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

Nothing will ever be enough. June isn't enough, it should be Sept, if it was Sept, it would not be enough. Instead of working with their kids to get better, they would rather troll sites like this to justify the "victimization". Besides, if a kid is born in Aug and it was a Sept cut off, they would still complain as if that whole month made a world of difference (given families are on vacation and taking a break before school and fall lacrosse).

The whole age based verification was done for one simple reason - money. A venture capital firm was buying up lacrosse clubs/venues and developed their own age verification software to be used. NLF or a few club teams within it, saw it for what it was and approached US Lacrosse to initiate age verification on their end to productize it and make money by charging parents. That is the only reason age verification came about and how quickly it finally materialized.

I love all the posts claiming the loss of high performing older players is the cause for certain clubs struggling yet when clubs have high performing player out due to injury, that can’t be an excuse. Haha. So pathetic.

There’s a reason a 3rd string player is not a first string player and it’s not because he isn’t “being present in practice and knowing his assignment”.

The point is that when a 2nd string player comes in to replace the Injured player he should know what to do as in positioning, play calling, etc. he might not be as athletic but can’t look lost on the field.

Spoken like an apologist for holdbacks. well done. It should be any month and date, Sept seems best as it is month that mostly aligns with school. And If it was, No one would complain except for people like you whose son is born in the summer.

Love the it is only " one month thing " holdback apologist. What about the boy who wasn't held back that your son goes against. Oops it is at minimum a year, and could be much more. The least it can be is a month and frankly it is usually much much more, but keep telling yourself it is only a month , if it makes you feel good for your son to play down.

Same goes for If it was January, no one would complain after awhile as it would be the same for everyone. Well you would again complain as your son cant play down.

What people dont like, which you holdback apologists cant address, is why does your son get an advantage to play down over another fathers son born on same exact day. best rule would be to let everyone play down if they want, just like you do with your son.

And I am talking about youth sports to 8th grade, so dont try the "they play against older in HS" holdback argument

There is a reason many players look better after going out on field . They get playing time and better practice time. How do you suppose some player who looked terrible going out occasionally one year , becomes some decent player next year after starting. Playing time and reps.
Not that hard to figure out.

Still talking about holdbacks? Seasons about 1/2 way through. SMH. Wish i had this much extra time.

If the great equalizer is playing time, all teams should perform similarly. After all, their starters are all getting similar playing time.

The bottom line is some kids simply have more TALENT. Some of that could be an early puberty but much of it simply comes from innate athletic ability.

That's life and it's not going to change. It's why some pro athletes command deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars and other only get the veteran minimum. Playing time won't bridge that gap.

Somebody had a rough game last weekend. LMAO

Why is 1 year all of a sudden the max "reasonable" age difference? What's wrong with U12, or U14 teams? What about the middle school kids who play on mixed grade teams? Should we ban them too?

The holdback thing has been addressed. The whiners won. Now go outside and touch some grass and celebrate. Maybe if you still aren't comfortable with playing against older kids you should find a nice town league to play on and leave everyone else alone.

Actually correct. After this season, which ends on August 31, 2024, US Club Lacrosse will not verify ages for the 2029s. Not sure what HoCo’s rules will be, but as for Club Lacrosse, holdbacks will once again be allowed.

Got it, your son needs to play down to compete, cant compete against players his own age. You holdback apologists are all the same, excuses excuses , I like the " play against older kids ( while you play down , LOL ) " . One year age, what does that have to do with having players compete at same age? Only in Holdback minds. The system was fine when it was U9,11,13,15,,, No one complained except private school holdbacks whose little johnny couldnt play down. Now go pick up your trophy for playing down, you deserve it.

I was under the impression that it wasn’t until Aug 1st 2025 for this grade. I could be wrong just what I was told.

Source please otherwise rubbish.

This is my understanding as well.

"At the high school level, the NLF will continue to group players by graduation year to assist with the college recruiting process. High-school aged NLF players and tournament participants will be required to maintain an active USA Lacrosse membership, but they will not be required to go through the age verification process."

This means August 2025 for this age group.

Thanks, so no issue playing against older kids then. Cool, glad we can move on from the pointless whining.

Not sure how it is in Maryland but in Virginia at the 10U, 12U and 14U level but most rec teams have A and B teams and almost assuredly most A teams are comprised of the upper age group with a sprinkling in of younger players that can play with those kids - in other words younger players play up - as it was for almost the beginning of the creation of youth sports. If you were good, you played up. Holdbacks are essentially playing down. That is the issue.

I was under the impression that the rule applies to 2029 class and beyond— in perpetuity. That would be senseless if they make kids go back to where they belong for one year, and then “reclass” again next year and go right back to where they were. Talk about semantics.

From the joint USA Lacrosse and NLF press release in May of 2023...

"Current members of 2029 or younger teams who do not meet the new age requirements will need to play on their age appropriate team as of fall 2023 and remain with that age appropriate team until they begin classes in high school, at which point they can play with their high school graduation year team."

Sounds like 29 reclasses will have to continue to play 28 until their freshman year of high school.

Of course it's all semantics. The worst part is the whole intent was window dressing to stop the whining and it didn't even work. People just love complaining too much.

The HoCo League has a two year spread at 8th grade presumably so kids don't lose a whole season due to this incredibly well thought out rule change.

Amazing that somehow lacrosse survived for all those years when youth was age based... But now, we need to accommodate holdbacks. LOL

Or just let kids play with their classmates and have fun and stop worrying about the hyper competitive over-involved parental whining.

Pre-grade based it was U15 for 8th grade. Yes we survived

Shifting the conversation from crying in the corner over your kid not making a team or not getting time because of all those double holdbacks in 7th grade…

Thoughts on today’s games?

FCA gets a win
Hawks, struggling?
LTLC over Madlax, big upset?

Of course, we need to accommodate private school holdbacks who need to play down with their classmates, while other boys born on the holdbacks birthday must play on age.

All seem to be fine for many years until " hyper competitive over-involved parental whining " by private school holdback parents and clubs decided that we need to let these holdbacks play down their entire time while playing youth lacrosse. Not just 8th grade as you are worried about.

Next level score?

How about just asking for opinions and talking about the games instead of throwing in your comment and justification for having your son play down instead of playing with other children his own age. Yea, lets not talk about your son playing down,

10-5 Next Level

The car ride home after a bad game could be pretty bad. Could you imagine what the FLIGHT back home would be! Hahaha!!!!

Lots of interesting games this weekend. We started to see parity in the Elite division last year. This year looks to be even more which is great!

Crabs / Legends had Madlax number once again (2 years in a row!). Congrats on the huge win.

True with a HUGE win over Hawks. I know True was pumped up for this match, but it wasn't even close. Lots of grumblings with new coaches, etc. over at Hawks. This seems to always happen once a program gets bought out by 3steps. Hawks youth teams are starting to struggle at most ages.

FCA finally get their first victory. Sloppy victory from what I saw in the 2nd half. Looked to have 1-2 guys back from injury, but still had 3-4 guys in street clothes on sidelines.

Poor Team91....but it wasn't as bad as most thought it was going to be. 91 showing some improvement.

Looks to be a 5 team race for the playoffs. Will be interesting to see how Next Level responds in their next 3 games as they have had an easier schedule to start with.
1. True.
2. Crabs/Legends
3. Madlax
4. Hawks
5. Next Level

Middle Tier
6. FCA

Bottom Tier
7. Predators
8. Team91

Easy matchups this week.............
Crabs over Preds
Hawks over 91
Madlax over FCA
True over Next Level

You feel better about yourself now? Tell us where it really hurts.

Do you feel better about that comment and the Hawks goalie. The family use to live hear and because of a job moved away. The older son lives in the area because of school. So flying back has more of a significance than just lacrosse. Please fact check, Not saying it's justified for every weekend however there seems to be more to the story.

SMH!

Come on…Everyone knows whose dad this was.

Who? Honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about? Either be less cryptic or maybe don't post this since only 2 people seem to understand it. You could probably text each other instead or maybe text the dads/moms on your team. Just a thought

I don’t, please tell

Don't be lazy! Could have been a mom. Lots of folks talking about players flying in.

The Hawks are flying in a goalie? Seems unnecessary and expensive at this age for one game a week. I guess if you're willing to fork it out go for it!

This weeks game summary.- Please do not respond with off topic banter. Add any information that could be interesting to the converation.

Things noticed this week. There were more surprises than normal. Most games are closer than expected. The violations continue with offsides and shot clocks. Teams are still relying on hero ball. Team play and unity enhances performance. Teams that can balance organized play schemes with inventive lacrosse IQ will standout and win. The top five teams are the closest they have ever been. The bottom three teams are starting to show glimmers of hope and are improving.

Elite

Predators v FCA
Not sure what to make from this game being that I watched it closely. First it was a rise and shine special. Did this play into the game? I am first surprised by the 6-3 score. FCA seemed like they came to play with more of their injured players back on the field. The game was not exciting nor pretty. It was one with many ground balls missed and passes dropped. From the start, FCA was pushing the ball to the offense and increasing the numbers of shots on goals. Some on target, many in the goalie’s stick, and many off target. The team moved the ball a little better than previous games with involvement from other players. Preds struggled on offense with many loss of possessions due to defense and simple stick skills like ground balls, bad passes, and dropped balls. If Preds was on point with these skills, it would be a completely different game. FCA won most of the ground ball battles on their defensive end. The midfield play was average for both teams with balls being thrown away for each team. Turnovers was the name of this game. FCA got little better with the shot clock with (I think) one violation. However, where they made up in another area, they replaced it with players being offsides. I think it was +3.. This has to be addressed in order to improve in transition and game speed. Defensively Preds was playing to the best of their ability, using their size to make up for speed, ball movement, and off ball cutters. This might have been Preds best defensive game. Including this game and the last, the goal differential was an average of 4 goals against (FCA and TC). FCA’s defense continues to struggle. I understand they have some defenseman out that would make a difference. With that being said, the defense seemed lost at times and inconsistent. There doesn’t seem to be a sense of leadership on the defensive end, unlike the offense where it is clear who runs it. FCA limited the on field frustration. Hopefully this win was a stepping to stone to better and more decisive wins. Preds came to play. LITTLE by LITTLE they get better each week. Will they win a game this year? I am not sure, however they are improving at bigger steps than other bottom teams in previous years. Next week, FCA takes on Madlax and Preds take on Legends. Is FCA prepared to take on the speed and precision of Madlax? Will Preds make the legends game closer than expected? Who will know. Legends and Preds play at U.S. Lacrosse field which makes for a unique and exciting experience for players, coaches, and families.

TC v Hawks -
Didn’t catch this game. What happened? The score sparks curiosity. 12-7 TC? My questions are primarily with Hawks. Have most teams figured them out? They run a very specific offense. Very mythical and calculated. To their credit they have been known to be very technical. Has this been a thorn this year? Their goal production seems to be ok however their goals against are higher than what you would expect for a team of this caliber (Please no Goalie comments). TC’s goal production is 3rd lowest in the league but yet they seem to win games with low goals against. I really thought this game would be closer. Would love some game review.

Madlax v Legends
Game of the weekend! Legends over Madlax in overtime. This game was a battle of wills. It wasn’t a perfect game by any means. It was close from beginning to end. Madlax started and established the tempo of the game with some quick goals, catching the legends on their heels. Legends was quick to respond with their own goals. Legends has continuously had a strong and aggressive defense. The leadership is apparent with players and coaches communicating with each other and holding themselves accountable. Legends did struggle in the clearing game with multiple turnovers happening in the middle of the field allowing Madlax to stay in the game. Midfield play at this level is a game changer for any team. Madlax’s defense played hard and was tough, their slides were good and it was apparent that they knew where to be. Offensively, Legends was moving the ball well however, some dropped ball or poor passes caused turnovers in favor of the other team. On offense, Madlax took good shots, however it became predictable as to where the majority of the shots where coming from and from who. While their passing was consistent around the crease so was the 15 yard shot down the alley. Luckily Madlax has good shooters. Both Madlax and Legends have some simple errors to resolve like precise passing, ground balls, and transitions. Shot clock management was ok with Madlax getting called more times than expected. What was apparent was that box coaching caused for some key turnovers for Madlax. This caused confusion among players. Coaching was good on both sides of the field, however each team had different approaches to handling the pressure. In the end I think Legends should have won by more goals. The game should have ended in regular time. The gap between these two teams had gotten really small. Next week, Madlax will play FCA. If Madlax controls the midfield and limits basic mistakes they will dominate the game. Legends and Preds may turn into a closer game then expected if Legends slips on fundamental stick skills. If Legends controls the pace and tempo of the game and plays all 4 quarters equally it will be a win.

Team 91 v Next Level
Watched the first quarter and the game started out as planned. Next level dominated through out. Other than the Legends game, Team 91 seems to have trouble scoring goals. The question is are they getting better every week?

Predictions
Hawks v. Team 91 - Hawks +8
Legends v. Preds - Legends +5
Madlax v. FCA - Madlax +5
True Chesapeake v. Next Level +2


AAA

Hawks v. HoCo
Another upset with HOCO winning 10-9. I would call it an upset. Especially when the Botton team gets a win like that.

Shore Kaos v. Carroll Manor
Shore Kaos pulled it. They have the ability to score goals but are equally tied with Carroll Manor.

Prostart v. Team MD
Well Team Maryland pulled of the spoiler with a large win. There ability to score goals helped them in the end. Hopefully in the future they can limit them to help along the way.

True NOVA - Bethesda Blue -
Nova won 11- 9 . They continue to score many goals which has kept them at the top. The gap between nova and everyone else is getting bigger but he week. If NOVA does this consistently they win it all.

Predictions
Team Maryland v. Bethesda Blue - Team Maryland +1
Hawks v. NOVA - NOVA +9
Carroll Manor v. HOCO - Carroll Manor +3 - Upset of the week with HOCO winning.
Prostart v. Shore Kaos - Shore Kaos +1

Great write up! Thanks.