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

Not sure they are changing the 2029 back a year next year from June 1, 2010 to June 1, 2009. Where did you see this posted?

Why don’t the fca moms fill us in on what’s going to happen

This is wrong. Starting with this year’s 2029 class, HoCo is following US Lacrosse’ Age guidelines. They will not revert back to allowing 15 month holdbacks in these youth divisions

Sounds like you are [Censored] hurt because your kid couldn't make the FCA squad. Sorry to break it to you but little Johnny being the big man on the Laytonsville Hippos does mean he's good enough to make an elite team. I know this is giving you flashbacks of your own failure athletically but you really should try not to transfer your own inadequacies onto your kid.

FCA will be quite fine. Losing one player is not the end of the world.

You, on the other hand, will still be left raging at all the injustices that have kept Johnny from the success that you/he crave.

Hilarious that the majority of the kids play mixed age teams in middle school, but it's unfair in "elite" club ball. Make it make sense.

Why do you have to bring the Hippos into this? What did they ever do to you?

Your son is on an “elite” team, WOW!!! Congratulations on reaching the mountaintop, to have reached the pinnacle of the sport at such an early age is amazing. You better get started planning your Instagram D1 signing day livestream now because there is no doubt everyone will be waiting to see and hear where your young prodigy is taking his talents.

Newsflash…. there are kids throughout the other divisions that can hang and even excel in the Elite Division so before you throw out the “your kid isn’t in elite” insult next time…get a grip. Besides if being “Elite” is such an honor why in the world would they let Team 91 in to begin with?

Someone hit a nerve.

I know it's hard to believe, but nobody cares at what level your kid plays but you.

How about this, if we all stipulate that you're kid is the best there ever was will you stop whining about holdbacks?

The US LAX age restrictions won’t apply to the 2029 class after this summer for club lacrosse. They go based on grad year regardless of age once the boys are in 8th grade.

Incorrect

Look at the Age/Grades Guidelines document posted on the league website.

Baltimore, way to represent. We are 1-6 (91, Fca, Legends) in elite. Never thought I’d say this, but Baltimore needs Kingcrab now more than ever. Tryouts will be packed.

Well that's such a silly comment. "Baltimore, way to represent. We are 1-6 (91, Fca, Legends) in elite". All the teams have kids from all over. Virginia, Md, PA, Michigan. High Schools have the same discussion. "Oh BL and Mcdonough have boarders from all around the country, they're not really a Baltimore team." The Baltimore metro area has plenty of talent. I think that year after year the TOP 6teams are getting closer and closer in talent.

Forgot Preds… the talk of BALTIMORE!

This weeks game summary I was able to watch most of the games or at least a half of the games. (Not looking to start negative discussion but rather talk about play)

Common Mistakes noticed in all the games. Still saw a lot of teams not use the shot clock to their advantage but rather it was to their detriment. Coaching through the box and managing players coming on and off the field caused for player confusion. I really noticed at a 2028 game where players where not ready to come on the field and a team was 2 players down in transition.

Elite
Annapolis Hawks Green - Legends - It was a game of 2 halves. The first half ended in a tie. However also ended with a very unfortunate injury to the Legends face off player. Thankfully after a long delay he was able to walk of the field and watch he rest of his game. Big loss for the team. The game was very aggressive, both Legends and Hawks probably earned more penalties than they wanted. The players were leaving it out on the field. Second half (Both Teams) were riddled with more penalties, In typical Hawks fashion they were more disciplined than legends. The second half was not the pretties lacrosse from both teams. Missed ground balls, dropped passes, over shot passes made the difference along with mental mistakes. This will be a good match up when they meet again. Legends needs more goal production. This game was one and lost my the simple lacrosse mistakes.

Next week
Legends v. Team 91. Legends by +5. 
Madlax v. Hawks , Hawks +1

True Chesapeake Black - FCA - Well FCA is 0-2. With Next Level Next week. I caught this game In its entirety. FCA seemed to start slow but creeped up in scoring toward the second half. For all the talk about TC they seemed to be a little slower and less disciplined with the ball and their play. Almost seemed like they weren’t their “True” self. First half FCA used their stronger go to players to keep up with the pace, however True’s defense was able to adjust and limit those players. FCA, like last week, lost the ball on shot clock violations. Also, showed weaknesses in the defense with some players losing site of the ball, their slides, and who to cover. Multiple goals against the FCA defense could have been stopped by a simple slide. FCA was in the game winning more face offs later in the game however noticeable on the field frustration seemed to get to them. True had the discipline and the mental IQ to stay in the game and pull away. FCA has a tough road ahead in the short future. The team seems to lack confidence at this point however has the talent to change the coarse.

Next Week
True Chesapeake v. Predators, True +10
FCA v. Next Level, Next Level +2 - Possible Spoiler of the week.

Next Level - Predators Red - I think the score says enough with this game and the team 91 game. Preds hopefully is using this season to get their feet wet understanding that it is a different ball game. The goal differentials are to wide. Next Level had a day. Press needs to limit the goals scored brought about by the speed of this level. Press offense needs to pick up the tempo of their game and try to keep teams off balanced. Defensively they are still lost of off ball movement and where to slide. Questioning if some Preds A team players should be on The Press B team and Vice Versa. Preds has a tough road ahead of them. Looking to see how they preform week to week in goal differentials not in wins.

Team 91 - Madlax Capital - Maybe the first game was a fluke. We will see but for already being in elite for a couple of years this is not a good showing especially since they have played madlax multiple times.

AAA
ProStart - Bethesda Blue. Looked like a close game with both team having similar goal differentials.

Next week
Pro Start v. NOVA - NOVA +4
Bethesda Blue v. Carroll Manor - Carroll Manor +1

Shore Kaos - Annapolis Hawks Black - As expected with Shore Chaos being the bottom team and Hawks having their strong bigger twin in elite to motivate them.

Next week
Shore Kaos v. HoCo - Hoco +3 - Possible Spoiler of the week
Annapolis Hawks v. - Hawks +4

True NOVA Black - Carroll Manor - Looked like an evenly matched game. NOVA seemed to have less goal production than expected.

Team Maryland White - HoCo - Team MD was able to add to their goal tally. For the win. HOCO seemed to keep it close.

Nice write up! Thanks for posting.

"Team 91 - Madlax Capital - Maybe the first game was a fluke. We will see but for already being in elite for a couple of years this is not a good showing especially since they have played Madlax multiple times."

What does this mean, what first game? They haven't played Madlax since last spring and lost 15-3

clarification - The score differential is what the possible fluke is. Any team that had been in elite for a couple of years and knows how the other team plays should be making adjustments to at least keep the scores with in "reason" or improve from the last time they played. I am not saying Team 91 should have won but they should have improved from previous seasons.

Box substitutions/coaching are horrific throughout 2028-2029 except for the very top teams. Coaches seem intent on subbing out middies, even defending fast breaks, and in almost all cases, it leads to a LONGER not SHORTER man-down (or 2 man down) defense for their team. I've watched so many times over the past few years, the SSDM or LSM (or both) has sprinted 3 steps on the field, and their team gives up a goal. That is just poor coaching. Coaches also seem intent on pulling LSMs off the field immediately upon possession, and several times a game you'll see the LSM still trotting off when his offense turns it over and the ball heads back the other way. It's hard to watch.

So why do coaches do it? My guesses:
1- Tryouts lead to the selection of long legged, goofy/skinny LSMs who can't really defend, can't really body up, and certainly don't "know defense."
2 - Tryouts lead to the selection of some big LSMs who can't actually play offense except from running it up and shooting vs lower quality defenders.
3 - Tryouts lead to the selection of fast midfielders who straight up refuse to ride or play any defense in a real game situation (as soon as tryouts are over). Which creates the need to quickly get them off the field when the offensive unit loses possession.

Amen, and don’t get me started on how they evaluate/coach/play defense overall.

This is a great observation. Our club team had this issue last weekend and in one instance, it resulted in a goal.

I don't know how much pressure to make sure each player gets sufficient opportunities to play their role (i.e. LSM's and SSDM's getting short changed because the top O mids get used to playing 2 ways)

Coaches drill the substitution concepts into the players and most players don't have the field IQ yet to accurately assess their need to sprint back on D.

I see the same thing with Attack. We run an offense with alot of motion and interchanging of attack/mids. On ocassion, we have a freak turnover on offense resulting in a fast break the other way while our mids were caught deep. We will have an attackman closer to the opposing player than any midfielder by 10+ yards and yet he will only pursue to the midline.

HOCO site lists game between Shore Kaos and HoCo for this week as postponed. What’s up with that?

This weeks predictions:

Hawks Vs ML - ML seems like the top team right now. Not convinced they are having the same meltdown issues other ML age groups are going through. Should be a close one.
TC vs Preds - TC by 10+
NL vs FCA - NL by 2-3
91 vs Legends - Legends by 8

Is the circuit a thing next year? Been seeing The Holiday Bowl all over the IG recently …will they coexist with same teams over Christmas / New Year?

ML (+2)vs Hawks. Above average defense(ML) vs average offense(Hawks) vs Great offense (ML)vs great defense (Hawks). Will be interesting to see how shot clock affects these 2 teams considering they both used long possession's previously.

TC (+12)vs Preds. TC handles them easily. Feel bad for Preds

NL (+6)vs FCA. NL handles them easily. Sounds like FCA has hurt players, not sure what that means for the rest of the players.

Legends (+11) vs 91. Legends seem to be a problem for all to handle. Not sure what happened in second half of Hawks game, but heard they were in the ropes. Sleeper team for sure.

What's the correct number of attack, midi's and poles for a team to be successful at this age? New to the sport...

usually 20-24 kids on a team at this age. That can vary depending on talent. based on the i would say 5-6 attack, 7-9 mids (O, D, and two way), 5-6 long poles, 1-2 LSM, and 1-2 Faceoff.

As a lifelong player and a nearly 10 year coach, "how they evaluate" for any possession (except goalie and attack) prior to 9th grade is: Speed (50%), Height (30%), Aggression (10%), All other combined stick skills, position skills, and IQ (10%). If you watch mediocre (Hoco AA and AAA) teams play at 7th grade and 8th grade, you'll notice that the play is fast.....but not good. Poor FO technique, missed passes, poor clears, half-hearted rides, ridiculous low percentage shots, running into double teams, etc.

Hey but the boys are big, fast, and "buzzin'" so I assume it's good lacrosse lol.

No more than 21 players.

Any competitive club that rosters more than 22 is basically looking to collect cash from a bunch of bench warmers.

We are now at an age where kids have pretty significant stamina. Top clubs are going to let the best players play. That means the top 3 attack will play most of the game and #4 or #5 will get a few minutes at most. At midfield, if the team is using 2 SSDM's and 1-2 LSM's you will only need 3-5 offensive mids. At Defense, max of 5 players because on man down, your LSM is going to be on the field. Add in 2 goalies and 1-2 Faceoff mids.

Ideal numbers for playing time and effectiveness would be:

Attack 4
O Mid 4
Faceoff 2
D Mid 2
LSM 2
Def 5
Goalie 2

Total: 21

Lax is a game of speed. It's pretty difficult to play at a high level, regardless of your stick skills and game IQ if you don't have elite speed.

The best middle school clubs still prioritize speed/height/aggression but they are drawing from a talent pool where everyone has a good stick and excellent game IQ.

In middle school, the physical differences in kids due to varying starts in puberty is so vast that it has to be a primary factor. I know one kid that in 5th grade looked like the next Grant Ament. Kid wasn't big but was super quick with ridiculous dodges and great vision. Fast forward to 8th grade and he hasn't grown an inch. He still has the same speed/stick/IQ but now defenders are even faster and have 50-70 lbs on him. He now looks pedestrian.

Lax has always been a game of speed. It's pretty difficult to play at a high level, regardless of your stick skills and game IQ if you don't have elite speed. But now, programs are starting to favor size as well. Look at the d for Virginia... average height of their def is 6'6".

The best middle school clubs still prioritize speed/height/aggression but they are drawing from a talent pool where everyone has a good stick and excellent game IQ.

In middle school, the physical differences in kids due to varying starts in puberty is so vast that it has to be a primary factor. I know one kid that in 5th grade looked like the next Grant Ament. Kid wasn't big but was super quick with ridiculous dodges and great vision. Fast forward to 8th grade and he hasn't grown an inch. He still has the same speed/stick/IQ but now defenders are even faster and have 50-70 lbs on him. He now looks pedestrian.

I've witnessed this as well. I've also seen more athletic kids not develop their stick skills and now have become liabilities on the field. Have to have both for Elite. Having said that, athleticism masks a ton of deficiencies in the stick still department but it never lasts.

Thoughts on today’s games and elite division? My take so far…

Hawks and Madlax - top two, probably the the championship game
True Chesapeake - winning but don’t look as strong as I thought they would. Not impressed
Next Level - same as with TC, not impressed
FCA - has some talent, but struggling. Up or tied at half and losing
LTLC - dark horse, might be in top four
91 and Predators - bottom two

Some surprising scores yesterday for sure.
Legends as expected in middle of the pack, next week will be a big test
FCA is struggling without the older boys helping them out.
NL and TC have definitely not lived up to the hype, but are still very much in the hunt. TC will be tested next week.
Hawks as expected with goalie continuing to fly in.
Madlax fixed whatever was plaguing them and are rolling again
91 and Preds wishing they were in AAA

This weeks game summary.

Common things noticed this weekend. There have been less shot clock issues. Teams seem to be adjusting. The play is much more physical. The lacrosse IQ game is lagging behind the speed and physical play. Coaching IQ is hit or miss and those coaches that have it manage games much better. Teams that use players in key roles are better off than using players as “Heros”. The top 5 teams are closer than ever.

How would team 91 or Predators do if AAA this year? Would they dominate or just be in the mix?

Elite

Legends v. Team 91. Legends
As expected Legends won. Legends has a tough group of kids that grind through many situations. The biggest set back that I noticed from game to game was the inconsistency in game play and tempo. As seen in the game with 91. A few times 91 came down and scored back to back goals with limited adjustment with the defense. Legends eventually shut that down to put the game in their hands for a win. 91 won more face offs than expected leading to goals. Hopefully the caching picks up on this and uses it to their advantage. 91’s defense struggled with legends movement of ball and the strength they bring with size and scoring ability. It’s apparent that 91 uses their stronger players to push through situations through out the game with limited support from other players. Maybe 91 needs to develop and incorporate more of there support players in the rotation to build confidence in their play. There were “glimpses” of good lacrosse which were out weighed by the speed and strength of elite level lacrosse. Legends gets better from week to week, with them being able to finish off games. Legends needs to focus on limiting the small mistakes that lead to larger turnover outcomes. This is something that will be corrected and is apparent with of field coaching.


Madlax v. Hawks
Didn’t see this game but would love to watch a video of it. Two of the best teams around. As expected a one goal game. Could have gone either way

FCA v. Next Level, Next Level.
So another loss for FCA. I was hoping for FCA to win this one. I wanted to see how the team dealt with adversity. In the first half it was back and forth with FCA setting the tone and tempo of the game. FCA looked as though they were getting back to the level of previous seasons. Fast ball movement, consistent outcomes off face-offs, and limited mistakes kept them in the game. This also included getting all players on the field involved. FCA limited their shot clock issues and in return got a good first half. Next Level came to play, however seemed a step behind FCA always playing a slight game of catch up. Next Level struggled in the mid-field with FCA winning the ball. So the second half was a different story. Next Level adjusted the game play to suit their style - deliberate, simple, and focused. These adjustments seemed to throw FCA off, causing the defense to lose sight of players cutting, setting picks, and off ball movement. There were many times when the defense was looking around as to where they should be and who they should cover causing their teammates to try to compensate for the lack of slides. Defensively FCA lost many ground balls on their side of the field. Offensively FCA, relied on their key players to make things happen. Relying on these players so heavily in the second half limited the production and success that they brought in the first half. Frustration in players was apparent on the field from week to week possible cause for low moral. NL used their strengths to their success while using FCA’s lack of discipline at times to their advantage. NL is a good team, but not quite a great team yet. This match up should have gone in another direction with an FCA win. They have the talent to succeed. One win since the fall is very uncharacteristic. I know it sounds repetitive, but how will FCA respond when the chips are down, both in player resilience and coaching adjustments. Next Level will play a solid game next week and should be able to handle 91 with relative ease.

True Chesapeake v. Predators -
The score was much closer than I would expected. Does true play down to the level of the team they are playing. I have not been overly impressed with the team. While they are very good there is still a lack of complete dominance. The goal production is low with an average of 8 goals per game especially against weaker teams.

Next Weeks Predictions
Predators v FCA - FCA +5 Spoiler Game
TC v Hawks - Hawks +3
Madlax v Legends - Madlax +1
Team 91 v Next Level - Next Level +10

AAA

This week had a lot of close games with low numbers in goals. How would team 91 or Predators do if AAA?

Pro Start v. NOVA - NOVA is putting up goals through out the season while this game was close the goal production is consistent from week to week. Are NOVA the team to beat. Is Prostart able to pig up steam and begin producing.

Bethesda Blue v. Carroll Manor - Game played out as I thought. Carroll Manor was able to limit the goals to win another game. CM will have to increase goal production to continue to win .
Shore Kaos v. HoCo - Hoco - Not Played Yet

Annapolis Hawks v. Team Maryland - Well This was a close one with TM possibly squeeking this one out. Team Maryland has the goal production to have won this game.

Next Weeks Predictions
Hawks v. HoCo - Hawks +3
Shore Kaos v. Carroll Manor - Carroll Manor +3
Prostart v. Team MD - Team MD +2 Spoiler Game
True NOVA - Bethesda Blue - NOVA +3

Fantastic write up! Keep them coming!

If anyone has a link to the Hawks madlax game please share would love to see great play.

Great write up!

Heard "Hawks Goalie" didn't fly in for the Madlax game?

Also saw FCA vs. Next Level game before ours. FCA had FOGO back on the field, but was without top two defenders now due to injuries, and lost there LSM in the 3rd quarter to what looked like an ankle injury.

LTRC definitely played down to Team 91's level, but they also were giving runs to a lot of players who traditionally don't get as mush time.

Hawks goalie was there.

Injuries do occur and can affect performance, but in shouldn't be an excuse for players not knowing their assignment. There is a reason why everyone practices and takes reps. Note: When players practice, whether you are on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd shift, always be present and practice like you will play because you never know when you will be called upon.