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

It is written on the walls! If you are unable to see it than maybe you should continue to come on here and get your info. Do you really think ANY director or club spokesman from ANY team is coming on this site to inform us of anything let alone why the suck . In the past 5 years Crabs has had only 2 competitive teams 2018 and 2021(maybe the best at those levels) and possibly 2023 even though they bounce players from 2022 every year. Other clubs have dramatically over the years increased coaching staffs and have learned to recruit players and more importantly develop players. Previous Crab years it was all about getting your teams top players and running a run & gun style that was fun to watch. They totally missed the part of development thru the ranks. There is also 10 more clubs in a 10 mile radius that makes it much more competitive all around. Not saying RM is a bad coach, he has won a ton of games. 2022 Crabs has a few very good players but not what they are used to having for an 8th grade team. They will be competitive this year just not at the top .
Its hard to get top players to leave current teams because of coaching. This age group is stacked with the best coaching in the country. MD 91,FCA,RR,DCE,Hawks,Dukes just to name a few-love em or hate em these teams have very good coaching and supportive coaching. Crabs started it all and laid out the foundation- Everyone has caught up to the tricks of the trade(holdbacks) but also have strong development at lower age groups. When you start charging 7,8 and 9 year olds to play lacrosse you better be developing them.

Well said. All the Clubs and lacrosse people in general know the holdback/prefirst game now. I was amazed at the lack of knowledge of Lacrosse people in Balt as it pertains to holdbacks/prefirst at start of grade based teams a few years ago. Crabs gobbled them up quick at first. Now everyone knows the game, even if you arent a Private School player/parent.

McD/St Paul/Loyola/Calvert Hall boys are no longer marching lockstep to the Crabs now. To many other good Clubs out there to play for. Plus a few seem to be associated with different private schools.

Crabs will be in top tier generally as they still are a pipeline to Boys Latin ( one of Holdbacks Kings) etc, but the days of dominating are gone. Those U13 and U15 Crabs teams of a few years ago were flat out great teams with on age players. No more

Do the 8th grade and younger crabs parents pay attention to the games their kids play in? Do they not notice the lack of coaching? The difference in systems between Crabs and the other top teams? Do they not notice that their son does not improve year to year unless they are paying for training outside of Crabs? All the while they are treated like crap and their boys are beaten down and play scared unless they are one of the overage studs that everything runs through? There are a lot of good kids and families that still sign their kids up for the same BS year after year and expect things to change.

What is the definition of insanity?

Looking for a definition of insanity? Easy, YOUR post!

I have been around club lax for a bit and yes the landscape has changed. Not sure how the Hawks became the big kid on the block but they have. Crabs had the strong hold in the start of club lax but with all the strong baltimore clubs with great coaching it was just time before more programs caught up.
It is good for the sport to have better clubs around the entire beltway and I think that if anyone wanted to really make the lax better on the east coast you have more games and travel state to state for more games. Not as many tournaments but a league like in hockey where you travel around for games.

Wait. The way to make youth lacrosse is to spend more time driving up and down 95?

Please tell me how much you drive up and down 95 for lax. In a well run travel program you we you travel you make it worth it. Go to LI and play 4 games for league play and locally you may play FCA on sat and 91 on sun. Following weekend madlax and dc express.
I just named 8 games in 3 weekends and I could go on with a schedule but it is real easy. As a travel sport parent driving 95 from Fla to Maine is all part of travel sports.

The competition has caught up with the Crabs! They no longer have a monopoly on most of the best players in the area anymore. There are more good players, more holdbacks for everyone, more good programs and more good coaches. Was a great program to be a part of in the U13 and U15 days. May still be a great program, but their rampant run with the holdbacks and grade based model altered their perception. However, all of the elite programs in the Baltimore / DC area now have numerous holdbacks, so probably an equal playing field these days among the top / elite programs.

My son is a 2018 that was a U13 Crab. He did not make the U15 team the following year, but his one year with the program was a great experience. It was a great team that performed at a very high level on the field and were great kids off the field. Most importantly my son competed with and against some of the top kids / top teams in the country at a early age and it laid the foundation for him becoming the player he is today. He will always cherish that one season with the Crabs at U13.

As of today, 16 of the 21 kids that were on that team are committed to play D1 lacrosse. Another kid is a D1 golfer, but is a top 50 laxer as well. I am pretty sure that three of the remaining four will be playing college lacrosse as well. Very impressive that such a high percentage of kids on a team comprised of 6th and 7th graders would continue playing lacrosse in college at the likes of UNC, UVA, MD, Penn, PSU, Navy, Loyola, Towson, Georgetown, Furman, High Point, Air Force, Jacksonville, and Mt St Mary's. At the end of that season the coaches told the kids they would all be playing lacrosse in college - unbelievably close to the truth!

As the parent of a on age, public school kid I despise the pre-first / holdback advantage (but it works). I fondly recall the good old days of U13 / U15 with the emphasis of grooming good players, becoming a good team, and ultimately winning tournaments against top competition.

The emphasis on the recruiting process during the high school years tarnishes the experience!

If your are good enough they will find you or you will find them!

Enjoy it - it goes quickly and remember they are just kids!

The beauty of lacrosse here is that you don't have to travel far for great competition! Between Baltimore, Annapolis, DC and Northern Virginia there are plenty of good lacrosse programs.

The Crabs are the Sears of the club lacrosse world. A once proud brand fades away over time. Its very painful to watch. Hope you're not a shareholder......

For the person that asked for honest insight.....this is a very accurate post.

For the person that asked for honest insight.....this is a very accurate post.

Said by the person drunk on the yellow kool-aid.
This is exactly the attitude contributing to their struggles....denial.

Da Nile is a river in Egypt.

Struggles?...LOL

EVERYBODY in this sport who actually matters knows and respects the Crab's program.

From Timbuktu, to I don't know who - They have ALL heard about the Crab's.

And more importantly, If you're on a Crab's squad...then they KNOW you can ball.

Look forward to some good competition down in Chapel Hill in a few weeks.

See the rest of you scrubs come spring!!!

Crab Nation!!!

Let us know how the UNC playday works out for you.

If you are looking for good competition it won't be at the UNC event. Mostly teams from Florida and NC. If they were really looking for good competition they shouldn't have played in 2 Aloha tournaments this fall.

Ok Ryan, But when anyone hears anything about a Crab team below 8th grade, First thing out of their mouth is holdbacks.. Say what you want, but that is what is said and thought by all.

LOL!

Well excuse me. We are in the presence of greatness here folks and I guess you know the game better than the Coaching Staff at UNC??

You do realize the goal for most of these young men is to display their talent in front of D1 Coaches so they can get recruited to D1 programs?

Their ultimate goal is not to compete against whoever YOU (Joe Blow Phucknutz) says is good competition at XYZ play day you TWIT!!!

There is a reason Dave invited Crab's down, just like there is a reason Sean Nadalen is coaching the Crab's middle school box team.

Or are they simply uninformed idiots too Joe??

CRAB NATION!!!!!

I know who you are. Your son is a fringe player at best. If he sprints to the huddles to hand out water bottles to the players who actually play, maybe Metzbower will have him as a manager in a few years. Crab Nation!!!!

Well excuse me. We are in the presence of greatness here folks and I guess you know the game better than the Coaching Staff at UNC??

You do realize the goal for most of these young men is to display their talent in front of D1 Coaches so they can get recruited to D1 programs?

Their ultimate goal is not to compete against whoever YOU (Joe Blow Phucknutz) says is good competition at XYZ play day you TWIT!!!

There is a reason Dave invited Crab's down, just like there is a reason Sean Nadalen is coaching the Crab's middle school box team.

Or are they simply uninformed idiots too Joe??

CRAB NATION!!!!!


a·nach·ro·nism: a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned.
"everything was as it would have appeared in centuries past apart from one anachronism, a bright yellow construction crane"

When the college coaches see the some of the younger Crabs play, they will clearly see the 3-4 players that have D1 potential. That being said, the college coaches are quick studies. They don't live in the past as their jobs depend on it. Why do you think the MIAA high school coaches are helping run practices and clinics at the stronger clubs? Its survival of the fittest and the Lord of Flies. Exposure doesn't mean crap in the 8th grade and a play day is a way to get college assistant coaches paid. A college coach is not allowed to have contact with a player until their junior year. An eighth grade play day is purely in the observation phase category. How boys play in the 9th and and more importantly 10th grade will determine if they receive offers. Club owners who are focused on touting the visibility they bring to 8th graders are hucksters pure and simple. They should be spending their time coaching kids up (assuming they've stayed current) and developing all of their paying clientele not flying kids in from every State to win a B/C level tournament.

You really think the UNC coaches are going to be there watching these 8th and 7th graders play?!? Get real. It's cool the boys get to go play games on a college campus, but they have no interest in these kids right now.

Yes they will, speaking from experience. They won’t be talking to you but they will be there.

So what, they watch a couple of 8th grade games, write a couple of 8th graders names down. Did the same thing they did at the Igloo event recently. So what? If you flat line or don't progress a lot in the next two years, you won't be getting an offer. Its all about who is the the shiniest toy in the fall of their junior year. Don't waste your money on play days and prospect camps. Work on your craft, let the cream rise to the top and don't be victim of the fear merchants. RM, you should be working on updating your offensive scheme, teaching your offensive players to actually have two effective hands and winning as losing is a bad habit.

Well excuse me. We are in the presence of greatness here folks and I guess you know the game better than the Coaching Staff at UNC??

You do realize the goal for most of these young men is to display their talent in front of D1 Coaches so they can get recruited to D1 programs?

Their ultimate goal is not to compete against whoever YOU (Joe Blow Phucknutz) says is good competition at XYZ play day you TWIT!!!

There is a reason Dave invited Crab's down, just like there is a reason Sean Nadalen is coaching the Crab's middle school box team.

Or are they simply uninformed idiots too Joe??

CRAB NATION!!!!!


Looks like daddy is still butt hurt because his kids spot was taken. Where did you slime off too - API?....LOL.

Why has Mr. Crab Nation!!!! been so quiet lately? Finally check himself into rehab?

Easy there girl.. Your eyes are green with Envy

LOL!! Keep em coming Biff

Exactly the color of RM's eyes when the Hawks were rolling up titles at the Young Guns Tournament last year. Nothing like getting smoked and/or upset at your own tournament. Wait, results don't matter, only the name on your jersey does: sounds like comments you hear during the last days of an empire or dynasty. College coaches may be a little slow but they'll get the memo soon enough.

College coaches do not care if the club is good or bad. They care if the kids can play for them. The Crabs can go 0-100 and they still will have the kids at the correct tournaments playing in front of the correct college coaches. The wins make mom and dad feel better with paying $2500 a summer.

12.5 scholarships per team. Money split up. Your kid may be the best kid so he will get .5 scholarship which can account for very little. Better pay the money on a tutor and get merit. Much better ROI. #Truth.

Sure college coaches love to waster their time watching bad teams...LOL, keep living in the past. Lacrosse is going the way of football and hoops: film, combines and showcase camps, sure playing on a good AAU team will get you eyeballs but only if you're on a good team.

Well stated. Applying this logic -- and it is indeed logical -- your son can play for the legendary Richie Meade at Furman University and in the SoCon for a mere $31,000 per year; assuming he does indeed get even a .5 scholarship. But, parents keeping the dream alive -- in their minds. Oh, don't forget the travel costs to and from games, as well as for your scholar athlete to return home on occasion.

"Tuition and fees at Furman University are $46,012 USD without financial aid. With room, board, and other fees combined, total cost of attendance is $60,714 USD."

Yea..but just think,,You get to tell everyone junior got an offer!

You my friend are a [ChillLaxin] ask any college coach what any club teams record is and how many tournaments they have won? They will laugh at you. They never even stay for the whole game they mostly watch a half and then go watch another half of another game. And at most tournaments with a winner and a championship game the coaches leave before this game is even played. The showcases with a all-star game do have lots of coaches but that is because they get to pick the kids in the game and they get to see the kid they came to see play another game.

Ask yourself this question. If your son play Goalie or D-pole and your team has the best Faceoff guy and a great O. And you win tons of tournaments. Is this good for your son?

Great point. Close D and goalie: you don't want to play for a dominant team. LSM (assuming you're running the wing), Fogo, middie and attack, yes.

Where will the Crabs 2022, 23 and 24 teams end up this year? Looking at the upcoming high school club pipeline in MD.

At or near the top as they always do. HS pipeline is well with the Crabs and their holdback machine..or if you prefer prefirst/reclass machine