US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NEW JERSEY LACROSSE NEW JERSEY FORUM Top Boy's Club Teams in New Jersey

Just saw LE 2024 only scored 16 goals in 4 games at NLF, yikes

Despite what you may think, and what your club coach tells you, college coaches do not just follow the NLF teams around.. plenty of coaches at Pinnacle in Md. this past weekend, NAL will be loaded this coming weekend.

Look harder. More than 2.

Pinnacle had a ton.

We were at Pinnacle this weekend. Great tourney. Maryland Soccerplex all grass fields that looked like golf fairways. Only complaint is traffic getting to and out of the fields. Gaithersburg boardwalk was nice to get all the teams together. Good competition for all levels. '24 AA champtionship bracket was very competitive.

What does “prep school intentions” mean? Reclass?

It’s the latest loophole in recruiting. Kids will play down a year so they look like studs, while saying they plan to do a post grad year. Then when they are Juniors they can start talking to coaches and see if the post grad year is really worth it.

So it’s basically gaming the system without the actual cost of reclassing. It’s pretty embarrassing and shady for clubs that allow it.

A couple of years ago, the benefit of reclassing was massive with D1 schools offering freshmen and even 8th graders. As you get older, the age advantage diminishes significantly. I would like to think parents aren’t actively gaming the system so that their child looks like a top tier middle schooler.

However, I do believe we are going to see an increase of players choosing to reclass. With the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility due to covid, there are going to be fewer roster spots available and subsequently less scholarship money. I hope it doesn’t become like ice hockey where 2+ years between HS and college become a near necessity.

Not really sure how its a recruiting “loophole.” Coaches aren’t watching the younger classes like they used to. To go to a college coach on September 1st and say “Hey I’ve been playing 24s heres my film, take me in your 23 class” well its idiotic.

Post-grads, repeats, gap years etc are all here to stay. I genuinely hope the players who choose to do so end up with a greater opportunity than they could have before.

Sounds pretty nonstunard

BBL Tryouts today!

As noted above, the big advantage is being able to talk to coaches before 9/1, and yes, it is a way to gauge whether a PG year is worth it without the commitment. A current 2023 that is entering senior year in high school can shop himself at prospect camps all summer and talk to the coaches, other 23s are off limits until 9/1.

Word is Leading Edge 2024 is gonna blow up. Kids who are good are leaving for BBL & Tristate. They won’t be left with much if true.

Not true

If my son was a top player on LE I would be an stunad to have him leave. Their top players consistently get recruited by top college programs.

So does those other clubs. Why not go where your team will play in the winners bracket on Sunday, which is where the college coaches are? No one watches the consolation games which is where Leading Edge now lives.

I’m not sure any of them are good enough to play for those other clubs.

The difference is they used to have 10-15 top kids. Now it’s 4-5.

If I’m 4-5 I probably still stay put. Just saying…

How is no one talking about the breaking news today!!!!! BBL taking over team turnpike!! What a moveee!! Oh my gosh turnpike is such a great opportunity for them to really get a strong hold on all of that talent!!


Cha Ching Cha Ching. Ring those registers! Bubble rent is due !

Who is the VC behind BBL acquisitions or are they getting these clubs in a fire sale?

No current 2024 LE players are leaving, none, 1 kid quit mid season and went to BBL and that's it. No one else will leave, period. People have to stop with the fake news.

This past weekend.. NLF- LE in consolation bracket (they won 1 game? the entire tournament). Pinnacle- Tristate and BBL in winners bracket. Tristate looked good. They gave Mad Dog National a good fight.

NJ clubs needed consolidation. It was just a matter of time. BBL National will field a strong team from entire state. This is good for NJ Lax.

Yea that is a tough go for sure. I know they have a couple key injured players but that’s no excuse. I would not be surprised if some talented players were at tryouts though. I am also hearing a pretty significant player is making a move to LE. Time will tell, that’s for sure.

This is not good for NJ lax, nor is it good for BBL when kids jump ship because they do not make the "elite" team. BBL has a good program, not sure why they think that this is s a good move. There will be many unhappy parents and players on the perceived "B" teams. I saw BBL 2024 play at Pinnacle last weekend, the team is very good, seems like BBL can be competitive with their existing model.

Exactly, and why is the Turnpike deal such a great opportunity. Turnpike is a decent program, but I do not think that it is loaded with elite-level talent. If anything, it will be good for the other NJ clubs, kids will end up leaving BBL because they are not on the best BBL team., and if BBL is as disorganized as some have suggested on this forum, the exodus will be pretty quick. My kid has been playing long enough that I have a pretty good handle on the top kids in his class, none of them are on Turnpike.

Not justifying LE crappy play but Pinnacle and NLF are not at the same level. The top 4 teams at Pinnacle are good, the rest not so much. Are you sure that Mad Dog National had their top kids or were they playing for WCS this weekend?

I tend to agree. It very well can water down the brand that they have built. Almost like what happened to tri state years back when they started expanding and having too many teams.

You can't stop Walmart from putting up stores! The Walton family needs to make money. BBL following the same model.

I think the above poster had some sarcasm when speaking about how great of an opportunity it is. Everyone on here knows that turnpike essentially means nothing in the NJ club world.

What’s Pinnacle? Isn’t that a golf ball brand?

In hindsight, I suspect that you are correct...you just never know considering half of the nonsense that you read on this forum. At least with United, BBL got right into a market with an established club and a marketable last name.

There's nothing one can do about it bec every single team is in the same situation (injuries, etc). With your logic, Eclipse would've should've won NLF if they had all their players (which I know for a fact they had injuries). 91 claims they were missing players and won. Now what?

Kids from North and Turnpike are not even close to the same level as BBL Black. Some United kids depending on the age may find a place on that National team, but they are dangling the promise of a National team to the United, North, Helix and Turnpike parents but in the end it will be mostly Black kids and maybe one or two from the other programs.

At least Leading Edge kept a separate name from all the other Team 91 New Jersey teams. BBL product will be diluted and as many people will think of them as a B level program and not an elite program.

You're seriously talking about name of the club as if it matters? what is this place? let's keep it somewhat real.

Comparing winners and losers brackets from different tournaments is absolutely ridiculous. Recruiting goes far beyond a single quantifiable metric.

Here's a question for discussion, why do (roughly) equally talented players on two separate club teams have hugely different recruiting experiences?

I'm curious as to everyone's thoughts. Is it connections or "pipelines" a club has with a certain school? Is it the events they attend? How much of a role do club director's and their reputation play? Clearly it isn't a simple meritocracy. And yes I know everyone has different goals, grades, etc, but I'm asking from a playing standpoint.

Club pipeline and director connections to college coaches is probably the answer.

Common LE director. You can stop. There is no one answer fits all. If the kid is good, he/she will be found. Support from HS coach, Club coach/dir and doing some showcases and prospect days in schools they are interested in plus grades grades and more grades and character.

Where is the Helix team based out of? I did a quick search on the BBL site and couldn't figure it out. Is it the same location as Black?