US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2026 Grads - Mid Atlantic Region

First- this forum never had any good info.
Second- no birth year sports allow kids to play down. It is called BIRTH YEAR for a reason.

What I should have said was " the Older kids" in the Birth year. Jan/Feb/March.

Google "Relative Age Effect"

You need to get out more

Here is something useful I hope........

Inner Circle run my Jeremy Rualo; who is the assistant coach at Calvert Hall. Great training for FaceOff, Attack, Midfield and Defense.

innercirclelacrosse.com

My son trains here and it definitely has made a difference in his game.

That is way too logical and factual for the Dad's long winded post. He is upset his son is as unathletic as he was and will continue to scour the internet for studies that explain why his boy is much better at minecraft than lax. Let your son enjoy robotics club, don't try and make him something he is not and embarrass him by trying to come up with excuses to explain his lack of success on the field.

Not really helping your point about hold backs. The Relative age effect is based on comparing kids within a school year/calendar year, i.e. those born in Sept are going to do better than those born in May. Those born in Jan do better than Dec for hockey, etc. So applying "Relative Age effect" to hold backs (who are born in June, July, August) would conclude that that they would be the worst in their actual age group. Is that how I should read this?

As an outsider (California) who just joined this forum in the last two weeks, it is odd that 90% of the dialogue is about criticism/retaliation of Hawk comments and about hold backs. I think the data is clear that the Hawks are the best team in MD (we have not played them, but the scores indicate Hawks well ahead)....I would think people would just accept that and move on to other more interesting topics. Hawks also one of the best teams at 2026 nationally. I am sure they would beat our squad handily.

I get the holdback argument...but it is what it is, not much reason to keep rehashing it. My 2026 is April 2008 so he is usually the youngest kid on the field and is often playing against kids over a year older. So I get it, but he just plays and deals with it. Complaining non stop does not accomplish much in my view.

I come here to learn about what is going on in MD (and surrounding region) lacrosse at 2026 level. We have had the great opportunity to play many of the teams in the area and hope will have future opportunities as well. Lots of great teams and amazing players. Impressive for sure.

We will be back for Gold Cup November 7-8 in Delaware. Maybe some of your squads will be there. I will keep dropping in here, but hopefully the dialogue can evolve beyond criticizing the Hawks/Hawks chest pounding and the holdback issue. Good luck to all your teams and boys this Fall.

Not the original poster, but I think the point is that kids with an age advantage get ahead early in sports and never look back. For example a youth hockey player with a January birthday, which makes him the oldest in his age group, is likely be better than a kid born in the later half of the year during the early or mid years of his youth career when he is learning the game. Once the player gets to HS or college, the studies show that the January hockey players are statistically better than kids with later birthdays, even though 6-9 months difference should not make a difference at that point. So for lacrosse, if a family wants to set up their son for success in HS and college lacrosse, holding back gives an advantage. If one team has a higher concentration of hold-backs than others, it gives that team an advantage.

LOL This poor guy tried to start a serious discussion, and the Hawks dads response is to make fun of his son. I bet the guy drives an SUV and the Hawks dads detest him for it!

You are really caught up on this SUV thing huh? Hope it works out for you and your family. Junior will get there.

Ultimately the advantage goes to the one that is better academically. All of the top D1 programs are also highly selective schools. A lot of kids are good at lacrosse and so it comes down to academics. Coaches are going to pick kids that can do well in the classroom. If you can't be academically on par with the average incoming freshmen you are not going to that school.

Can we just get back to talking about how bad looneys or fca is please? That was much more fun. Nobody cares about holdbacks or how the Hawks are going to crush everyone. We all know this. Focus commentary towards all the other B teams is much more amusing. As an example, bay-traitors and Fallston Lacrosse club should be in elite. VLC and NL blow and should remain with the Rec teams. 91 dads are nuts and should fold their team while Saltwater should play everyone at least twice a week. Thank you, PA RR dad

There are other things in this forum. Who would win a battle royal: Hawks dads, VLC, FCA or PA RR? My pick Salt water moms.

Robotics club can get you into a D1 school, too. Not sure why being an athlete is any better than being smart. Hopefully the kid is good at lacrosse AND in the robotics club. I hope your son is more progressive than you. Maybe he’ll have a chance of making a positive difference instead of spewing detest. Good luck to your son. Hope he rises above.

1. Saltwater Moms
2. PA RR Dads and guy in white shirt
3. Hawks Dads
4. FCA defenders, but if their offense gets involved they'd blow it
5. VLC

Good effort, but I highly doubt any PA RR dads have ever heard of Fallston or would understand bay-triators. That being said I agree, too much Hawks focus go back to making fun of others Looney's > Madlax > FCA > VLC > Next Level > some girls rec teams > True Annapolis

Does FCA keep kids as developmental players only?

Heard that Blackwolf is trying to form a 2026 team - has anybody heard if that is getting off the ground?

Huh...what does this even mean? FCA has "developmental players" starting at middie and attack

I’m not sure what this even means but based on previous posts does developmental mean friends of the coach? What other clubs have parents coaching at the middle school age?

True Annapolis is about to takeover MD!

I bet developmental means players who didn't make the team and do not play in games, but they practice with the team? It gives the boys extra practice reps and allows the team to run full field drills; I have no connection to the the team, just guessing what that might mean.

If the best coach is a parent then they should coach...don't hire some former college lax stud who knows nothing about coaching or 12 yr olds just b/c you think he'd be more objective at tryouts.

I am a 2028 parent with a friend who is moving to Northern Virginia with a 2025 son who will be re-classing to 2026 and asked me to recommend the best and most competitive team; from what I can gather the top four within reasonable driving reach in no particular order are NextLevel, BLC, VLC, and MadLax - how do those four compare and are there others he should be considering??
Thanks in advance.

Do your research before joining Blackwolf, seriously.

Can we talk about what Maryland teams will qualify for the World Series of Youth Lacrosse?

At least you have a sense of humor about what happened. Sorry it didn't work out.

Do you really think that's happening on 2021?

I think developmental players would mean kids that come and workout with the team at practice to get reps in. I’m not sure if they would or would not see game time or if they’re paying club fees. I honestly don’t know of many clubs that do this but it’s not a bad concept. I agree the best coach is the coach that knows how to coach 12-13 year old kids; however that can not be a parent at this point leading the team. It gets too muddied and no matter how talented; or not, the coaches son is, he is going to get preferential treatment aka a spot and playing time. Daddy ball will always be an issue for those parents who feel their son is better or more capable; it’s inevitable. It’s a no win situation for the coach/dad. Once these kids reach middle school they need to be groomed for the HS game. Most if not all clubs at this point have coaches with a resume that includes HS, college and even professional lacrosse on it along with coaching experience. Parents have to remember it’s not about Ws and Ls; it’s about developing your son both on and off the field to play at the next level. IMO

Tell your friend to drive a little further towards Annapolis and play for the Hawks. Being a holdback he will fit right in.

Such the stunad response.
A little more of an educated response-
It really depends on what kind of player he is and what position he plays. Also depends on whether he is a reclass who has grown(puberty) or a reclass who is still small. Too many variables to be able to tell you which way to go. Their best bet would be to call all of them and see who will give him a supplemental tryout. It will give you a feel for the different atmospheres of the teams. You can tell a lot by a team and its parents by the way they act when a new player shows up for a tryout. Good luck to your friend.

Nope

Yikes

All four are solid clubs. Madlax and BLC are the best currently on the field, followed by VLC then NL. Depending on the player, being on the best team isn't necessarily the right fit of course. I agree with post saying call all four and see what they say. You can probably tell quickly if the kid will get a fair look.

go with whoever has the closest practice.

Terrible suggestion. Go with a quality team with the best coaching. It'll be worth the extra time in the car.

All four are great programs where you can't go wrong, so I agree that geography is a big factor. The other key factor is the head coach. I researched all four teams a year ago and I know that two of the head coaches are outstanding; the other two are probably good too but they are newer and I do not know them.
Go to tryouts and see how your son fits in terms of his position; each one is dominant at some positions but could use help at others.
Having watched all four this summer, VLC has pulled even with BLC and MadLax. NextLevel is behind those three but not by very much. A few good new players at tryouts could push any one of the four teams ahead of the others, or a couple of defections could push a team down, so do not focus too much on chasing the best team.

Good answer.

What position does this kid play?