Reply to 2026 Private School Boys Lacrosse Commentary, Scores, and Updates

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]GP just brought in a mid year junior pole from Canada. He'll be a year older than the normal reclass players in that class. If people thought they were bad under Urick, wait til they see what Hilgartner does. [/quote]

another example of why local Catholic lacrosse families aren't looking as strongly as they once did at Prep. The more GP goes down the boarding route to recruit all blue-chip recruits, the more it will turn off local families. [/quote]

I just love how hypocritical GP parents are. On the one hand they pin their hopes on Hilgartner who will cast a wide net just like the other teams are doing while at the same time hating on boarders. If DMV lacrosse was all that it thinks it is. Hilgy would just recruit within the beltway![/quote]

It's always great at GP until it's your kid getting replaced. All of sudden it's not so fun at CCC. [/quote]

Very true.

Prep Dads will have a hard time accepting the fact Hilgy could care less if MD families come to GP when he is recruiting blue chip recruits from CA or FL and TX.

Once the local kids are pushed to the bench, all hell will break out at GP.

I’ve said this for a while, if you take away Preps boarders on their football and hoops and lax teams, they would be very sub par.

[/quote]

It’s already happening, but let me tie a couple of posts on this thread together to provide a more complete picture of what GP is up against and for that matter many other schools.

1. The Hilgartner Situation: First, GP didn’t have any real options other than Hilgartner. Is he a good coach? Definitely but not a great one. The proof is that McDonough didn’t try to keep him. People invest in value and quite simply price versus performance wasn’t clearly apparent to McDonough leadership.  McDonough throws a ton of money at its lacrosse program so it’s interesting as to why they didn’t try to maintain the relationship. Hilgartner was brought in to resurrect a program. Strong performance equals strong donations from alums which translates into a growing endowment. Endowments are what pay for facilities and programs. Not tuition. Hilgartner will cast a wide net for talent and as stated above that will displace locals. For those who subscribe to posts on this forum saying that GP needs return to the GP of the 90’s, pull your heads out of the sand traps at CCC. GP Lacrosse is going to follow the same model as the other teams like football and basketball. Quite frankly, if those players were available within the belt way Hilgartner’s work would be easy. Competition for quality students is high within the DMV. The implosion of GP Lacrosse in specific has given families permission to look at other schools than GP where the value proposition might be more interesting.

2. GP Boarding: First of all, GP is not a boarding school. It is a day school that incidentally lets 20% of its students spend the night. That is a much different experience than Lawrenceville, Choate, Taft, or Andover. The pervasive “locals only” attitude is a real turn off. Kids talk and from what I hear the dorm experience leaves a lot to be desired. Locals antipathy towards boarders is manifest everywhere certainly on this forum so there is going to be tension between the landed gentry and an administration/coaching staff that has divergent ideas regarding the direction for the program. Families are looking for value and there was a great post comparing the tuition and room/board prices of the various elite boarding school. Turns out GP was one of the most expensive. That creates a real recruiting problem for Hilgartner and GP.

Take this example, my kid is a strong student with a solid reputation in lacrosse and we live in Baltimore. It’s too far to commute. He has to board. I do some research and find out other schools aren’t more expensive, have better academics, consistently ranked higher in lacrosse, and are feeders to the IVY league and other top universities. I don’t even have to look far from home. Boys Latin had more IVY League commits than GP this year. That says a lot. Then, I come to site like this where I see GP parents denigrating boarders and transfers. I’m not letting my kid be subjected to that treatment even to the point of singling. The answer is a clear one.

Hilgartner has taken on a monumental task. Whatever he’s getting paid he is going to earn every penny. I just don’t think nat this stage of his career he is up to it.[/quote]

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