept. 1 of the athlete's junior year in high school.

Imagine all the planning and extra tuition dollars (for another year of middle school) that come to naught if this ban is adopted by the NCAA and eighth/ninth grade verbal commitments are banned.

Is this the fat crab himself writing this drivel or a Crab parent trying to make himself feel good about his gaming of the system? If a kid in the 11th grade is total stud - your verbal won't mean a damn thing if your taking the 11th grader's spot. All they care about is who (relative to the other kids they are competing against) is the most athletic, most skilled player that will fit best into their program.

Actually, college coaches are starting to ask the age of the kids. They are becoming more and more aware that a kid that is just older (and looks like a total stud) isn't the same thing as an "on age" stud. Plus, how embarrassing for the kid that is held back and looks amazing now, but he ends up on campus and never contributes because he really isn't that great. So odd to me that parents/kids even think this is a good idea.

Once again it is " my son can do it so why shouldn't everyone..And if it works for me, the heck with the rest of you. And by the way, because your son didnt make the team your ego is hurt, " You are a apologist for an unfair system that rewards select children. And most are in the private schools of Maryland. So as long as it is OK for your son, all is fine in your blinded world.

You create constant straw man arguments and then move on to a new one once you are called out. Now its " if private school parents shell out money , none of our business", Who said anything about that?? Just you! And who cares if kids are sixteen in 8th grade, Only You!. The rest care that the 16 year old is allowed to play against 13-14 year olds.

You must be a private school parent or a wanta be. Only in the private school world is it ok to have this many kids heldback and then use this advantage over younger children. Yea, Character education matters in the private schools.

I said in my original post that my son does go to an MIAA school but is on age. My question is, what are the repercussions of these disadvantages that you think the kids are facing? Is it bad for them to learn to compete against or play with bigger kids? Does it stunt or enhance their development as lacrosse players? My point is, the only disadvantage that they face is that they may not win as much which is completely pointless in middle school anyway. The number of holdbacks is completely blown out of proportion. With the exception of crabs, teams have 3 or 4 max. That leaves 20 roster spots on all these AA teams. So what is the problem? Again I think it bruises the ego me of the parents that their kid doesn't win a championship they can brag about, or they didn't make one of these 20 available roster spots per team and they don't get to wear Crabs, FCA, etc swag.

For top teams from metro areas (outside of LI), I'd say the number of kids born before 9/1 is more like 5-10 per team.

I don't know that it's about winning. It's a race to the bottom, where for any particular kid it's probably a good decision to start school late or repeat a year, whether athletically or academically, but I'm not sure it's great overall. In any event, lacrosse-wise, we all want to see kids do well because they work hard on their game, versus play against younger kids.

Once the kid is in high school I don't really care how old he is - at that point - most kids - except for some late blooming freshmen will have hit puberty. I do have a problem with kids that should be in the 10th grade - who have hit puberty - playing against on age 7th and 8th grade kids in a youth lacrosse program. Its dangerous, its unfair and a return to grade based classification with an end of early recruiting would seriously curtail the need/desire of parents to have their kid repeat a grade.

It is certainly not common to have 5-10 kids born prior to 9/1. It is on Crabs but not the other teams. More like 3 or 4 as I said. That leaves plenty of roster spots on the 12 Elite/AA teams for on age kids. Is the issue that your kid is on one of these teams and don't think it "fair" to play teams with more older kids than you have? Or is it that your kid wasn't able to take one of the over 200 spots that are available on these Elite/AA teams that are currently held by one age players?

My issue is the teams (Crabs) that make reclassification an integral part of developing their roster. Their 2020 team has sixteen year olds playing for an 8th grade team. The audacity to put a 16 year old on the field with 13 year olds is mind blowing. I just don't get how people can think this is OK.

My kid is on age and plays for an elite team. I am just tired of the shenanigans.

Wait till you get to HS. Specially public schools. The politics and BS are much more than this Middle School stuff. Settle back and drink a beer. This middle school lax will pass. Make sure your son is having fun. No money in Lacrosse my friend. Keep those grades up.

The audacity to put an 8th grader on the 8th grade team? Their parents had them repeat grades, not the club. Why are you not ok with it? They lost 2 games this spring. Is your son at some sort of disadvantage playing against them if he is on one of the other elite teams(which have holdbacks as well)?

putting a 15 or 16 year old on an 8th grade team is wrong. the may be in 8th grade, but physical he is much more mature. this is the issue with grade based teams.

You cannot be serious? They repeated grades for one reason - because the Crabs owner told them to do so. A kid born in March of 2000 should not be in the 8th grade. 20 years old when they graduate high school.

Yes. My kid and every other on age kid are at a disadvantage. Is that so hard to comprehend? Please don't pretend that all the other elite teams even come close to Crabs in the number of holdbacks in the lineup. The only 2020/21 line up that will change for the summer is the Crabs. All the weak/younger players on to the 2020 team will now magically appear on the 2021 team.

Crabs lost two games and squeaked by a few others for one reason - they aren't that good. Without their holdbacks they wouldn't even be competitive.

Crabs 2020 lost quite a few very good players due to the holdbacks. to say they wouldn't be competitive is wrong, they wouldn't be on par with Looney's Orange or probably Hawks but they would be on par FCA and probably better than 91 Plat.

Y'all need to move on and get a life about your obsession with Crabs 2020. In about another month middle school lacrosse will be over for the 2020 boys. Only the strong will survive in high school and your grade based whining will render itself irrelevant. As a matter of fact you might want to go down to Walmart and pick yourself out a pair big boy pants for high school.

Crab parent

thanks crabby daddy, how did it feel when your 16 year old got beat by kids half his size and 2 years younger?

Ha! It must have hurt. Fat Crab looked like he was about to burst.

Neither of the 16 year old kids repeated grades because Crabs told them to as they repeated them in elementary school(and went to prefirst). Unless RM is trolling BL's lower school looking for big 3rd graders this lies solely on the parents. If they came to Looneys tryouts or FCA do you think those programs would have turned them away? Of course not.

This myth that Crabs tells parents that their kids need to repeat grades is just that. I'm sure someone will come on here and say they "know" someone that RM told that to, but it just doesn't happen. The parents are the ones that drive this as they feel it gives their child an advantage. And in the case of the two double holdbacks, they were done in elementary school for academic reasons. Worry about your own kids. I'm sorry you feel that your son is at a disadvantage. Maybe your son should get used to it as that's what life is.

Crabs definitely does tell parents that their kids need to stay back in order to play Crabs the following season.

BS that Crabs does not encourage you to reclassify. Of course they do. Academic reasons - sure - whatever. There are more than two double holdbacks on Crabs. Keep on drinking the Kool-Aid.

Crabs supports the parents if that's what they choose to do. There's a big difference. The club does not tell kids that they need to repeat a grade to stay on the team. That has never happened.

There are 2 double holdbacks on Crabs at any grade. They are both on 2020. And they both repeated grades in elementary school for academic reasons. You can say anything you want, it doesn't make it true.

What about the good on age player that is bumped down the food chain because of the number of holdbacks on the team? An unfair advantage for one kid is a unfair disadvantage for another kid. Don't reply with that lame response that my kid must suck, because he was good enough to play for the aforementioned teams, good enough to start as a freshman for his HS varsity team, and good enough to commit to a good mid-level D1 program as a sophomore. How are the 10 on age Crabs kids / parents going to feel when they are told / asked to reclassify if they have any hopes of making the team this Fall? Yes - there are some victims due to the selfish behaviors of those that can.

Crabs supports/Crabs encourages - there is no difference. The bottom line is teams roster is built around holdbacks. Its the way fat crab rolls. Just own it.

How many kids are 16 or are turning 16 by the end of 2016 on the Crabs 2020 team?

How many kids on the 2020 team will be 20 years old when they graduate HS?

How many kids on the 2020 team will be ineligible to play in the MIAA their Senior year because they are too old?

How many 2020 players will be on the 2021 team next year?

That is pure BS, Crabs does indeed suggest that kids repeat.
How about the middie on Crabs 2020 that goes to BL. On his mothers Facebook page it shows a picture of him, first day of 7th grade at Severn School, picture taken 8/2013. Another picture of him and his mother taken 12/2015 with him behind the wheel of the family car, mom in the passenger seat. He played for Crabs since at least 2013 and for the spring of 2014 and 2015 he played for Crabs 2019 team, yet this spring he is on Crabs 2020. Not sure when he transferred to BL from Severn and not sure what grade he is in at BL presently but this kid is older and if he has an early birthday he is most likely 16 years old. I have heard from both present and former Crab parents that Ryan McClernan does indeed suggest that players hold back and repeat a grade and here is a good example. RM is tight with BL and all of a sudden this kid is at BL from Severn School. And he lives in Pasadena. Md. And please Crab fans, don't even suggest he was playing up because that is not true and would be pure BS. I would not mention the players name, that would not be right.

As a parent of am on age carbs player, you know the deal when you start playing there. If my son gets cut in 8th grade for a holdback, or just b cause someone better on age shows up, he'll go somewhere else. Don't sign up if you aren't willing to deal with that possibility.

What is the problem?? And it is all about ego?? That is your response?
This is about all Maryland youth club lacrosse and what goes on in it.This isnt a private school club world where only private school prefirst kids get the advantage. But that is where all your thinking comes from. You can tell by your constant cheerleading for these kids playing down.

You must have bought what is taught to the prefirst kids about them being the leaders of their future grade. That may be the case in the private school environment, but to the rest of Maryland it is BS. Most people including many in private schools feel getting an advantage over other children in youth sports due to being held back is wrong. Every parent does what they think is right for child when it comes to their education, but you dont get an advantage over the same age children in the public area for this.

You say what is wrong with playing older children, it makes you better and they are in your grade Right?..But you want other children to play against much older children out of their age bracket. So in grade OK..Out of age bracket Not OK..You are a Hypocrite and an apologist for holdback mentality in youth lacrosse.

That is pure BS, Crabs does indeed suggest that kids repeat.
How about the middie on Crabs 2020 that goes to BL. On his mothers Facebook page it shows a picture of him, first day of 7th grade at Severn School, picture taken 8/2013. Another picture of him and his mother taken 12/2015 with him behind the wheel of the family car, mom in the passenger seat. He played for Crabs since at least 2013 and for the spring of 2014 and 2015 he played for Crabs 2019 team, yet this spring he is on Crabs 2020. Not sure when he transferred to BL from Severn and not sure what grade he is in at BL presently but this kid is older and if he has an early birthday he is most likely 16 years old. I have heard from both present and former Crab parents that Ryan McClernan does indeed suggest that players hold back and repeat a grade and here is a good example. RM is tight with BL and all of a sudden this kid is at BL from Severn School. And he lives in Pasadena. Md. And please Crab fans, don't even suggest he was playing up because that is not true and would be pure BS. I would not mention the players name, that would not be right. [/quote]

Mentioning his name wouldn't be right but you are stalking his mom's Facebook page? You're insane. Get a life. Quit the "I heard" and stalking moms of 8th graders.

If your kid needs to be held back twice for academic reasons, he/she should probably spend less time on the bounce back and more time in the library.

How am I a hypocrite? I see no problem with my son or any other boy playing other boys a year or two older than they are. If their parents want to pay for it good for them. Why does it upset you so? You have the same option if you chose to do so. If you want to reclass your kid at a private school they will let you. We are talking about 7th and 8th grade lacrosse. Call me an apologist all you want. You constantly whining is ridiculous. I'm sorry you feel like it's only fair for your son to play against kids the exact same age as him. The travesty it must be for him to do otherwise. You must be so proud of his courage to step on the field with the other kids in his grade that are older than he is. Your constant railing about the advantage for a select few MIAA kids is a useless crusade. Get over it or tell your club you won't play til they ban holdbacks. See how that works out.

Wait. Are you saying kids who don't make an Elite or AA club lacrosse team are victims? I can agree that youth lacrosse should be by age or at least some age parameters to grade. But victim? Maybe start a movement and protest at the next tournament

Not sure which is weirder: that you actually are investigating and stalking teenage boys, or that you aren't embarrassed to admit it publicly.

Freak.