US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Long Island Yellow Jackets Lacrosse

Any club (in this case YJ) that gives a roster spot to a player from another grad year is SLIMY, because there is an on-grade girl who ultimately loses her opportunity to start, or even play. It may be legal in the eyes of US Lacrosse, but it is a grotesque example of what is wrong with youth lacrosse. Directors too often value reputation and $$ over player skill and character development.

Be forewarned, young YJ players - you are expendable, sadly.

Don't allow YJ to pigeon hole you into a position you don't want to play just to get a spot on the Blue team. Play middie if you can, because down the road college coaches will recruit middies and turn them into attackers or defenders.

Play for another club where you will start and play in the tight games. Many YJ Blue and Gold players have done all the right things - practices, private training, winter leagues, etc. - only to sit on the bench for the playoff game while their dream college coach was watching.

If there are other team options with good coaching where you would be valued, don't be afraid to jump. College coaches watch many other Long Island teams. Better to be an impact player somewhere else than a roster filler on YJ.

And if you are hoping that someday you'll get your shot to make the Blue team or become a starter, because you have been loyal and hard-working...you better have a "friends and family" connection or a back-door deal. Many YJ players have seen girls from out of state, reclassified grad year, or from competing neighbor clubs take the spot that they were sure was finally going to be theirs.

These are my observations after my daughter completed her final YJ season. Daughter was recruited and will be playing college lacrosse.

Unless you live in Northport and have no other choice but to play for YJ

This is what use to happen when Nationals was only one age group, and was totally fine. But now that there are 3 age groups, pulling in a grade older but age eligible player is often just canabalizing another older YJ team also playing at Nationals. So what they do now is bring in players from other clubs that did not play with any YJ teams all summer.

Maybe YJ 2023 should have snagged a couple TG players, they could have had a different outcome!

sad but true for North port girls...feel bad for them no other options ..but they stick it out...why who knows

Wrong wrong wrong. No YJ Team had older players as you had to supply Birth Certificate to play. I know as my child got hers rejected at first for low quality scan. Had to send a new one so please throw stones that are warranted. There’s enough issues out there without making stuff up. 2022 Team only dominant one right now. 2025 Will roll easy next year but IMO 2024 / 2023 could be in trouble again. Yes 2024 won but that was close and went 3-2 having lost to final team and another the B team actually best. However winners are winners and that’s why they play the game. Congrats to 2022 / 2024. Don’t understand the total poison spewed on here. If your kids that good then play for YJ or play for IGLOO as 2022 / 2024 have zero Long Island completion. Top Guns 2023? Sure, but sitting out Nationals was lame. Shame as 4 best teams would’ve made semi finals with YJ IGLOO NXT and TG as B YJ would’ve probably been knocked out by Semi if TG went. But hey TG was tired and Nationals just another Lax Blast or Laxin Out Loud. Well no it wasnt.

Why go and spend all that money to play in a modified checking tournament

its not just northport girls, every HS coach that coaches for a club team puts subtle and not so subtle pressure on kids to play for that program

C’mon, it’s a lame tournament. TG already shut Igloo down the week before. YJ 23 can’t get out of their own way. Why would anyone in their right mind spend three days at the end of July, at a weak tournament that should have been played in one, two tops. The tournament wasn’t even up to speed with checking. Your delusional if you think YJ 22 is all that. A team called Coppermine gave them all they could handle. Nuff said!

YJ 2022 beat Coppermine 17- & 17-2 in the two games they played.. The final game was against Cardinal, Cardinal was a classy team , with some talented players bu in my opinion YJ beats cardinal 10 out of 10 times they play.. some games might be closer than others and some may be blow outs but Cardinal doesnt beat YJ ever.

Who is Cardinal?? Have you beaten M&D this year? Oh yea, they are the big bad holdbacks. Before you start bragging, please tell me about the championships you've won against good teams?

The tournament is a JOKE and always has been a JOKE its all about MARKETING because plain and simple the best teams in the country aren't there.

I couldn't tell you if M&D has hold backs or not, why dont you tell us??.. ..and yes YJ has beaten M & D in the past , not this year but you're lying if you say those games this year weren't close.. maybe a goal or two difference.
I'm not here to shout we are the champions of the world.. but I will say that the U14 was a fun tournament and the final game was great, I know I got a kick out of watching the youtube feed and hearing two announcers talk about the players..

Love that M&D is always the measuring stick. Shows that we all know who the best is!

M&D better beat Monster once there about to lose their crown

Wrong wrong wrong. No YJ Team had older players as you had to supply Birth Certificate to play. I know as my child got hers rejected at first for low quality scan. Had to send a new one so please throw stones that are warranted. There’s enough issues out there without making stuff up. 2022 Team only dominant one right now. 2025 Will roll easy next year but IMO 2024 / 2023 could be in trouble again. Yes 2024 won but that was close and went 3-2 having lost to final team and another the B team actually best. However winners are winners and that’s why they play the game. Congrats to 2022 / 2024. Don’t understand the total poison spewed on here. If your kids that good then play for YJ or play for IGLOO as 2022 / 2024 have zero Long Island completion. Top Guns 2023? Sure, but sitting out Nationals was lame. Shame as 4 best teams would’ve made semi finals with YJ IGLOO NXT and TG as B YJ would’ve probably been knocked out by Semi if TG went. But hey TG was tired and Nationals just another Lax Blast or Laxin Out Loud. Well no it wasnt.

It was such a big tournament CR didn't even go she opted to go on vacation.

Can you tell the rest of us how we can tell which Yellow Jacket team we are playing? Are these names the last name of the coach?
How do these teams rank if you had to assign them as an A, B, C, D, etc team with A being the top team?
2019 - Carro, Mitchell, Grazidei, Fernandes
2020 - Curcio, Jones, Gaghan, Kolb
2021 - Rose, Bertolone, Bruno, Van Middelem
2022- Russell, Harney, Buzkowski, Sal
2023- Thorn, Wright
2024 - Wiener, Ramos, Markowitz
2025 - Spallina, Janelli

Then we also see teams listed sometimes as YJ Blue?
How are the teams arranged? Help us understand!

you are correct, the teams are known by coaches last name.. and are listed in A, B, C order
The only time you may see YJ Blue or Gold now is when teams are combined ie. Fall Ball

Wrong! Bruno is above Bert! Berts . team looks good playing in the bottom brackets!

What are you stalking her twitter feed? That's pathetic, you need to get a life outside all this.

Kind of like you? Remember you’re the one who wrote this long winded jibberish trying to justify why you were at a low level tournament. Yawn....,...

How come it looks like Russell was the third team last year, and now is the first team? Did the team change or did the coach just change from the C team to the A team?

He was always the A team coach at 2022..don’t look on the final rosters page, look under the coaches tab.. coaches are listed in strength order by grad year

Now that my kids are getting older I’m really shocked of how crazy the world of youth lacrosse is. My kids play soccer.....I hate the sport and the fact that it’s year round from the time they’re 5 years old, but you cannot compare the organization between the 2. Lax is like the Wild West. The blowouts are insane.....local tournaments having 3rd graders play 6th graders.....Manipulating schedules and brackets to give teams huge advantages.....having different eligibility rules for the national.. I don’t care which one is right or wrong, just make it the same!! How can you claim to be a “national champion” when the sport is played in about 10 states and the teams from the best lax state can’t attend.

I just don’t understand why Maryland lax is light years ahead no of Long Island. I don’t mean talent / wins and losses. I’m talking about how they play with their club the entire year and NEVER spend THOUSANDS of dollars to come to Long Island. What are we doing wrong?

True on all. LI could play year round too. Problem is that the club directors don’t get along and don’t want too. Parents also get too caught up in whose better instead of just letting the girls play. A pick up league would be awesome. It’s would also be cool if the teams were just made up randomly and switched around every week. Everyone would be better for it. They kind of do this at Ward Melville HS in the summer for HS teams, would be great if the included younger ages and other clubs besides YJ as well. I believe CR runs it, and it surprisingly does not cost much.

Ohhhh, so soccer tournaments, leagues, etc aren't manipulated. Please educate us.........how much is it to play year round soccer with lets say.......the world class soccer org. Do you travel off LI to play soccer-Yes. Do teams change their rosters for tournaments-Yes (guest players-please). There are so many leagues etc nobody really knows whats going on with soccer. Oh yea....now if you play for an "academy team" you cant play for your HS team. Please take your soccer nonsense somewhere else. As for MD lax. Again you are showing your ignorance. Now go put on your European soccer shirt and enjoy your 1-nil game.

You could always try basketball, my daughter supplements her lax with BB, and it has helped her game tremendously! Lots of good, cheap Bball on LI through the church, although it ends in 8th grade. Once you get into the Lightning teams, the $$ and BS factor goes way up as well, as it does with ALL the travel sports, because club directors need to pound their chests!

Believe me, I’m not defending soccer. There are politics, corruption in everything! I’ve just never seen a 3rd grade team playing a 6th grader in soccer. I think a lot has to do with the amount of soccer teams. Also, the nature of soccer prevents blowouts in many cases. It allows for more teams and more competitive divisions. I just see zero attempt to make lacrosse more competitive. The blowouts are absurd. If there aren’t enough competitive teams in a division play a round robin, or best out of 3 series. Just try something.

How on earth can you have 20 tournaments throughout the year with a certain set of rules, and then change them for the national championships? Name one sport at any level that changes rules for a true champion? I’m not debating which is right / wrong. I’m just saying the regulations should be the exact same. Birth year OR graduation year. Choose 1.

Why.....most teams and tournaments are set up for grad years. A few are set-up birth year. Why does every tourney need to be the same. Stop being a bunch of complainers. Girls get to play with their grad year teammates and for a few tourneys/days play with some new/different girls based on birth year. You complain about grad years because of reclass, then you complain about birth year because different states have different cut-offs. You realize the players (girls/boys) don't care. They go out and play. You snowflake parents are the ones who complain.

Exactly! Let the kids play and have fun.

"The nature of soccer prevents blowouts" Exactly - if not goals are scored, you can't ha... zzzzzz

Lax is the wild west, always has been because the clubs control, the game. No player cards for US lax who are useless. The YJ director runs 8 tournaments for gods sake charging full price and then manipulates who her teams play. Sounds about right LOL

Lax as a game has always supported the blowout. Same kids scoring 10 goals in a 15 goal win. Sport has always been about stat padding. In soccer its much more difficult for 1 player to dominate and then there is a "little" more sportsmanship in not running up scores. With my four daughters we have had many wins by about 20 which always makes me cringe especially when they don't spread the scoring around enough

US Lacrosse has been putting together a "National" tournament for 10 years and I watched the NBA put together one of the best youth tournaments I have ever seen. The Jr. NBA Championship has been in existence for 1 year and put the US Lacrosse tournament to sham. If US Lacrosse is serious about growing the game instead of collecting membership fees they need to study and take a page from the Jr. NBA. Top 16 US teams and Top 16 international teams.

Visit the Jr. NBA site and see for yourself.

No thanks..

Your kidding right........youth basketball has more "bad actors" than any other sport. Agents working through AAU coaches, college coaches making under the table payments, shoe companies paying AAU coaches for access to youth players. And I'm sure you don't want to talk about re-class, prep schools, kids from other countries (related to their real age), roster manipulation, 1 and done athletes, do I need to continue. Listen, go talk soccer or basketball all you want. Compared to those sports Lax is much "cleaner" than those sports.

Your kidding right........youth basketball has more "bad actors" than any other sport. Agents working through AAU coaches, college coaches making under the table payments, shoe companies paying AAU coaches for access to youth players. And I'm sure you don't want to talk about re-class, prep schools, kids from other countries (related to their real age), roster manipulation, 1 and done athletes, do I need to continue. Listen, go talk soccer or basketball all you want. Compared to those sports Lax is much "cleaner" than those sports.
[/quote]

That has nothing to do with running a quality national tournament that actually means something. The JR. NBA tournament was an amazing experience for both the players and parents. In addition the kids got amazing exposure playing on 3 Fox channels nationally everyday. I mean, I guess streaming on FB is cool. I know you are the defender of everything lax but US Lacrosse has no real control over the sport, clubs do. With that said, their “National” tournament stinks.

Not comparing basketball, lacrosse or soccer as a whole. Just national tournaments. So instead of being quick with your twitter fingers you should read the post and step out of your lax bubble.

All organizations have bad apples.

Nobody care about Jr NBA....go away

Pav does