No one is saying anyone is being recruited in 3rd or 4th grade. Dude. But these clubs are using that to recruit 33 & 34s now. These teams are strong and if they stay together they will be fine come the college recruiting years.
MD United, Coppermine, Hero’s, FLC, HOCO, Legends, BLC…all killing it in the 2033 A bracket. No crazy dominant team, although MDU is killing it right now. They stay together and keep the bracket competitive instead of allowing M&D to pick off top players it would be awesome. Local qualified coaches. Great talent. I don’t know, I just get the feeling that 2033 & 2034 & 2035 just want to keep it local. And the local clubs seem to be supportive of each other. So nice.

It is true that it’s far easier to make a Hero’s and M&D team of 4th graders than trying to show up as a rising 8th or 9th grader to a tryout of 100 where really it’s just invite only behind the scenes for 4 girls. I advise not waiting that long. Your chances of getting in plummet. That said, get in now and you’ve got to stay in. No easy thing.

Anonymous wrote:M&D & Hero’s use “being noticed” as recruiting tools for 2033 & 2034, especially M&D right now. Noticed as in this is where you want to be if your daughter wants to be recruited for college. I agree, dumb at this age and why would kids want to take a step down just for a name?

Dude, they mean being noticed when you’re in recruiting years. Not as 3rd and 4th graders.

M&D & Hero’s use “being noticed” as recruiting tools for 2033 & 2034, especially M&D right now. Noticed as in this is where you want to be if your daughter wants to be recruited for college. I agree, dumb at this age and why would kids want to take a step down just for a name?

In my experience, having older daughters too, typically teams that come into the 3rd grade having played as a team in 2nd grade (in MYLA or wherever) do better. Add a strong coach they are staying with or following, or a talented soccer team coming over together to a club for lacrosse. Also, at these ages, size and maturity matters. Check out the birthdays of strong teams. I think you’ll find lots of birthdays in the birth year prior who are the oldest kids in their grade. That advantage is huge, but will disappear later. That recipe can happen to any local club to create a dominant young team in elementary school.

Anonymous wrote:Parents and families just don’t want to play for these big clubs where their kids just become numbers. Before you had to play for certain clubs to be noticed. There’s more of a focus of local teams who are killing it in the A Bracket and growing together. Talent is coming to them. They don’t feel the need to go to M&D or Hero’s. It would be a step down. At least in 2033 & 2034.

Hoco is back again.

This is delusional, wishful thinking. Noticed? NO ONE is noticing or has ever noticed 2034s and 2033s, period, except their parents.

Talent is always spread out in the ES years. It consolidates later. Nothing is new, except maybe that Hoco has a strong team. One year it’s Broadneck. One year it’s FLC. One year it’s Rebels. One year it’s Coppermine. One year it’s MDU. I predict one year soon it will be CC Lax or Integrity or Predators. Hero’s and M&D have never had a ruling lock on the 3rd and 4th grade.

Parents and families just don’t want to play for these big clubs where their kids just become numbers. Before you had to play for certain clubs to be noticed. There’s more of a focus of local teams who are killing it in the A Bracket and growing together. Talent is coming to them. They don’t feel the need to go to M&D or Hero’s. It would be a step down. At least in 2033 & 2034.

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a feeling of “not wanting to play for the machine” with the 33, 34, & 35 age groups. Fallston, Legends, Coppermine, HOCO, Maryland United.
The tides are changing when it comes to girls lacrosse. The fact that MnD & NGLL are run by the same organization is just shameful. If we want to be respected as a female sport, we should look into that. But again, NGLL isn’t the end all be all.

We’ve been in NGLL two years and have been very impressed with it! I think we’re fortunate to have it.

An M&D team was complaining about their schedule vs others. Do you have an example to share that supports your conclusion that the connection between M&D and NGLL is shameful?

Why do you equate success of more clubs at the younger ages to parents (it wouldn’t be the kids know or caring about a machine) “not wanting to play for the machine”? Bad take. Local area clubs at those age always have done better than what you see in MS and HS and that’s because parents don’t want to invest quite yet by driving 45-50 minutes in traffic to practice. They’d rather drive 15 minutes to the local club. Kids also want to play either their friends from school or the neighborhood or those on their rec or local travel soccer team. The kids who are the best in those teams and their parents start looking up and opening up come 5th grade.

Anonymous wrote:So basically the current players on the younger teams for HG and M&D should prepare to be cut for the players they will recruit from other teams?
Concerned parent here.

Yes, if you are on the bottom end of these teams you will always be on the chopping block. Sometimes they won't bring in 1 girl, but 1 girl and her "buddies". Girls Lax in Maryland is cutthroat. I don't know if those clubs are necessarily different from many others, but they have a lot of people who want to join and constantly tout their recruiting track record (which is easy to do when you have the best teams / players consistently). That being said, if you aren't keeping up with the growth / trajectory of the team, it doesn't matter what team you are on, you can be replaced and probably should, but lower level teams typically don't have a lot of replacements ready to step in.

Anonymous wrote:So basically the current players on the younger teams for HG and M&D should prepare to be cut for the players they will recruit from other teams?
Concerned parent here.

If you got an 8 year contract for making the team in 3rd grade, you are good. If not, take a look around at your team and tell your daughter she should do what she can to not be in the bottom half of said team.
There will be some form of tryouts for a number of the years going forward. No need to recruit, other players will show up?

It's not possible you were told "Congrats, Missy has made the team through high school because she picked the fewest daisies"? Is this a serious question?
Concerned poster here.

So basically the current players on the younger teams for HG and M&D should prepare to be cut for the players they will recruit from other teams?
Concerned parent here.

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a feeling of “not wanting to play for the machine” with the 33, 34, & 35 age groups. Fallston, Legends, Coppermine, HOCO, Maryland United.
The tides are changing when it comes to girls lacrosse. The fact that MnD & NGLL are run by the same organization is just shameful. If we want to be respected as a female sport, we should look into that. But again, NGLL isn’t the end all be all.

Be prepared to be shocked in the relative near term when those clubs get dusted by M&D and HG, taking on their top defectors. You have options RE: NGLL.
1) Start your own league. A better one, one that establishes all the principles you hold dear.
2) Buy them out. Everyone has a price. Deliver on our want to be respected as a female sport.
3) Look into it. With the others, the "we" that you select as capos.
4) Be happy that there's an organized, delivered league that allows your and others' girls a place they want to play.

There seems to be a feeling of “not wanting to play for the machine” with the 33, 34, & 35 age groups. Fallston, Legends, Coppermine, HOCO, Maryland United.
The tides are changing when it comes to girls lacrosse. The fact that MnD & NGLL are run by the same organization is just shameful. If we want to be respected as a female sport, we should look into that. But again, NGLL isn’t the end all be all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a kid on the team but I know the team and the staff.

Kruger is a good coach, solid pedigree, he gets it.

They're really young, but my experience with Hero's teams is that the top kids play a lot, the middle kids play often, and the lowest 2-3 play a little.

It's club, you're not paying for game time, you're paying for coaching and practice reps. If you want more playing time, be better than the next girl up. Just my two cents.

Hero’s used to, at least, tell a different story. That if you made the team, you could play for the team. Close to equally.

Isn’t the whole notion of club to play all girls because its point is recruiting? Whereas high school teams you play based on perceived skill and only to win.

That’s a lot of money to pay to be on a practice squad. No from me.

No. Until high school, club is all about winning. Then in high school, club is also about recruiting. But winning is still very important.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a kid on the team but I know the team and the staff.

Kruger is a good coach, solid pedigree, he gets it.

They're really young, but my experience with Hero's teams is that the top kids play a lot, the middle kids play often, and the lowest 2-3 play a little.

It's club, you're not paying for game time, you're paying for coaching and practice reps. If you want more playing time, be better than the next girl up. Just my two cents.

Hero’s used to, at least, tell a different story. That if you made the team, you could play for the team. Close to equally.

Isn’t the whole notion of club to play all girls because its point is recruiting? Whereas high school teams you play based on perceived skill and only to win.

That’s a lot of money to pay to be on a practice squad. No from me.

The goal is to win during the younger years so you are ranked high and get the good players and come recruiting time, lots of coaches on the sidelines. Once sophomore year comes, it is equal playing time.

“The goal is to win during the younger years, so you are ranked high and get the good players come recruiting time.”

This is not the mentality of the very top clubs. It doesn’t need to be. If it were, Hero’s Green would run their ES teams much differently.

My observation having had three girls go through Hero’s….