This thread will be used for discussions, news, and analysis of the Boys 2016 graduation year programs during the Fall 2012/Spring 2013 seasonal year.

Which 2016 programs/teams are the strongest and why?

Outlaws have added two stud attack men from express orange, face off middie from fl$ and a beast D-man from Chamimade/Team LI.

They already have a stud midfield, that is only getting better.

Express will also be good for this age, but those should be the 2 bug dogs at 2016 on LI.

Outlaws do have 2 Attack from express Orange, not the first line Attack...not quite studs, but very talented. They played with my son on the orange team last summer

Until proven otherwise, Express is the top team in the age group. I'll give Outlaws the second spot for now and I think third will be wide open. Lots of players moving around this year so we'll have to wait and see.

My son's team played Team LI a few times last year and I don't remember seeing any "beast" D-men. In general Team LI has good players who are very well coached. fl$ wasn't feared by anyone last year. I think you're homerism is getting in the way or reality.

Doesn't matter. The Long island teams have not improved compared to last year and will not make the final 4 in LarryMiller. That's really all that matters now that the fl$ 2014 and express 2015 won it back to back. Third time won't be a charm since the 2016 grade does not compare from a depth standpoint to 2015. There's only enough talent for one great team on the island in this grade and that team doesn't seemed to have upgraded to be able to keep the national championship. The Starz will dominate.

We will see !! This opinion is based on what ?

This past summer you had two national caliber teams in fl$ 2015 and express 2015. If you know the players on those teams just go up and down the lineups - must be min 35-40 D1 caliber players together. Turning the clock back one year both of those teams a year ago were much stronger than the current vintage express orange or outlaws. The 2015 class is one of the deepest and most talented in a very long time. The 2016 class on long island doesn't have that kind of depth and it will show in the Florida heat.

Watch out from below. 2017 is already better and deeper than 2016.

Are the Starz a girls team? I've never heard of them

Cali baby.

Well let's see how many long island teams play fall tournaments and how they do. Express will be in Maryland the first three weekends in November . Playing the best teams at this age braket. I am sure mike c will have his kids ready.

Turtle power!

Well that makes sense because most of the Turtles should be in 9th grade anyway.

Lets stick to 2016... the Turtels had no luck playing the Express 2016 Orange even when the Orange played soft. The Squirtles should be thanking MC for telling his team they he would not let them beat the Turtles up in a true tourn (Maverik this summer ). Drink whatever kool aid JD is selling. The Turtles are extremely talented, but if you want to claim to be the best you must beat the best..2016 Orange. Now Turtle terds go away !! And please remove from your web site you duck nobody ...

How did that super cuda 2016 team do in their age bracket this summer. I wouldn't worry too much about the 2017 squad. after ALL the talk on this blog about how good you were you sure did struggle when you came to MD. At least the turtles came down and took care of business in their age bracket. How did cudas do against the express 2015 orange?

I would love to see you come to a Turtle practice and spew this nonsense. How about you go away, hater.

Cudas never played 2015 Express Orange. Obviously, 2015 Orange is an extremely deep, talented team.

They lost 1 to the Crabs and 1 to the Green Turtles.
Not claiming that this is the best team ever...never did that, However, this is a 2016 thread and someone, I am sure not you brings up the Turtles here claiming how they are so deep and insinuating the best. The bantering is entertaining. Nothing more. But the Turtles did not ever handle the 2016 Orange just as I would expect if 2016 played 2015 Orange. 2015 should handle them. Have a great day

It is easy to talk tough behind your computer screen. Funny how you took this road over addressing the fact that the Turtles could not handle the 2016 Orange. Put your arrogance aside. Each time the Turtles asked to play the 2016 Orange they were accomodated. The outcomes were the same each time despite the 2016 boys being told not to hit or ply too rough. Good luck and I hope you realize that within the next few years the Turtles will be playing with 2016 grads at the high school level and many may be 2016 Orange players
Good luck going forward !!

Here we go with little Turtle dad stroking the Turtle shirt his kid got him because they were friends with the coach. Nobody cares Turtle man. You couldn't beat the older teams like you did when you were younger......lets see how the little Turtle players shake out in a few years......Oh yea Dad....go pick up youe free Turtle dad sticker for your car !!!!!

2015 Orange is light years ahead of cudas. Not a single cuda would make the roster of 2015 orange.

IF many turtles may be on the 2016 orange then what you are really saying is that many turtles are better than current orange players who will be shoved aside for more talented turtles - exactly what we know already. Have a great day!

Seems like you care a ton as you pound your chest for your 2016 Express Clownfish team. 2016 has NO chance to take this Turtle team again...fact!

I am sure if you ask MC to play the Turtles straight up, so long as JD does stamp his feet and cry foul, he will. The so called Clownfish will have no problem handling the Turtles. Maybe then this issue will be put to rest, but we know it will never come to be
Have a good day

No Einstein, the age groups will come together at their respective high schools.

Why would they be picked to play up a year ? Express plays kids at their garduating year. Not quite sure the point you are trying to make, but hey if it works for you OK

Seen the Turtles at Lehigh...... Sorry but I was not impressed , just a couple of little boys with good stick skills. Didn't they get pounded by Team Victor who eventually lost to 91 Orange in the championship.

Maybe not. Cudas will still be on JV when turtles are on varsity.

Point being that 2015 vs 2016 would be men vs. boys. The gap between the two is getting larger. It would not be pretty and should not happen unless it was a "controlled" scrimmage with no rough stuff.

Now you are reaching..enjoy the Turtle Kool Aid

Did the Turtles beat any true 2016 "A" teams last year or the year before? I know they lost to 2016 Express Orange at at scrimmage and an upstate NY team at Lehigh in the early summer last year. I believe they lost to 91 Orange the year before that.

They are a very good 2017 team. Maybe the best in the country? They can't compete with the elite 2016 teams.

Good try many played on their high school varsity teams as 8th graders...I admire the effort a hole

Half the team SHOULD be competing in 2016 but instead masquerade as 2017. Boy do I wish we had rosters/birthdates. Wonder if they are paying the $2,400 or are they being "scholarshipped" in order to polish the express brand.

Why so much hate to this Turtles team ? or maybe jealousy ? Who cares ? Just do whatever you have to to do for your kids. Dont bash other teams and kids. Let it go...

I hear the Turtles are now the Terps

First, they were in 7th last year, secondly, the fact that some played varsity, does not relate to prior quote at all. ALSO, it says nothing good about their High School teams. The team is fantastic at their age level. TOPS. Leave it at that. If they do play up, they SHOULD confront an older team in any final championship. M uch negativity is still felt due to their "fleeing the final" this past summer. -Enjoy

Who are the top goalies at this age group?

2016 kids were 8th graders last year do the math
2017 Tutles were 7th garders do the math and yes there are rebuilding years for high school programs which create opportunities for younger players to be brought up, or maybe some of the 2016 players earned their spots on varsity thru talent. Stop knocking 2016 and inflating the Turtles

That's what we heard. Not sure what it means though.

It wasn't the Turles that fled, it was the fish.

That's funny, the "fish" said they were ready to play. Even went as far as to say turtles came running over to MC to declare a co-championship. I guess each team had to tell the parents something to make them feel better with it. LOL

And what were the fish parents told? That there was only downside to playing so lets not.

What are the chances that the turtles and the fish meet in Florida next summer? I think the Turtles might have some kids who will be too old if they wait another year so they may have to go next summer.

It is blatantly obvious you know nothing about this team.

I think the fish have a chance of making it. I'm sure they made some changes so you'll have to wait and see how everything works out for them.

Turtles...not a chance. They are an excellent team for 2017 but as others have stated here before, they can't compete with the elite 2016 teams from LI and the surrounding area..

Thanks for the in depth analysis on the Turtles. Remember to put one foot in front of the other when you walk.

We are anxiously waiting on yours.

Why are we talking about the 2017 Turtles. This is about 2016 not 2017. Plenty of 2016 gossip to talk about.

My son played against this team called Laxpro in a fall league. Looks like that teams unstoppable. Let alone they only had a couple substitutes on the sideline. Their goalie never saw the ball.

Because turtles are just as good as 2016.

Turtles fled. It does not make it true because you post it. Ever hear of Facebook?

Relax - Just about everything on here is opinion based and just for fun banter - including your posts. But its an interesting observation (opinion) that it seems like the Turtles are the closest competition for the 2016 Orange on the Island. Where's the depth in 2016?

LaxPro is a stacked team that is dominating any team they play. They will beat any team around.

are you kidding? Farmingdale Fall league? Jump down off the barstool and go home and get some rest.

I'm not even affiliated with them. Our coach talked to their coach. They are playing in the Dicks sporting goods tournament of champions in December. You put your team up against them.

Who ever is talking about the Lax Pro LI Team please stop. We put this Team together every fall to give the best players the best training and some game time in the off season. We are not here to beat up on or prove anything. Its about high level training for dedicated athletes . The Express, Outlaws, Team 91 all run excellent programs just let the boys play !
B.L. Team Lax Pro LI

LaxPro is a fall team that starts out doing training with 30 or so players. They do not update some players when the Farmingedale Fall League comes around, therefore, bsaically "cutting them from the team. They start out the league with 20 players, but 5 to 8 do not show up. A lot of these kids are friends, so they know that kids were not being asked to play for the league. Oh, and the training sessions. There are about 10 of them run by Chanechuk. He charges $30 per player... for each session. There about 25 to 30 kids there a night during those sessions.

They can not keep up with any TRUE A-Team. Why do you think they did not play 2016 Orange in the Maverik Tournament this year. They were, "Co-Champs".

Channachuk hasn't trained Laxpro at all this year. Your all so envious of mike and his money making through lacrosse. Why come on here bashing anyone? If your kid didn't get asked to stay. Try harder next year or better yet who cares. It's a fall team that is doing 3 tournaments. Then they all go back to whatever summer team their on.

Team 91 Orange is a top team at this age group. Solid defense and high powered offense

How can you say that when they don't play any other LI teams or any of the top out of state teams? They are probably one of the top five but you have no basis for saying they are THE top team.

I am sure they will be in Maryland in November playing the top teams at this age.

I played on 91 last year and one of my friends went to the terps team and he said they are very good and they are higher than Express A 2017 and there like turtles B but I am playin for true blue Blue or A and were looking pretty good

Who are good town / HS teams at this age group ?

Just check their birth dates. I guess it pays to hold little jimmy or johnny back!

Not a turtle parent but I am aware that a few of the boys are older. HOWEVER, they are ALL in the same grade regardless. Now, if anyone thinks that ALL teams don't have at least a few boys that are older, your are delusional. Every grade has kids that are a year older than others. My son happens to be younger for his grade. It definitely hurts his athleticism for his age. Obviously, I didn't think ahead when he was going to kindergarten!

Please re-read. The person writes, " a top team". I know nothing of what you discuss, but a huge difference that makes.

Young fella, these are ALL tight teams which you've mentioned. Enjoy the game, and practice hard. Study hard, as well.

Why do so many testosterone freaks feel so thrreatened by the simple, anonymous post that this team is "unstoppable". ...only a post.

Because come time for varsity the 2016 kids will be fetching water for the 2017 starters during timeouts. Bank on it.

You're right, that makes them much better people with even better parents. Isn't that your point?

Spoken like a true "Lax Daddy" living through his son.

Love this stuff. Bring it!

What tournaments will they be at?

Why do you care?

91 will stay home and dream that they are good. Express and the outlaws will go to maryland and show that they are good. We went this road over the summer. 91 had many chances to play the express and chose not to. Express came to their coaches tournament and played up where was 91.

Worry about yourself and paying for chanenbucks new indoor pool

Why the chip on your shoulder? Never mind...here's a question I'd rather have answered:

Will you move up to the Varsity bracket in your coaches tournament like you should, not play the kids with varsity experience and be in the JV bracket, or just simply ignore the rules of the tournament?

Do yourself a favor and read the Outliars. Excellent book. You're kidding yourself if you think johnny can compete on the d1 level with especially md kids who are kept back in addition to having an early school cutoff!

If Johnny is good, Johnny is good! The year difference @ 18/19
wont be as drastic as it is @ 13/14. Do what is best for your child. You will find crazy parents everywhere, you can not change them!

You guys are idiots. Only a handful of MD kids get held back.

My son was a 17 freshman at acc hosting a jr recruit from md. No kidding the kid was turning 19 before my son turned 18!

Team 91 Orange and their high powered offense scored 1 goal in a LOSS in a tournament game against fl$ at the Hofstra tournament 2 weeks ago.....So much for the bragging parents

My kid is not on the team but, that was a combination of their A and B teams. I think they only had 4 or 5 kids from the A team and a 10th grader. The rest were from the B team.

Oh no!!!! Not the "they didn't have their entire team excuse"!

It was the 2016 WHITE team that played last week at Hofstra. 4 orange team kids filled in for them. The Orange team was NOT there. If fl$ can't beat the 91 White team then they are in BIG trouble come the summer.

Summer Ball rule number #1

teams that win cheat with older kids and kids not on their "real roster" - teams that lose did not have half the "regular" team

Fall, Winter and Spring rule #1

see Summer Ball rule #1

Best comment I've seen in a long time on these boards!

It was a JV tourney that stated no kids with varsity experience where allowed in the bracket. Of course, team $91 broke that rule at a tourney run by one of their coaches. Classy move!

And you should of stated...4 kids form the orange team and a 10th grader.

Better spend more money soon and fast tog et your boys exposure. According to IL, Hopkins already picked up a Verbal for a 2016 kid from Pennsylvania

One less spot for 91, Express 2016s etc...

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012...mits-johns-hopkins-2015-notre-dame-2014s

This is a travesty - hasn't even completed 1st semester of freshman year

Some early recruiting lessons:

"It's awfully difficult to evaluate what a kid's going to be like seven years from now," Pietramala says. "I'm in there saying: 'How big is mom? How big is dad? How tall is grandpa?' "

Lesson - Keep your short, dumpy wife/husband as far away from Petro and other D1 coaches as possible! Instead, hire a 6ft 2in slim model for the day and parade him/her around the Jake Reed camp - your kid will be verbaled by the time you get home.

Seriously, this is what it's come to. Talk about being at the mercy of a less than a perfect system. Yikes.

Forget about academic transcripts. Next you'll be submitting your kid's genome map.

Verbals are worth less than the paper it is printed on...er...or worth nothing.

Watch the video. it is quite amusing..

Word of advice when making video - make sure the viewer can't figure out what your kid's dominant hand is in the first 20 sec. I fear for the future of JHU lax.

A 2nd 2016 child has committed a Defenseman from Conestoga

When do you think the 1st Long Island 2016 will commit?

What happens when these early commits don't make their varsity teams and don't even start on JV in the most competitive towns?

Or...just as good as your word

Then mommy and daddy stomp their feet and demand that the coaches give their little prodigy still in diapers special treatment - or the AD and superintendent will hear from them for wrecking the inflated reputation of their little darlins. The problem is that in towns such as GC, WI, 'Set, WM etc and Chaminade, St Ants are all loaded with talent in the grades above these diaper phenoms. How do you explain that to Petro, Breschi, Starsia and all the rest of the egregious early recruiting offenders?

Awkward! But, I think/hope all of the HS coaches in the towns and schools you mentioned have the backbone and reputation to not give in to that kind of pressure. The tie will always go to the upperclassman in a school setting. If the younger kid is simply better then so be it. But, this could be a big headache for HS coaches if it looks like they caved to any parent pressure and could be a growing problem going forward. The HS coaches are likely to feel jerked around by a recruiting process that has run amuk and is way beyond their control.

Are you suggesting that Haverford and Conestoga do not have a comparable talent base to the schools you listed in the grades ahead of 2016?

Laxpower ranked Haverford 3, Conestoga 5 in 2012 which is a drop off from 2011 when Haverford was 1 and Conestoga 3

Think this was done without "talent in the grades above these diaper phenoms"

I doubt this will be a problem. The HS coaches know that if they succumb to even one parent's pressure the word will get out and they will be quickly overwhelmed with other psycho parents. Best to put up the wall and just say no, you have to wait your turn no matter what Petro thinks! Unless of course the kid is simply better than all of the upper classmen.

Boy is this a sticky subject on some HS teams.In our town the early verbals lead to issues. Parents were complaining little Johnny committed to Division 1 school X,but so did other kids quite a few,coach was pulling his hair out trying to put out fires with some over zealous parents, The end result,equal playing time,which resulted in not as many wins as should have had. That lead to another round of belly aching ...you cant plaes everyone!

Slippery slope for sure. What about the early verbal in a grade that is benefitting from the early recruiting trend versus the 2014s where it wasn't so accelerated. You could have upper classmen who have not yet committed that are clearly better than the younger early committs but because of the early recruiting phenomenon you'll have D1 commits riding the pine behind upper classmen that are not yet committed. This will be happening all over the place for sure.

Trust that the HS coaches will be able to understand and seperate the differences in the recruiting landscape among classes and not cloud his judgement that an early D1 commit in a younger grade (eg. 2016) is not necessarily better than a non-comiitted upper classman.

The truth is many of these young commited players are better than many upper classmen. Look at GC...They are a power house program and they played a couple of freshmen last year while other programs that based playing time on seniority did not fare well at all. H.S. should be like college...Play the best players period. Playing time should be earned, not awarded because you have seniority.

Absolutely. But if the uncommitted upper classman is better than the committed underclassman then the kid will have to ride the pine and explain it to petro.

Couldnt agree with you more. Play the best. But lets remember this is the age of everyone gets a trophy.

Call me old fashioned but to me the high school level is not all about winning - its about creating life lessons and great memories for as many kids as possible. Leave the win at all costs to the clubs, colleges and pros.

And Im sure "Petro" would understand, he's not an idiot, the man knows lacrosse. Im sure he knows what he is doing & if he reccruited a 2016 kid already that is their business, good luck to them. The kid just may be that good!

I'm aware of two - they just haven't been announced and won't be for a while.

Interesting news about the kid who just de-committed from UMD and is heading to Dartmouth. Clearly, Dartmouth needed to see additional indications of academic potential than what was ok for UMD. This could be a new trend - kids who were not academically eligible for the IVYs in 9th or 10th but became so in 11th or 12th and jumpiing ship for a better piece of paper.

If by "better piece of paper", you mean scholarship dollars, remember that the Ivy League does not have athletic scholarships. (You did know that, didn't you?) If you are talking about the overall quality of the academics, we agree.

Think he was talking about the diploma.

Of course - better academic piece of paper. Will be interesting to see if the de-commit trend rises as an outgrowth of the accelerated recruiting trend and if so, will it have any affect on the accelerated recruiting trend - slow it down, speed it up, no affect? Also, since colleges recruit by class, what does a school like UMD do to fill the holes in their oldest high school classes when HS seniors jump? Most anybody else they might have had on their radar are likely to already be committed elsewhere by the time this happens. Will they over-recruit each class expecting to have a few de-commit? Will they more aggressively poach kids that they had on their radar but for some reason committed elsewhere?

You bring up an interesting point.
Committing works both ways. It assumes both parties adhere to the agreement. When you have the student de-commit due to a "better" offer, and don't get me wrong I am not judging, then I would assume if this trend accelerates, then colleges would also be allowed to de-commit if someone "better" becomes available.
Once the veil of trust is broken on verbal commitments, all bets are off and the process will be upended.

I disagree. I think there is much more reputational downside to colleges decommitting than individual players and therefore I don't think you'll see the colleges doing it. Nobody will ever remember that a specific recruit de-committed but if a college coach begins a serial pattern (like a playboy) of de-committing in favor of "more attractive" recruits, there is no way that this won't hurt his long term recruiting success. In fact, this may become a key criteria for recruits in chosing a school.

The recent turn in the discussion is extremely interesting and appropriate for the Boys 2016 class to discuss.

First, it is absolutely the case that there is downside to a college coach rescinding a verbal commitment without demonstrated cause - the recruiting community is exceptionally small and more than a single rescinding of an offer spreads like wildfire in the community. This is one reason why even new coaches coming into an institution will honor previous commitments made by an exiting coach.

Second, BOTC has a concern that these very early (first half Freshman year) commitments will give a false sense of security to a student-athlete that he or she has explored all of the avenues needed to be happy at a college when in fact, the student-athlete might have only scratched the surface at age 14 or 15. Our expectation would be that there will be an accelerating number of student-athlete decommits as time rolls forward.

For those following the [lacrosse]'s Sporting Goods Tournament in Florida, the following games are scheduled in the U/15 group play bracket.

U/15 Bracket - Pool Play

Saturday : Team Long Island vs. Georgia Blackhawks (Georgia)
Saturday : Team Long Island vs. PrimeTime Power Penguins (Massachusetts)

Saturday : New Island Nemesis (NJ) vs. Crossfire U/15 (Georgia)
Saturday : New Island Nemesis (NJ) vs. Florida Elite (Florida)

How can 1 30 minute game in the pouring rain fairly evaluate 100 boys for Suffolk showcase? Not fair to boys who showed up yesterday...

did emails go out for 2016

Yes they did, My son made it, but agree 100 percent not fair, some very good kids left off final 40

The fact that "very good kids" (your expert opinion only) did not make the final 40 actually speaks well of the process and that reputation and "politiking" had minimal influence on the selection - all about who performed best in the hour of truth. AS advertised.

want your kid to make the team have his high school coach volunteer to be the coach.

east islip, john glenn and bayshore will be well represented when final 40 comes out and im sure the team will have a large number from their schools

How did this class fare in the Under Armour tryouts?

Any top 40? top 100?

Top 100
Dan Rooney Smithtown attack
Shane Brennen Walt Whitman Goalie
Matt Gavin Manhasset attack
Top 40
Dan Rooney
Not sure if others

How are the UA uncommitted 2016 players selected? The website says to be considered for the uncommitted team you had to tryout for the underclassmen team. If only 3 2016's made the Top 100, it would make sense that these 3 players will be part of the 2016 uncommitted team.

You would think, BUT you never know. One kid did not make final 100 and is on Roster. Also one of the Goalies that made final roster's father was an evaluator. Anything can happen

Which express team is their top team at this age group?

Barracudas are the top Express team in the 2016 class

Casey Kimmel (Massapequa '16) too. He and Rooney got nice shout-outs from Inside Lacrosse:

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2013...er-armour-underclass-long-island-tryouts

Nice job, boys.

Any rosters for nassau suffolk game?

How did the Barracudas do this past weekend at their tournament?

lost in the qtr finals to west coast starz 7 to 4

Sorry...it was a loss in the semi finals to WSC

The advanced physical training methods of the west coast kids not to mention increased laxIQ has begun to break up the MD/LI stronghold on the sport. There's a new empire rising in HS lax.

any word on the LI Showcase rosters for Suffolk?

Don't think they were published anywhere. I think the players were contacted via e-mail.

Yes they were - game is tonight so they better have been.

BOTC has received the final copy of the roster. Players and their positions are listed below.

(Attack-6)
Weinmann, Jake
Hannigan, Jack
Haun, Thomas
Rhatigan, Dylan
Rooney, Daniel
Smith, Conor

(Midfield-9)
Glynn, Phil
Forsberg, Chris
White, Wayne
Stempke, Kyle
Tabert, John
Devito, Anthony
Forte, Riley
Varello, Danny
Arceri, Gerard

(Defense-6)
Reed, Stephen
Goonan, Finn
Stempke, Brian
Carrara, Blake
Desmond, Brandon
DiBetta, Ross

(Goalie-2)
Giacolone, Jacob
Brennan, Shane

anyone have rising juniors

Thanks 7pm tonight!

Lots of quality kids missing from both rosters. I wish the coaches and orginaizers had done a better job of promoting this event.

What about Nassau?

Rising Sophomores        
295 A McPartland Tommy Farmingdale
298 A McDaid Luke Garden City
305 A Madsen Joe Locust Valley
314 A Gavin Matthew Manhasset
315 A Lynskey Justin Massapequa
316 A Tierney Ryan Massapequa
325 A O'Keefe Mac Syosset
342 D Tansill Reed Locust Valley
344 D Barrett Zachary Lynbrook
348 D Battaglia Chris Manhasset
349 D Clejan Thomas Manhasset
359 D McMenamy Terence South Side
334 D Confort Daniel Garden City
366 G Deluca Matthew Farmingdale
367 G Tam Gavin Friends Academy
327 M Beckwith Dylan Wantagh
385 M Cox Riley Cold Spring Harbor
392 M Schmelzinger Timothy Garden City
406 M Cherry Kyle Manhasset
411 M Kimmel Casey Massapequa
413 M Gardella Joseph New Hyde Park
420 M Giovinco Alex Syosset
423 M Sliwak Kyle Wantagh

Organizing?? How about a fair tryout

What was not fair about it?

Great point regarding a fair tryout !! If your HS coach does not attend....you are done !

Not true! Our school had multiple players picked and the HS coach didn't do anything as usual. He is useless but the boys made it because they are that good.

Come on....1 -30 minute game in a monsoon to evaluate over 100 kids when you have 16/17 kids to rotate in for that 30 minute game. Hopefully your kid got at least 15 minutes of that playing time. So there you have it, 15 minutes to choose a kid. Completely agree, unless your coach was there advocating for you there was no chance.

Here we go again, UA, JR, Brine, LI Showcase etc... are all unfair. Stop Already.

Enough with the BS, the kids that make these teams are all strong players. It is not all political.

Maybe, just maybe your kid is not as good as you think.

If you want to blame coaches for something, blame the coaches that do not tell their teams about the tryouts.

If a kid goes to the tryout and does not make it that is OK.

If a kid is not told about the tryout that is not OK.

Congratulations to all of the boys that made the team.

there are always a couple kids that should of , but both teams played a good game- 30 coaches on side lines-
Suffolk 10-6 Won

I will respectfully push back on that...my comments came from talking to coaches from other programs who said specifically that it is important that the HS coach is there....I am not saying if anyone's son is that good or not...just a little odd that 2016s with varsity experience can not make a 2016 team

It's all relative to the program they are involved in or specific needs of the varsity team at the school a boy attends. Just because a boy plays or is on a varsity roster for one school does not mean he would be on a varsity or maybe even start on another's JV squad. Sad to say but the disparity does exist as evidenced by the lopsided scores throughout the High School season. However politics does play a significant part in the final evaluations and that will take place everywhere. Next time tell your son to play through the adversity and BS and BE SEEN so evaluators can't ignore the obvious.

I agree with some points here. There a numerous opportunities for a player to be seen and attend great programs. A point to consider is not the political influence a HS coach may have or not have in making a LI team, but rather the opportunity to talk to college coaches attending the tryouts. Some coaches take a very proactive role in this while others do not even attend the tryouts or final event. This, in my opinion, is where some players may come out on the short end.

There is player from my town that started in the game for the 2016 Nassau team and he played JV this past year. The reason is that we have a strong program and there were really good older boys in front of him. I have no doubt that he would start Varsity on a lot of high school teams on the island.

My point is just because a kid played Varsity doesn't mean they are better than all of the other 2016 kids on the island that didn't.

Agree 100%.

This is not an exact science - when some people say how did player "X" not make the team it is because they have seen what a great player he has been for as long as they have been watching him and it has nothing to do with how he performed at a short tryout and when an evaluator did or did not see him

I think the politics comes in to play when they select the team and maybe a great player had an average tryout and his high school coach politics for him because he knows the kid is great but if that HS coach was not in the room he is not there to politic.

Last year a 2015 kid was cut from the team yet signed with Hopkins three weeks later. maybe Hopkins is wrong or maybe they have seen more of the body of work and like the kid. It does not mean the evaluators are stupid for not taking him maybe he just had a bad tryout. it is not always a conspiracy. In 10th grade Michael Jordon was cut from his HS basketball team and played JV while another 10th grader played varsity, it worked out OK for MJ

A lot of great points made ! Just keep trying boys and the cream will rise to the top !

Can never go wrong with an MJ analogy. The GOAT

What happened to 2016 Express Piranhas? Lost to Next Level (who?) in 2-13 US Lacrosse Northeast U15 championships. Tournament was won by a rag-tag 8th grade (2017) NJ Northeast All-Star team.

NJ Northeast All-Star team was legit. After talking to some of their parents they only had one practice. Team was full of great athletes and competed successfully with all the teams killing everyone except for next level who they beat by one. This team was all rising freshman as well competing with the older squads. Should be interesting how they do in Florida this July

My son is on the NJ Northeast Team who won and agree they have a lot of good athletes. All are rising freshmen (2017s) and they did only have 2 practices together before the tournament. However, objectively, I think they will have a very tough time with the top club teams as they don't play together regularly. Fun tournament for all involved.

Any of you guys coming to the Crabfeast? Best rising sophomore tournament in the country.

Anybody know anything about Team Long Island? We haven't played that team in years. Are they any good these days?

Any scores from the Nat Invite Bob?