Boys 2028 mess - considerations and solutions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm looking for a team for my son and would love to hear some info on this topic. I know ML, NL, and DCE well, so no need for info on them.

But do True, Top Caliber, Team VA, VLC and Blackwolf actually have 2028 teams (as opposed to merely planning one) in northern Virginia? if so, who is the coach and where do they practice?

team va has one team at 28. I don’t know much about them but from friends it seems like it is mostly a development team for louden kids. They are last place in AA HOCO division.

TC is a Fairfax based team with most of the players coming from Madison, Robinson and oakton. Possibly the best coaching in the area - very few kids get recruited from them. It’s a team mostly for kids who want to get better for Highschool but not necessarily have college ambitions. They are first place in the HOCO A division.

True is almost certainly the best run club in the area great communications, great fields generally good coaches from top highschool programs. They are the newest team (about 3 years old) The beat on them is that they’ve struggled with the majors (DCE, NL and ML) to attract high level talent. They have a great gimmick that by playing for them locally your kid has the potential to make their national team which does get kids recruited. They are tied for first in the HOCO AA division.

Black wolf is a program that has fallen on hard times. They are currently trying to pull together a 28 team for next summer. They had a great reputation for recruiting but I haven’t heard any good news about them for awhile.

VLC was a great club until thier merger with Cavs 2 years ago. Some then they have been a mess. Both of there 28 team imploded last year. Word on the street is that they are going to try to restart the 28 team next year. Definitely the worst run program in the area with terrible communications, organization, fields and a revolving door of coaches (their 26 team just lost their coach). In my opinion the failure of VLC to field a 28 team has caused the overcrowding problem on the majors.

[Anonymous]

OP's question was weird.

If someone wants to play in D1 (3% of all HS aged players), shouldn't he be a starter on a top club team that plays in good tournaments so the D1 coaches can notice them?

Good players should be stars on both club and HS teams. I don't see NL or ML's top teams overcrowd with more than 15 solid players. They may have 26 on the roster but that doesn't mean the last 11 are D1 material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP's question was weird.

If someone wants to play in D1 (3% of all HS aged players), shouldn't he be a starter on a top club team that plays in good tournaments so the D1 coaches can notice them?

Good players should be stars on both club and HS teams. I don't see NL or ML's top teams overcrowd with more than 15 solid players. They may have 26 on the roster but that doesn't mean the last 11 are D1 material.

To be fair, OP did not say anything about playing D1. The question posed was do any of the teams outside the top 3 provide college recruiting support. The answer is not really, but the top teams don't provide much recruiting support either. They provide a place to be seen when they get into top tournaments. You can get D3 offers from lesser teams but really tough to get any D1 offers because D1 coaches will never see you.

But you are right, as you and others have noted a D1 level recruit will not have trouble getting playing time on a top team.

[Anonymous]

Yeah there are politics involved in like roster spots 18-30 on these teams. But the top 10-15 or so players on any of these teams that have a shot to play D1 would easily get playing time. Bottom of the rosters at these clubs aren’t too dissimilar from clubs that don’t make the teams, but the top kids are easily noticeable in a tryout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP's question was weird.

If someone wants to play in D1 (3% of all HS aged players), shouldn't he be a starter on a top club team that plays in good tournaments so the D1 coaches can notice them?

Good players should be stars on both club and HS teams. I don't see NL or ML's top teams overcrowd with more than 15 solid players. They may have 26 on the roster but that doesn't mean the last 11 are D1 material.

OP here. I want to clarify that my goal is just to give my son the best chance to achieve his dream. I don’t think D1 is likely for him but he’s a kid with a dream that I think is positive (certainly better than wanting to become a TikTok influencer). So I want to support. I don’t think it would be helpful for me to say to him. You’ve never been a top player so D1 is out for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP's question was weird.

If someone wants to play in D1 (3% of all HS aged players), shouldn't he be a starter on a top club team that plays in good tournaments so the D1 coaches can notice them?

Good players should be stars on both club and HS teams. I don't see NL or ML's top teams overcrowd with more than 15 solid players. They may have 26 on the roster but that doesn't mean the last 11 are D1 material.

OP here. I want to clarify that my goal is just to give my son the best chance to achieve his dream. I don’t think D1 is likely for him but he’s a kid with a dream that I think is positive (certainly better than wanting to become a TikTok influencer). So I want to support. I don’t think it would be helpful for me to say to him. You’ve never been a top player so D1 is out for you.

So people here agree top players who play on top clubs are set, not because the top clubs promote them but the games themselves promote the top players with playing time.

What about the mid/mid-good players who still have dreams, should they work their way into top 30 clubs and have limited playing time or play as a starter for the more mid major clubs like VLC, TP and True? Could it work this way: have significant playing time on mid major teams and add some showcase tournament + "national team" tournaments?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP's question was weird.

If someone wants to play in D1 (3% of all HS aged players), shouldn't he be a starter on a top club team that plays in good tournaments so the D1 coaches can notice them?

Good players should be stars on both club and HS teams. I don't see NL or ML's top teams overcrowd with more than 15 solid players. They may have 26 on the roster but that doesn't mean the last 11 are D1 material.

OP here. I want to clarify that my goal is just to give my son the best chance to achieve his dream. I don’t think D1 is likely for him but he’s a kid with a dream that I think is positive (certainly better than wanting to become a TikTok influencer). So I want to support. I don’t think it would be helpful for me to say to him. You’ve never been a top player so D1 is out for you.

I don't think anyone is knocking the goal. If your kid can't make one of the top teams then check out one of other programs and keep working to get better. Top Caliber has a lot of public school kids and their players have been getting a good amount of D3 offers and an occasional D1 offer. He can always switch teams next year or the year after if he improves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP's question was weird.

If someone wants to play in D1 (3% of all HS aged players), shouldn't he be a starter on a top club team that plays in good tournaments so the D1 coaches can notice them?

Good players should be stars on both club and HS teams. I don't see NL or ML's top teams overcrowd with more than 15 solid players. They may have 26 on the roster but that doesn't mean the last 11 are D1 material.

OP here. I want to clarify that my goal is just to give my son the best chance to achieve his dream. I don’t think D1 is likely for him but he’s a kid with a dream that I think is positive (certainly better than wanting to become a TikTok influencer). So I want to support. I don’t think it would be helpful for me to say to him. You’ve never been a top player so D1 is out for you.

So people here agree top players who play on top clubs are set, not because the top clubs promote them but the games themselves promote the top players with playing time.

What about the mid/mid-good players who still have dreams, should they work their way into top 30 clubs and have limited playing time or play as a starter for the more mid major clubs like VLC, TP and True? Could it work this way: have significant playing time on mid major teams and add some showcase tournament + "national team" tournaments?

On the top teams, the best players usually go D1 and the next tier goes lower D1 or higher D3. Many of the kids are committing to play in college even if not a true starter on the club team.

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/recruiting/club/team/Madlax+Capital+2024+/10552/2023

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/recruiting/club/team/Next+Level+2024+Blue/5126/2023

On the mid-teams, the best players are usually going D3 and at least half are not playing in college. If you are public school and on a mid team you can supplement with showcases and hope to get a D3 offer. The VA public school player of the year last year on a mid-team is going to Bucknell (D1) but there are very few public school kids in VA going D1. Last year there were a few public school kids going high-level D1 but they were on top club teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah there are politics involved in like roster spots 18-30 on these teams. But the top 10-15 or so players on any of these teams that have a shot to play D1 would easily get playing time. Bottom of the rosters at these clubs aren’t too dissimilar from clubs that don’t make the teams, but the top kids are easily noticeable in a tryout.

I also think a problem is that with some of these head coaches being from certain schools, they play favorites.

[Anonymous]

With the high likelihood that madlax and DCE are going to have lots of defections this fall (due to playing time issues and their lackluster performance). I would expect them to have openings next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With the high likelihood that madlax and DCE are going to have lots of defections this fall (due to playing time issues and their lackluster performance). I would expect them to have openings next year.

But where will all those DCE and Madlax players go?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the high likelihood that madlax and DCE are going to have lots of defections this fall (due to playing time issues and their lackluster performance). I would expect them to have openings next year.

But where will all those DCE and Madlax players go?

I don’t know but something’s got to give. The unhappiness on both teams is pungent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP's question was weird.

If someone wants to play in D1 (3% of all HS aged players), shouldn't he be a starter on a top club team that plays in good tournaments so the D1 coaches can notice them?

Good players should be stars on both club and HS teams. I don't see NL or ML's top teams overcrowd with more than 15 solid players. They may have 26 on the roster but that doesn't mean the last 11 are D1 material.

OP here. I want to clarify that my goal is just to give my son the best chance to achieve his dream. I don’t think D1 is likely for him but he’s a kid with a dream that I think is positive (certainly better than wanting to become a TikTok influencer). So I want to support. I don’t think it would be helpful for me to say to him. You’ve never been a top player so D1 is out for you.

So people here agree top players who play on top clubs are set, not because the top clubs promote them but the games themselves promote the top players with playing time.

What about the mid/mid-good players who still have dreams, should they work their way into top 30 clubs and have limited playing time or play as a starter for the more mid major clubs like VLC, TP and True? Could it work this way: have significant playing time on mid major teams and add some showcase tournament + "national team" tournaments?

No one is saying the top teams are set. If your kid is better than those kids, they will be added to the team. The problem you are going to have is your kid is likely not athletic enough to do so. I’m not trying to be mean or dismissive. The best case scenario is not navigating the club system ideally but your kid getting bigger, stronger, or faster. Time in the weight room and hoping puberty works in your favor are the best bets. The D1 teams are primarily looking for kids that are athletic enough to play D1. They don’t care that much about the club team name. It’s just that the best players tend to sort in these clubs so the coaches are most likely to see them in their limited time. But in many ways your goal isn’t just to get better, but to showcase that you are a D1 level athlete. The club politics are just not a big part of this despite what many people think.

[Anonymous]

You don't need a club to be seen by a coach anymore. Every top program from D1 to D3 has paid prospect days where kids can pay and be seen in person. But is he truly good enough to play at Dream U? There are tens of thousands of kids playing HS lacrosse and these coaches are all looking to sign the same top few hundred. Encourage your kid to do his best. If it's his dream, let him chase it and support him by providing opportunities to play at a club or at school. There is no 1 right place or answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the high likelihood that madlax and DCE are going to have lots of defections this fall (due to playing time issues and their lackluster performance). I would expect them to have openings next year.

But where will all those DCE and Madlax players go?

Very good question. Believe it or not, some will cross over from one dumpster to the other. Players who are good enough to be in the top 15 on Next Level will go there. Players who THINK they are good enough will still go to NL but ride the bench or get put on the red team, and then immediately start complaining about DM and say he is no better than CM. The super stars, if there are any left on those teams, will invest the drive time and try the Hawks or Crabs. Many will talk a good game about leaving but stay where they are, and complain about the lack of options. I know VLC 2028 catches a lot of flack from the team a year or two ago, but if only they would announce a brand name coach (Schwartz, Dico, Z, or Cramp) for the 2028 team they would get a lot of the DCE and ML players, especially ones who live in VA and are headed to PVI this fall.