US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2029 Grads - Mid Atlantic Region

Get your 2030 teams and come compete on age for once!

Does anyone know why VLC dropped their Skills and Drills Program this winter?

I think that program is dying a slow death....

Keep in mind the "KIng Crab" method has always been to de-emphasize skill development, and focus on recruiting "bigger, stronger, faster" players for the high school age teams. So this shouldn't be super-surprising.

That is every travel team model unfortunately.

Correct every travel team eventually becomes about the money, people and their status, and winning. Do they really care about getting kids being recruited? Maybe, I think there are some among the ranks that genuinely care about players. However, there are many that could care less and once they are done with you goodbye. Youth sports is a business. The idea of having positive memories and reliving them for future generations is almost dead. This is just a reality. Why I comment on this. I just read a story on a local kid who was a top 3 pick in the country, student MIAA player, D1 recruit to a top 5 team, started as a freshman, failed out, went to a mid level D1 school didn't play/make the team, and is now at a D3 school hoping to play. He was a DHB, everyone pushed for sports success because he was bigger, stronger, and faster. What is there to show for it? not sure. Wish this kid the best of luck and he finds his way. Yes I know there are so many kids that have had great success on and off the field. However there are just as many like this player. A little skills (Field and Life) development even in high School will go a long way.

Teams only have so much roster space. What would you have them do? If you think coaches enjoy cutting kids who've been on a team for a new-comer then you've clearly never been on that side of the clipboard.

Everyone wants to complain about how "unfair" the top teams are, all the while trying to get their kids on those teams with all the best players and competition.

Fall season coming to an end. For HOCO ELITE here's the current rankings:

9. Madlax
11. True Chesapeake
14. Annapolis Hawks
16. Next Level
20. FCA
71. Predators
N/A: Crabs only played 3 games so not ranked.

So 5 of the 7 are in the top 20. HOCO season should be fun!

There are still a couple of top 10 teams that have not yet played the 6 games. Everyone

LTLC/Crabs has a 93.9 rating, which would put them at #40 overall. That is in-line with where they were last year, and probably an accurate marking for them, especially keeping in mind they lost a couple pretty good kids (including their middie that will miss the HoCo season) and had a 50% roster turnover. They did get within 5 goals of FCA in a fall tourney, have a great close D and a student attackman. So they definitely have potential for an upset in the season.

Also:
63. HoCo
64: Team 91 Maryland
72: Hawks "b" team
77: MadLax DMV
82: ProStart
88. Swarm

Top of HoCo is stacked. Still would assume Crabs, Preds & 91MD fill out the top division. Those are the clear bottom three, though.

Eight in in Hoco in no particular order. It's going to be a lot of really good games and really good competition all around. I think this group has some of the best 29 (non-National teams) in the country.

Hawks
Next Level
LTLC/Crabs
FCA
Madlax
Team 91
True Chesapeake

Would be surprised they let Preds in. No sure why they wouldn't. Team 91 has to mave down to let a better team in.

Talk of Baltimore is said to be moving up to Elite. Maybe this fall has them rethinking this. Wish 91 would do some soul searching as well..

Those are only 7 teams listed. I'm made to understand Preds is the 8th. I do think they will struggle this year in against the tougher competition.

My way to early predictions...

1. TC
2. Hawks
3. ML
4. NL
5. FCA
6. LTLC/Crabs
7. Preds
8. 91

I think any one of the 1-4 could win the league this year. More parity than ever!

So the top four teams are not Baltimore based Club teams. I dont think so. Before Hoco season is over, FCA, Crabs or talk of Balt will be right there.

Unless they fly in a ton of talent Baltimore based teams are on the struggle bus in the 2029 group.

Baltimore talent is too diluted across multiple teams.

TC took all the top talent from VLC.

ML and NL have taken all the talent from BLC.

ML is about the only game in town if you are a top player in northern VA.

Based on what the 2028 ML team went through I would say give it a year and ML will disband with a couple other options...

ML 2024s, 2026s, and 2028s all collapsed. 2023s didnt count because they were part of ML in name only...and it's why they stayed together and dominated. Therefore, the safe bet is that a sizeable portion of the 2029s will all head for greener pastures next year. There is already a lot of talk about it, fwiw.

Makes me wonder if this happens do the rich get richer with ML guys (Hawks, NL, TC) and does this dilute the DMV region even more. Or some new DMV team gets created?
Maybe both?

DC Express starts in 8th grade. They will clean up.

Been pretty disappointing.

How has it been disappointing? People want something new before HS and DC Express is an answer. Not saying everyone wants a change, but it does give another option.

DC Exp has been mostly Bethesda and their last couple years results is not elite level. Express is meant to be an elite level club and it's not.

I agree, but it is still a little too early to speak on the 2028 DCE team.

Really?
2021: #1 in the nation
2022: #1 in the nation
2025: #5 in the nation
2026: #8 in the nation
2028: #18 in the nation after 2 month of existence

Where’s Madlax?? Haaaaa. You’re a clown.

Back to 2029.

Looks like someone got their facts wrong and didnt make ML at one time. Being envious is not a good trait. Now who is the Clown

Any of these teams going to man up and play in the World Series and show how great they are or aren’t?
Didn’t think so!

I've heard True Chesapeake is taking a team. My guess is they won't play the first week of HOCO because the East Qualifier. That means some other team will have a bye week as well.

Yawn.

I’m not the previous poster, but anyone who will pay the money makes Madlax. My kid’s best friend plays for them and he said not one kid has EVER been cut from the 2028 team. And this gal, they had to eliminate the DMV team because they needed those kids for the depleted Cap team.

Zero envy for that dumpster fire. NL and DCE absolutely eating their lunch locally. Oh yeah, at 2029, too.

Out of curiosity, how much is Madlax for a year? They play and travel quite a bit.

Great topic... let's share how much our respective clubs charge... Predators... $2800

Madlax is around $5-6k. Regular seasonal fees are around $4k, but he charges an additional “tournament fee” for regular events like Naptown, Orlando, Vail.

True Chesapeake is 2600 for the regional team. Cover field space all year, fall tournaments, HOCO, and summer tournaments. If you participate in the National team as well that's an extra cost.

FCA was either $2500 or $2600. That includes everything other than really unusual tourneys like Vail.

Crabs are less than all of those. That is why it is the Club of Clubs.

Hawks is $3000

And why their roster is 35+

Crbs roster is not 35 last time I checked. More like mid 20's last time I fact checked.