Use this thread to discuss lacrosse pertaining to 9th Grade Girls (2027 Grads) for the Fall 2023/Summer 2024 Season.

Why is this page so quiet? Fall ball heating up!

Tourneys started?

Ok Let let me help.

Team A upset Team B and blew our Team C in fall ball.

But Team B was missing 8 girls due to field hockey, while Team C has even playing time.

Team B probably won't due well in November tourneys since its entire roster will play varsity basketball. Team C is working very hard in the weight room and will shock people this summer.


Happy?

Empire has 3 teams?

Yes

YJ A in mid-season form already. Beat TG by 10. Where are these new and improved jesters? Very quiet. The gap widens…

Well played

YJ Played TG? Where? When?

No team close to YJ A, they continue to improve, other teams added but no real improvements, more depth

So did YJ A improve or just add?

YJA improved

Congratulations

Doesn’t matter how large the YJ roster is, all those kids will be at the top of the recruiting class, no other program can match it. If you’re a top player and not there, it’s a mistake.

Granted, your statement has validity to it, but there will be plenty of top recruits from other programs as well

And another one!

Is yj the top program, absolutely… but to say it’s a mistake to not be there is silly. Plenty of programs will send girls to top schools

Not all of the them... most of the starters likely, but not close to all players.

Look at YJ Spalling, arguable the best team on LI in at least 5 years. Lots of girls on that team committed to lower-level schools. Sure about 7 or 8 going to big time programs. But their backups aren't going to better lax schools than most of the starters on TGs.

That used to be the case in the past but with the rise of social media, showcases and prospect days, you can be on another A level program and still be recruited by the top 20 college programs. There are 3 other A level programs on Long Island besides YJ. Jesters, Top Guns and Legacy which have girls committed to top programs according to their 2025 commitments.

YJ has 3 LI teams at 2025 many will be committing to high end D1, that’s unmatched. No program can come close to saying that. Agree the other teams mentioned above have done well, but the recruiting machine that is YJ well ahead.

This statement is simply false YJ dad

Someone signed the Depth family?

This is the funniest thing I’ve ever read.

All hail YJ A 2027. Happy YJ dad/mom? Why aren’t you #1 in country?

this is ridiculous....nobody will debate YJ is a great program but have a look at TG's 25 recruiting class for example...plenty of other places to play and still get recruited to top schools

This is incorrect

Prove me wrong, 22 girls on this team 22 top D1 commits…

God. Enough with the comparing and complaining. YJ always good w recruiting. Some other programs a good too. Who cares. Most of you will disappointed in September in two years.

Lots of YJ haters here, if you’re among the best at the age, it’s the best organization to go through recruiting with.

I know they moved a YJB to A, where did the other additions come from?

1 from Legacy; 2 from Tradition

YJ A certainly improved the most, added 3 of the best at the age and let a few go. Of course other good teams out there too

The 3 are the best.

YJ Dad working overtime

YJ getting calls to see if late additions can be made.

Very questionable statement

Is players open Saturday the 28 or Sunday the 29 for girls 2027?

Jesters beat prime time 11-5 in a scrimmage

Saturday 28th

Cool.

Can you say #1 ranked team in NY…

Did they improve talent? Yes. However, let's be real. None of the 4 new girls will be near the field late in a close game. Doesn't mean they aren't talented. Just that there is a pretty big gap between YJ's starters and bench.

ACES. That was easy

hahahah well played

See above. No team close to YJ A, they continue to improve, other teams added but no real improvements.

We shall see

Hero's, M&D, Aces, probably a few others would all like a word

The original poster meant on Long Island.

oh thanks for clarifying the caveats original poster

welcome

Jesters dad really posted a scrimmage score!!?? Wonder why they get a bad wrap.

YJ beat TG by 10

YG hasn’t played TG

Their wrap is based on the play on the field and the parents' behavior on sidelines.

This age group? First time hearing that.

They played in LIJLL Fall league. No one has a full squad in the Fall.

Why is that surprising ? YJ better than all LI teams by at least 10 goals.

False

To be fair, 27 jesters parent behavior is actually much better than 26 jesters parents.

If many haven’t realized it as of yet, certain individuals post on this thread and others just to cause animosity amongst the various clubs. Many girls from the various programs are friends as well as teammates in HS etc and will be in college and rise above all this parental chatter and nonsense!

I feel scolded

What’s the feedback on players open?

Pay to play money grab…..

Are you asking about the June event or the showcase this past weekend?

Daughter didn't go to the showcase but a few of her teammates went. Said it was fun and well-run but talent level was all over the place. Some great players including some girls from CA and CO but about 25% of the girls were pretty bad.

2 of her friends also went to best in class event Sunday in Delaware and said the talent there was a bit higher and there was more actually coaching.

Nothing like this one out there. Getting coached by college coaches and great players. Best event in fall imo.

This has to be a joke.

Clearly the FLG leadership posts on this board. There were some strong players there and good college coaches. But to say it's better than any other fall event pretty much says you don't leave Long Island.

Most of the pre-tourney showcases will have many times the coaches and talent than anything last weekend.

No college coach is looking at this age

exactly
Have fun in tampa

Who wins this weekends matchup of Top Guns vs Prime Time?

Yellow Jackets A. Both teams are so afraid of them they don't show up.

Wasn’t the question, but I noticed YJ doesn’t have a tournament listed for this weekend. Looks like they were afraid to play.

Yep. 100% correct. Very afraid to play teams.

We've played both several times. PT can be hit and miss. Sometimes they are really challenging, other teams not so much. Top Guns too. I guess I would give the advantage to TGs. I know their goalie was one of only if not the only 2027 named to the combine U16 USA team so that's a huge deal.

YJA just won the varsity fall league. People take shots with no knowledge. You have to respect them for playing and winning that league. To say afraid makes no sense

YJA at least 8-10 goals better than the next LI team.

Good luck to all the local kids playing this weekend

Reaching a bit on that one, too bad Aces is the best NY team

Agree 100% on Aces.

Flg 3-0 in first tourney. New and improved!

hahah why don't you tell everyone who you played.... please go away

Florida Select 27’s…watched them run M&D off the field this weekend at the Chesapeake. M&D got lucky with a tie from the miscored score keeper. I heard they added 3 new girls from out west.

Not true at all. They brought in one girl from Eagle Stix, but she lives in Florida and is far from a key contributor.

How FLG do on Saturday?

So M&D got run off the field....on a tie....with a team that called up 5 red players to be able to play. And you're blowing your horn about that? Question is why did FL Select tie against a team using 5 players from a B team?

Bitter much?

look at the excuses from M&D Dad… injuries are on every team quit whining and making excuses.

Question: 91 fields 3 teams at this age group and only 1 team for their older groups. What programs would these girl’s traditionally go to? Jesters, Legacy, Yj?

We are in a small district where not too many girls play travel lax but our neighboring district, it is expected you play for a certain program.

2027 year is a very athletic year on Long Island.
I didn’t know 91 has 3 girls teams for 2027. That surprises me. Boys yes, girls I would think 1 team. Jesters has 4 teams. They are like the Express for girls, legacy has 2, YJ is top with 2 teams and then a Nassau team, TG has 2 and Empire has 2. Good luck.

I too am surprised by 3 teams at 2027. At least historically, they have 2-3 teams at very young age (partly because they start a grade younger than some other teams) but thru attrition get down to one team in older grades, mostly to Legacy, YJ and TG.

Sorry meant to post this on the 2029 page.

Good pool this weekend at Debut in Tampa. But curious scheduling. YJA thumped FL Select this weekend by 5. Eaglestix also beats FL Select by 5. But YJA and Eaglestix don’t play? Seems like a big miss. Great weekend for YJA though.

Big miss in the fall? You need a hobbie

Not sure if FL Select had it full team. There were definitely 2, maybe 3, girls who were playing for both FL Select and FL Shine. Not sure if they were Select playing helping out Shine or the other way around.

The local Fla team was the one missing kids. Haha

It’s fall ball, most teams are missing kids.

Surprised the fall recap has been quiet for LI teams

I guess because people have better things to do.

pretty much as expected. Only surprise if there is one, is that Liberty is probably the 3rd or 4th best team on the island. Pretty much all of the high D1 talent on the island has consolidated to 2 teams.

To recap

1. YJA -- they are who we thought they were; clearly top island on island and one of top 4 in the country; haven't really missed a step

2. Jesters -- Much better, they actually have a plan on offense now and new goalie is a big step up; defense has taken a step back, but that's likely due to so many new faces

3A. TG-- They've played a tough schedule in the fall and showed that they aren't ready for prime time yet. The gap between them and top 2 is massive

3B. Liberty -- Probably the surprise of the fall, probably a top 20 team nationally. Some new players from Jesters and one from YJA has made a big difference.

5. YJB -- A bunch of good fundamental players, but 80% of roster just doesn't have athleticism to play at the top level of club lax

6. FLG-- the less said about them, the better. Getting blown out by mid-tier Jersey teams is a bad start to their season. Will be lucky to be top 50 nationally

7. Legacy -- Knew it would be rough losing their top 6 players to YJ. Pretty much a C level team now, who can't beat C level Maryland teams.

Well FL Select is Miami based so is 4 hours away or so. That said, basketball season is in full effect in most states. Can't think of a team who had its full roster last weekend. FL Select also had several more girls on their bench Sunday vs Saturday so I'm guessing winter sports is a reason.

You definitely need a hobby. Your lack of a life is entertaining to the masses. Thank you for that!

Sounds spot on. What happened to FLG? They were a top 15 team.

A majority of their top players left, mostly to Jesters. Coaching issues at the end of last year likely did them in. Unsure of whether girls would have stayed if no coaching issues.

It's just the reality of high end lacrosse. (same for boys). Around 8th/9th grade all top players gravitate to clubs with top recruiting reputations.

It's just the reality of high end lacrosse. (same for boys). Around 8th/9th grade all top players gravitate to clubs with top recruiting reputations.[/quote]

which Jesters doesn't really have....so we'll see....

Majority of kids playing club lacrosse have zero interest in Top D1 lacrosse, their parents do. FLG, YJ Gaghan, Legacy and several other clubs not listed here are good clubs that have girls that will do well in recruiting, if they choose, and will also have a great college experience.

Empire had a better fall season than FLG. Yeah Boiiiiiii!!!!!

which Jesters doesn't really have....so we'll see....[/quote]


Neither does Aces and those girls haven’t switched

Aces is a newer club. They’re live already surpassed most ny clubs recruiting.

Everyone knows they best go play for YJ

That’s laughable that’s the best go play for YJ. Yes it’s true that many of the top players play for that program but there are many top players on various other clubs, and at times better than the best players on YJ.

Aces 2025 are their first recruiting class and the results have been... ummmm... underwhelming.

Can’t beat the Yellow Jacket recruiting machine, other clubs do OK, but simply don’t have the reach. You have some programs that are connected to certain high end schools, but YJ connected to all high end schools.

Liberty kept their core and picked up a few YJ and TG girls. They look decent this fall.

Agree with this, compared to teams of similar rankings, their recruiting class was lackluster

Recruiting classes are based on talent. Obviously YJ has had that. Aces, Jesters all have talented 26’ and 27’ teams and will send girls to top schools. 25’ class for both were weaker.

Yes jesters defense took a step back allowing 2.9 goals… especially allowing heros to light them up with 4 goals. Cmon

Think the goals against more to do with great goalie play and an upgrade of two way middies, defense will be an offseason focus. Jesters have some of the best middies

CR is well-connected, but so are most established club directors these days. The talent of the player is what matters. College coaches know how to find talent.

My older daughter, who is not YJ, had top D1 coaches lining the sideline in the fall of her recruiting year. The summer before her recruiting year she went to camps of the schools she was interested in. During the fall of her sophomore year coaches reached out to her club director after seeing her play fall ball. College coaches do have other club coaches' phone numbers - they know how to find your daughter. The schools she was most interested in, she went to their camps. Once the recruiting window opened, she was done in less than a week.

Key takeaway - go to camps of the schools your daughter is interested in. Don't believe the nonsense that you have to play for a certain club to get recruited to a school your daughter wants to attend.

Guy above missing the point completely, not all kids will have college coaches “lining” the sidelines.

This is poor advice. You increase your chances of getting attention of the school interested in by being part of a strong club with connections. Going to camps, etc., that’s obvious. Think dad just wanted to share that his daughter had colleges lining up.

Just curious where did that daughter end up playing in college? School and/or conference is fine for a frame of reference

True but the #1 team in the country doesn't get more top coaches than than #20 club. D1 coaches will watch all top 30 clubs multiple times. Anyone who says otherwise is either uninformed, never been through the process of straight our lying.

Now of course the #1 team will likely have more top 25 commits, but that is because they have better players.

YJ back on top

Maybe you should take a look at their schedule 😂😂😂 I think the only people who belive YJ is #1 is YJ

I think us club lacrosse think they are #1 too. 🤷‍♀️

🎯

US Club has jumped the shark. Ever since they ignored their own system and put YJ as the number 1 club ahead of M&D last year. They released the formula for all to see then completely ignored it and ranked YJ #1. Then this fall across all age groups their algorithm heavily favored long island teams. It's a shame because it used to be reputable. It has become a joke to be honest.

YJ was number 1 last year? That’s news to everyone.

YJ was 4th last year, behind Hero’s, Aces then M&D. They weren’t even the best team in NY.

And that’s why a true Nationals would be fun. Not the current one where any team can enter or the new one being held when the club season is over in Richmond.

It will be interesting to see who and who doesn’t participate in this new sweet 16.

Top club/organization, not at this age, across all ages. Go back and look at the US Club lax post. They tell you how they did the math, then made the YJ organization number one and M&D number 2 even though their "math" wasn't even close. Now go across all age groups this fall and look at LI teams who amazingly jumped into top 5 after 6 games when being 15-25 at the end of summer. It's all become a joke to be honest.

100%

Not sure why anyone would want yet one more tournament to have to travel to.

Can't see any of the big clubs doing it...

1. Birth year, girls club doesn't do that so teams will have to mix grad years
2. after a lot of teams tryouts... who do you take, old team vs. new team
3. They just finished a long spring and summer, why add one more tournament

Lastly, if you look at the USClub post on this, they even know it which is why they said if your outside the top 16 be on look out for an invite. I woudl be shocked if they get more than a few (2-4) of the top 16 to show

Wouldn’t the 27’s qualify as high school ehich would be grade based for this tournament. Not both year

The date was changed to July 18-21.

Good point, yes... middle school will have little to no participation from top 16


still after all the tryouts for most and all in mid atlantic

Would love some input. I have a middle school daughter in 8th grade who loves lacrosse and at the moment would like to play in college. I know that can change. I see so many tournaments older girls in high school or entering high school are trying out for- American select, excelsior to name two. Are they worth it? What’s the advantage to doing each of them. Would I be helping my daughter by having her try out/ participate or hurting her by not?

In the scheme of things, for a LI kid, it really doesn't matter. If you live in say NC,IL or TX, then it is actually a pretty bid deal

If you are good enough to make the Long Island AS team or the Suffolk or Nassau Excelsior team, then you are clearly good enough to play college lax.

Girls generally enjoy AS, was a fun beach trip to Delaware. Probably a bit different this year only being a 1.5 day event though. Only caveat is that AS teams tend to be very YJ dominant. If you aren't a complete student or don't play for YJ, then playing time could be minimal

Were there any non yj/legacy girls on top AS team this year?

Top Excelsior teams easier to make than top AS unless you play yj.

Does one more than the other help with the recruiting process.

American select A team had
YjA
YJB
Legacy
FLG
Top Gun
Tradition

Stop listening to parents that complain

Excelsior is for B players. Any top A team player need not waste time at Excelsior.
All American is still the preferred team to make as there is only 1 team chosen per age bracket per region AND its FREE. Tells you right there it’s about the best and not about making money
AS has multiple teams at each grade it’s is 700$ maybe more just to play.

I had a daughter that played both AS and Excelsior and I coached a team for one of them the following year. Both are great events. Both will give your daughter the opportunity to get a bunch of exposure. I would say that the amount of college coaches in attendance the year that I attended both (2022) was absolutely comparable and I wouldn't say that either is better than the other.

For what it's worth, my daughter was recruited directly from the Excelsior games by the Division 1 school that she eventually committed to.

Having been through the process once as a parent and dozens of times over the years as a coach, I will tell you this... every kid's journey is absolutely different. Don't take what you read on here to be the absolute blueprint for your daughter's success. If she loves the game and wants to tryout for both, do it. If she makes both and if the money is there, have her play both. If she doesn't make either one, that'll be OK too and things will work out.

Well said.

USCL is a joke. Their formula is off and rewards teams for blowing out bad teams. The guy knows nothing about lax and capitalizing on the parents to be in top 16 to do his new tourney.

That's unfortunate. They were a strong team and competed at a high level for years.

FLG kept their best players…

…

best player went to Jesters

Best player(s)

It’s the holidays. Why don’t people try to be nice for once.

FLG more than fine with the ones that left, they will have plenty of kids that play at the next level without what the Jester coach calls the “best” players. All these “best” players will be fighting for minutes.

And the holidays are over. FLG dropped to #40.

He will be lucky to get 16 teams to enter and if he does will end up with teams ranked in the 100s.

I know this was coming ever since USCL went away from the pay to play model for rankings.

Whatever that means…

Does anyone know which of these events are invite only vs open tryout? Trying to sort this all out. Thank you and happy new year!

Excelsior
All LI
BIC
Junior’s open
AA
AS
UA

AS and AA are tryouts.

BIC is invite only and the event is already full. They had a fall showcase which was effectively a tryout where the all-stars got invited to the event. Only 114 field players for this event for rising sophs; many more spots next year.

Juniors Open is invite or application only. Not sure if that is full

UA150 is by application.

Excelsior is by tryout, though many girls can express interest and make the team without a tryout.

No idea about All LI

FLG lost their best players in a 2 wave mass exit, first 2 years ago and now this year.

FLG more than fine with the talent they have. Don’t need to be top 20 to be relevant and recruitable.

All those are pay to play, great marketing by running a fear of missing out campaign, if you open your checkbook they have a spot for you.

Hahahaha. Although that might be true , it was FLG ppl like you saying they were still a top 10 team. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Shout out to GC Tradition lacrosse for their first recruiting class. Quality high academic schools with good lax programs and one student athlete going to the #1 team in the country.

Awesome, what schools?

Nortwestwrn, Cornell, Cal… among others

That’s great to hear! Tradition has a real nice program but unfortunately, many girls from the other Tradition teams decided to move on to greener pastures in order to have a better chance at recruitment to top schools.

With a small roster, a newish club and ranking ~30, having 3 girls committing to NW, Cal and Cornell is really quite something. They should be proud. For the 27 team that got dismantled, that's just a shame.

Why did the 27 team get dismantled? Coaching?

Yes, the head coach dismantled the team because he left taking his two best players to YJA.

Wasn’t their HC the one promoting the town travel model?

Yes and made it difficult over the years for other girls who wanted to elect to play travel for other teams. What a hypocrite.

Terrible ruining a great town team in HS, let’s hope his kid even wants to play college lacrosse, most of these kids have no interest and scared to break the news to mom and dad.

Even if she does, I think alot of coach colleges will want nothing to do with Dad

I thought it was the women coach who left for Jesters that started that.

I thought it was the women parent coach who left for Jesters that started that. Was it not true?

That coach left afterwards, and those two players are not at the same level of the two players that went to yellow jackets.

Ha, you’re right they are better.

This tradition player debate is laughable, who cares. Think they’re all good kids, which is all that matters and taking direction from parents. The fact is a guy with an ego the size of a football field tore a great town team apart for his own kids benefit. Looking forward to hearing stories of his antics from the YJ sidelines.

That's a shame. Tradition has built quite a good program with some really competitive teams. Hope the rest of the teams stay intact.

Everyone put their own kids first before others' kids, so nothing wrong with that. Curious to know what he thinks YJ can provide for his kid where Tradition can't esp. the dad is running the show at Tradition. Tradition just had a 2025 kid commit to NW. He coached that team too, right?

Where do the rest of the team go besides 2 to YJ 2 to Jesters. I feel bad for the other kids.

This is absolutely false nobody from ES joined FS.

5 starters didn’t play in the Tampa tourney.facts. The FS team wasn’t originally in the tournament. 2 weeks prior FS beats EagleStix then loses by 5 this is how you know.

Looking for some feedback on these events because they all seem so similar. We are searching for something in addition to my daughter's club tourneys. Thoughts?

American Select
New Balance All America
UA 150

These are all invite or tryout only and in order of importance to attend:

1. American Select
2. Players Open
3. UA 150
4. NB All American
5. Best in Class

We tried players open last year, talent was lackluster, not worth the money. Junior's open is a better tourney.

All above a money grab

What do you mean?

What would you recommend based on your experience?

Remove Players open and replace with Juniors- not sure how its even on the list. Remove UA 150 it was horrible last year and the other events have more coaches and exposure.

American Select
Best in Class
Juniors
NB AA

Yes they all cost $$. But its important for rising juniors and sophomores. Doing at least 1 is good for the girls who want to play college lacrosse.

This sounds about right

For American Select..what is the breakdown? Black is the best, then Grey, then Red?

1 - Black
2- Red
3 - Grey

Black (yellow jackets), then Red/Gray, no real difference in talent between them.

Lots of 27s on varsity teams this year, love to see it

Good luck to all this season

I see best in class is already full for 27’s. How does
The process work. You sign up as a 28 or 27 to be seen and then are invited only as a 26 or 25?

It’s first come first sign up. No selection. At this age.

For the Fall event, the summer event you have to apply.

How does application process work? Do they make decision based solely on film highlights?

To be fair, players open is a decent fall event if you are a sophomore. Lots of coaches there last year.

Players tends to get good talent in recruiting year and poor talent for all other years. That said, the best in class fall event the week before is much better event.

It’s true. I was at both games. FS had many starters out that game in Tampa.