Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
I think the 2027 team has won about 3-5 games since they started in HoCo over 6 years. This year will be different as about 4 2026's have dropped down.

The reclassed 26's will not help the 27's as the players are not the primary problem. The roster has turned over at least 30% every year. Hint: It's the "coaches".

The youth rosters at 91 MD have always had an astounding level of turnover. To Millon it doesn't matter, because it's a fundraiser for the HS aged teams. Despite all the claims of "we develop kids to be elite!" "we place kids in elite HS!" "We never cut kids!" Those are all dubious claims, easily proven to be false.

At all elite clubs (less so ML and Crabs, despite them being the most insufferable generally), the rising 9th graders will find themselves surrounded by holdbacks and kids from NY to OH to NC on the "regular" roster, with even more holdbacks flying in to "drop in" for the team on Day 1 of every tournament. This is absolutely true for 91.

The sales pitch is that 5 years of playing for 91 (or Hawks or FCA, etc) at the youth levels will "develop" your kid to earn a spot on the roster in 9th-12th grade. It's a red flag if any coach tells you that, because it's flatly untrue. Well developed or not, if he is not a holdback who has caught the coach's attention for being dominant on the field (of younger kids), your son will not start at elite level ball.

Are you aware that everyone who starts in elite is not a holdback?

Yeah I am aware, thanks for the knowledge drop. At the HS level, esp 10th-12th grades, very few kids starting in the national top 25 are on-age. Long Island teams have the most on-age starters, MD-DC teams far fewer, and even fewer from the top couple of New England clubs, where boarding school kids are held back in lax for years before they're actually held back in school.

LOI announcements this fall featuring 91MD kids include a number of holdbacks from NY and other states (hint: they don't attend practices with 91MD at all). Just to bring this discussion back around fully. So keep believing your on-age Dumbarton 8th grader playing for 91 is going to start on 91MD in HS.