Feedback on Next Level Lacrosse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hearing about 2030 teams reminds me how young these kids start, can an 8th grader catch up if he comes to the sport later?

Is the 8th grader an athlete and a little OCD? Then of course. Are they slow of foot and just kind of interested, then look elsewhere and expand on their current interests.

[Anonymous]

A good athlete can always pick up the game, especially if they are willing to be a short stick defensive middie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hearing about 2030 teams reminds me how young these kids start, can an 8th grader catch up if he comes to the sport later?

Not as an offensive player. As a defensive player probably. As a goalie or FOGo, no way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hearing about 2030 teams reminds me how young these kids start, can an 8th grader catch up if he comes to the sport later?

Not as an offensive player. As a defensive player probably. As a goalie or FOGo, no way?

Paul Rabil started lacrosse at age 12. Anyone who says its too late is just uninformed. The difference is hard work. If your kid is a good athlete and puts in the stick work/wall ball and gets involved they absolutely can. It's all about the athlete and their desire to get better. My daughter started in 8th grade and is playing in college...a good college. My son started in 7th grade and is on track to do the same thing. It's never too late to find a passion go for it. If it is just fun, great. If it becomes the thing your kid wants to do more than anything, get a good rebounder and a bucket of balls and you'll find them in the backyard rain or shine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hearing about 2030 teams reminds me how young these kids start, can an 8th grader catch up if he comes to the sport later?

Not as an offensive player. As a defensive player probably. As a goalie or FOGo, no way?

Paul Rabil started lacrosse at age 12. Anyone who says its too late is just uninformed. The difference is hard work. If your kid is a good athlete and puts in the stick work/wall ball and gets involved they absolutely can. It's all about the athlete and their desire to get better. My daughter started in 8th grade and is playing in college...a good college. My son started in 7th grade and is on track to do the same thing. It's never too late to find a passion go for it. If it is just fun, great. If it becomes the thing your kid wants to do more than anything, get a good rebounder and a bucket of balls and you'll find them in the backyard rain or shine.

I agree a kid can start lacrosse in 8th grade and have fun and maybe even get good enough to be a player with a lot of practice and enthusiasm but only if the kid has a good deal of athleticism. I think the old Paul Rabil example is a little old given he's in his mid 30's. You're talking about a 25 year old example. Rabil is also 6'3" and every bit of 200 lbs+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hearing about 2030 teams reminds me how young these kids start, can an 8th grader catch up if he comes to the sport later?

Not as an offensive player. As a defensive player probably. As a goalie or FOGo, no way?

Paul Rabil started lacrosse at age 12. Anyone who says its too late is just uninformed. The difference is hard work. If your kid is a good athlete and puts in the stick work/wall ball and gets involved they absolutely can. It's all about the athlete and their desire to get better. My daughter started in 8th grade and is playing in college...a good college. My son started in 7th grade and is on track to do the same thing. It's never too late to find a passion go for it. If it is just fun, great. If it becomes the thing your kid wants to do more than anything, get a good rebounder and a bucket of balls and you'll find them in the backyard rain or shine.

I agree a kid can start lacrosse in 8th grade and have fun and maybe even get good enough to be a player with a lot of practice and enthusiasm but only if the kid has a good deal of athleticism. I think the old Paul Rabil example is a little old given he's in his mid 30's. You're talking about a 25 year old example. Rabil is also 6'3" and every bit of 200 lbs+.

Agree with you here, but Rabil wasn't 6'3 200 lbs+ at age 12.

[Anonymous]

Didnt say he"was", said he "is." He was a multi sport athlete who got hooked on lax and transferred to the premier sports high school of its time and focused only on lax.

Let's not feed crazy dcum expectations where every child can be a star if they just try.

OP get the kid a stick and a rebounder and put them in 2 weekly clinics. You will quickly find out if your 8th grade has the stomach for a physical sport. If they have played tackle football and basketball they will have a better chance of enjoyment.

[Anonymous]

Rabil is an old example and he was 12. It today’s lacrosse world that would be 4th or 5th grade. 8th graders at the top schools take driver’s ed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rabil is an old example and he was 12. It today’s lacrosse world that would be 4th or 5th grade. 8th graders at the top schools take driver’s ed

Reclassing is a joke. For lacrosse (or any sport)? No ROI in that at all. I think other than making it easier for college coaches to know what grade kids are in I wish club lacrosse was U13, U14, U15 etc. I remember a few summers ago playing at a lax tournament up in Long Island and the kids we were playing were all huge and a parent said "we bake our kids a little longer up here." IMO silly.

[Anonymous]

Club leagues, e.g., HoCo, need to strictly enforce US Lacrosse's Sept 1 cutoff. Similarly, club teams should avoid tournaments that aren't sanctioned by US Lacrosse because this organization requires age verification.

Problem is that so may clubs rely on ringers, not much motivation to make the push.

[Anonymous]

US lacrosse sanctioned events are a joke. The college coaches attend the NLF and naptown crabfeast etc so the top clubs bring all the teams there. They have no impact

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Club leagues, e.g., HoCo, need to strictly enforce US Lacrosse's Sept 1 cutoff. Similarly, club teams should avoid tournaments that aren't sanctioned by US Lacrosse because this organization requires age verification.

Problem is that so may clubs rely on ringers, not much motivation to make the push.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Problem with reclassification for sport is that young athletes get a sense of being bigger and stronger - when then are just more physically mature. It can catch up with you later when that scrawny kid who has been adapting skill sets to compete is all of a sudden just as big and strong as the reclassed kid. There is a young man, a top ranked middie, at a top ranked high school, going to a top ranked university next year who is nearly two years older than kids in his class. He is going to be a 20 year old freshmen I am told. It will be interesting to see if he plateaus or is a great NCAA player.

[Anonymous]

So why is that a problem? That's the university's issue. I see top ranked high school and top ranked college.

[Anonymous]

My point is that it can end up being a disadvantage to athletes who have never had to climb a ladder so to speak because they have always been bigger and stronger due to age. When all things become equal with size and speed - the lessons missed a long the way may catch up to you .