Anonymous
05/08/2018 09:09
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Girls program is very poor. All the teams re playing in the NGLL (National Girls Lacrosse League) - but all in the B divisions (lowest div) and not one team has won a single game. Not one win in the lowest division. Let that sink in a minute.
I am no Madlax fan here but the girls program is not yet even one year old so what do can be reasonably expected. Most of the girls who are good and play travel already play for other clubs. What will be interesting is if the HS teams for girls take off. There is a definite “need” for more HS girls clubs since so many of them end at 8th grade.
You are right there is a need for more HS teams but the only girls who will go to madlax will be those who can’t make the top established teams like Capital, M&D and Skywalkers. And even then, girls who don’t make those teams are going to go to MC Elite, VA Metro, Cardinals, or Crash, before they turn to a new club that can’t win a game at the grade school level and that has the name of a crazy obnoxious jerk of an owner attached to it.
I don’t know about that. Most of the teams you listed already have middle school girls in the pipeline, such as VA Metro and Cardinals, and there just won’t be more than a couple openings on those teams for girls coming from clubs that end in middle school. If those girls want to keep playing club, they may decide to try out for madlax despite its reputation. Especially when you consider where teams are based. Not too many Maryland parents are going to be able to drive so far for a Crash, and even some Northern Virginia same.
First of all, MD girls have tons of options - MC Elite, Hero's, Rebels, MD United, HoCo, Redshirts, LBC, TLC, (not to mention the top teams like M&D and Skywakers) and on and on....
The only clubs that end at 8th are Stars and Pride. Those girls are usually good enough to make a HS team, even if its isn't the top area team (Capitals).
Anonymous
05/06/2018 15:43
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Girls program is very poor. All the teams re playing in the NGLL (National Girls Lacrosse League) - but all in the B divisions (lowest div) and not one team has won a single game. Not one win in the lowest division. Let that sink in a minute.
I am no Madlax fan here but the girls program is not yet even one year old so what do can be reasonably expected. Most of the girls who are good and play travel already play for other clubs. What will be interesting is if the HS teams for girls take off. There is a definite “need” for more HS girls clubs since so many of them end at 8th grade.
You are right there is a need for more HS teams but the only girls who will go to madlax will be those who can’t make the top established teams like Capital, M&D and Skywalkers. And even then, girls who don’t make those teams are going to go to MC Elite, VA Metro, Cardinals, or Crash, before they turn to a new club that can’t win a game at the grade school level and that has the name of a crazy obnoxious jerk of an owner attached to it.
I don’t know about that. Most of the teams you listed already have middle school girls in the pipeline, such as VA Metro and Cardinals, and there just won’t be more than a couple openings on those teams for girls coming from clubs that end in middle school. If those girls want to keep playing club, they may decide to try out for madlax despite its reputation. Especially when you consider where teams are based. Not too many Maryland parents are going to be able to drive so far for a Crash, and even some Northern Virginia same.
Anonymous
05/06/2018 11:43
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Girls program is very poor. All the teams re playing in the NGLL (National Girls Lacrosse League) - but all in the B divisions (lowest div) and not one team has won a single game. Not one win in the lowest division. Let that sink in a minute.
I am no Madlax fan here but the girls program is not yet even one year old so what do can be reasonably expected. Most of the girls who are good and play travel already play for other clubs. What will be interesting is if the HS teams for girls take off. There is a definite “need” for more HS girls clubs since so many of them end at 8th grade.
You are right there is a need for more HS teams but the only girls who will go to madlax will be those who can’t make the top established teams like Capital, M&D and Skywalkers. And even then, girls who don’t make those teams are going to go to MC Elite, VA Metro, Cardinals, or Crash, before they turn to a new club that can’t win a game at the grade school level and that has the name of a crazy obnoxious jerk of an owner attached to it.
Anonymous
05/05/2018 15:17
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Anonymous wrote:Girls program is very poor. All the teams re playing in the NGLL (National Girls Lacrosse League) - but all in the B divisions (lowest div) and not one team has won a single game. Not one win in the lowest division. Let that sink in a minute.
I am no Madlax fan here but the girls program is not yet even one year old so what do can be reasonably expected. Most of the girls who are good and play travel already play for other clubs. What will be interesting is if the HS teams for girls take off. There is a definite “need” for more HS girls clubs since so many of them end at 8th grade.
Anonymous
05/04/2018 19:54
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For next years 6th (2025s), 7th (2024s), and 8th (2023s) teams, Madlax Cap 2023 is less good than the typical Madlax team (Next Level, Club Blue, and BLC are all better -- VLC 2023 about the same as Madlax 2023), Madlax 2024 is good (though probably BLC is at least as good or better, VLC is way weaker), Madlax 2025 is on about the same level with both Next Level and BLC.
MadLax standings in the HoCo league so far:
2022 Caps: 5-0
2022 DMV: 0-4
2023 Caps: 3-1
2024 Caps: 4-1
2024 DMV: 1-4
2025 Caps: 2-2
2026 Caps: 0-4
2026 DMV: 0-4
Seems like the DMV teams are notably worse than the Caps teams... obviously the better players are quickly sent to the Caps teams.
The 2023 cap team record you are quoting is not from the top division so they are actually much worse than that record indicates relative to the other madlax years where the cap team is in the top division. The DMV teams are all in lower divisors so it’s even worse than those records indicate. The madlax dmv teams aren’t very good.
Anonymous
05/04/2018 11:52
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Girls program is very poor. All the teams re playing in the NGLL (National Girls Lacrosse League) - but all in the B divisions (lowest div) and not one team has won a single game. Not one win in the lowest division. Let that sink in a minute.
Anonymous
05/04/2018 09:24
Subject: Any MadLax parents here?
Dc Express at 8th grade level has fantastic coaching
Anonymous
05/04/2018 09:09
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Anonymous wrote:For next years 6th (2025s), 7th (2024s), and 8th (2023s) teams, Madlax Cap 2023 is less good than the typical Madlax team (Next Level, Club Blue, and BLC are all better -- VLC 2023 about the same as Madlax 2023), Madlax 2024 is good (though probably BLC is at least as good or better, VLC is way weaker), Madlax 2025 is on about the same level with both Next Level and BLC.
MadLax standings in the HoCo league so far:
2022 Caps: 5-0
2022 DMV: 0-4
2023 Caps: 3-1
2024 Caps: 4-1
2024 DMV: 1-4
2025 Caps: 2-2
2026 Caps: 0-4
2026 DMV: 0-4
Seems like the DMV teams are notably worse than the Caps teams... obviously the better players are quickly sent to the Caps teams.
Anonymous
05/01/2018 18:14
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Also, there are other options in NOVA beyond Madlax and VLC. Cavalier runs a strong program out in Loudon County. Robinson-affiliated Top Caliber has good coaching. And more than a few NOVA kids play for Next Level in Bethesda.
Anonymous
05/01/2018 14:20
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Anonymous wrote:OP here. I haven't seen any of the "awful parent" or "aszhole coach" phenomenon yet. Maybe my kid is still too young for that? Nor have I seen any "laxbro" behavior - but again maybe that starts up in middle school or high school? The kids on the 5th grade team seem like a nice group of boys.
Should I expect the MadLax coach, parents, and team to be a lot different? More "competitive" (or obnoxious, if you prefer)?
Don't believe people on this board. There are a few idiot parents on every team, but it's by far the minority. The same is true with virtually all travel sports (basketball, soccer, baseball, even swimming has this type). Same with the "lax bro" stereotype. There are for sure some kids in that category, but the vast majority are nice kids who happen to enjoy playing lacrosse. Your kid isn't going to transform into a stereotype just because he likes the game and plays for a club team.
Anonymous
05/01/2018 13:02
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Roar wrote:Kids will gain an advantage by mostly pinching the bottom part of the head of a lacrosse stick. It must be 3" or greater. Referees often check sticks after the 1st time out, at the end of a first quarter and if requested by an opposing coach. We perform about 5 different tests on a stick.
1. Are all the strings in the stick correct -- no more than 4" from the top (shooters strings) and the extra strings on the side are cut at 2". This is a 1 minute, hey go fix this before you get back on the field penalty.
2. Measurements of sticks -- 10" from the top to the bottom opening of the plastic head, greater than 6.5" from one side to the other and the big one is 3" wide or greater where the ball nestles in when carried. Kids will put their stick over open flame and melt the plastic to get this shrunk. This prevents often the ball coming out when another player strikes the stick hard and the ball magically still stays in the pocket. We also check to make sure the short sticks are between 40-42" top to bottom. We rarely if ever check the long poles and never check the goalie sticks unless asked by an opposing coach. If we catch this, it's one of our most flagrant penalties -- the stick is no longer to be used in the game, must be placed at the table. It's also a 3 minute penalty, non-releasable which means the opposing team can score as many times as it can during the entire 3 minutes man up without the player penalty releasing.
3. Roll Test -- does the stick roll out of the head when tilted 45 degrees towards the field and at a 90 degree angle or when turned upside down. If all rolls out, we're good. If not 3 minutes non-releaseable penalty and the stick is impounded (done/cant be used) for the rest of the game.
In travel lacrosse, these "techniques" get passed down from lax bro to lax bro, especially at the face off guys. As referees, we try to catch them early before the game starts. In youth lacrosse, we historically go after the travel kids because they know the tricks of the trade. Most of the recreational players are happy they found all the right gear to play in their bag.
The other thing you'll see this year is an emphasis on mouthguards being fully worn. Not fish hooks, not dangling, but actually being worn by the player. When we see this, we usually warn someone in the 1st quarter to get the mouthguard in. In the other quarters, we see it, we wait until their team has possession of the ball and blow the whistle to stop the game. We point out the mouthguard violation and turn the ball over to the other team. Coaches HATE when their players don't have mouthguards in and lose a possession, so it's a really good preventative measure. This usually happens 1 time per game, but after we call it, everyone keeps their mouthguard in. My good rule of thumb is that if I can clearly hear a player chirping another player, he doesn't have his mouthguard in and I look right at him to confirm it.
Hope that helps.
Madlax 2022 fogo got caught with 2 different sticks that where illegal. Stick cut to short. It's a win at all cost for madlax teams even if you have to cheat to win.
Roar
05/01/2018 11:17
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Kids will gain an advantage by mostly pinching the bottom part of the head of a lacrosse stick. It must be 3" or greater. Referees often check sticks after the 1st time out, at the end of a first quarter and if requested by an opposing coach. We perform about 5 different tests on a stick.
1. Are all the strings in the stick correct -- no more than 4" from the top (shooters strings) and the extra strings on the side are cut at 2". This is a 1 minute, hey go fix this before you get back on the field penalty.
2. Measurements of sticks -- 10" from the top to the bottom opening of the plastic head, greater than 6.5" from one side to the other and the big one is 3" wide or greater where the ball nestles in when carried. Kids will put their stick over open flame and melt the plastic to get this shrunk. This prevents often the ball coming out when another player strikes the stick hard and the ball magically still stays in the pocket. We also check to make sure the short sticks are between 40-42" top to bottom. We rarely if ever check the long poles and never check the goalie sticks unless asked by an opposing coach. If we catch this, it's one of our most flagrant penalties -- the stick is no longer to be used in the game, must be placed at the table. It's also a 3 minute penalty, non-releasable which means the opposing team can score as many times as it can during the entire 3 minutes man up without the player penalty releasing.
3. Roll Test -- does the stick roll out of the head when tilted 45 degrees towards the field and at a 90 degree angle or when turned upside down. If all rolls out, we're good. If not 3 minutes non-releaseable penalty and the stick is impounded (done/cant be used) for the rest of the game.
In travel lacrosse, these "techniques" get passed down from lax bro to lax bro, especially at the face off guys. As referees, we try to catch them early before the game starts. In youth lacrosse, we historically go after the travel kids because they know the tricks of the trade. Most of the recreational players are happy they found all the right gear to play in their bag.
The other thing you'll see this year is an emphasis on mouthguards being fully worn. Not fish hooks, not dangling, but actually being worn by the player. When we see this, we usually warn someone in the 1st quarter to get the mouthguard in. In the other quarters, we see it, we wait until their team has possession of the ball and blow the whistle to stop the game. We point out the mouthguard violation and turn the ball over to the other team. Coaches HATE when their players don't have mouthguards in and lose a possession, so it's a really good preventative measure. This usually happens 1 time per game, but after we call it, everyone keeps their mouthguard in. My good rule of thumb is that if I can clearly hear a player chirping another player, he doesn't have his mouthguard in and I look right at him to confirm it.
Hope that helps.
1. Are all the strings in the stick correct -- no more than 4" from the top (shooters strings) and the extra strings on the side are cut at 2". This is a 1 minute, hey go fix this before you get back on the field penalty.
2. Measurements of sticks -- 10" from the top to the bottom opening of the plastic head, greater than 6.5" from one side to the other and the big one is 3" wide or greater where the ball nestles in when carried. Kids will put their stick over open flame and melt the plastic to get this shrunk. This prevents often the ball coming out when another player strikes the stick hard and the ball magically still stays in the pocket. We also check to make sure the short sticks are between 40-42" top to bottom. We rarely if ever check the long poles and never check the goalie sticks unless asked by an opposing coach. If we catch this, it's one of our most flagrant penalties -- the stick is no longer to be used in the game, must be placed at the table. It's also a 3 minute penalty, non-releasable which means the opposing team can score as many times as it can during the entire 3 minutes man up without the player penalty releasing.
3. Roll Test -- does the stick roll out of the head when tilted 45 degrees towards the field and at a 90 degree angle or when turned upside down. If all rolls out, we're good. If not 3 minutes non-releaseable penalty and the stick is impounded (done/cant be used) for the rest of the game.
In travel lacrosse, these "techniques" get passed down from lax bro to lax bro, especially at the face off guys. As referees, we try to catch them early before the game starts. In youth lacrosse, we historically go after the travel kids because they know the tricks of the trade. Most of the recreational players are happy they found all the right gear to play in their bag.
The other thing you'll see this year is an emphasis on mouthguards being fully worn. Not fish hooks, not dangling, but actually being worn by the player. When we see this, we usually warn someone in the 1st quarter to get the mouthguard in. In the other quarters, we see it, we wait until their team has possession of the ball and blow the whistle to stop the game. We point out the mouthguard violation and turn the ball over to the other team. Coaches HATE when their players don't have mouthguards in and lose a possession, so it's a really good preventative measure. This usually happens 1 time per game, but after we call it, everyone keeps their mouthguard in. My good rule of thumb is that if I can clearly hear a player chirping another player, he doesn't have his mouthguard in and I look right at him to confirm it.
Hope that helps.
Anonymous
05/01/2018 10:13
Subject: Any MadLax parents here?
Roar wrote: Stick checks often produce illegal sticks where we impound them at the table for the rest of the game.
I know nothing about the game but they play at a school near me on a regular basis, including last weekend. What makes a stick in violation of the rules?
Anonymous
05/01/2018 10:10
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
Anonymous wrote:OP here. I haven't seen any of the "awful parent" or "aszhole coach" phenomenon yet. Maybe my kid is still too young for that? Nor have I seen any "laxbro" behavior - but again maybe that starts up in middle school or high school? The kids on the 5th grade team seem like a nice group of boys.
Should I expect the MadLax coach, parents, and team to be a lot different? More "competitive" (or obnoxious, if you prefer)?
It all heats up in 8th grade.
Your kids will learn the most with Next Level if the location is not too bad. Even the B team coaches are good.
Anonymous
05/01/2018 10:01
Subject: Re:Any MadLax parents here?
OP here. I haven't seen any of the "awful parent" or "aszhole coach" phenomenon yet. Maybe my kid is still too young for that? Nor have I seen any "laxbro" behavior - but again maybe that starts up in middle school or high school? The kids on the 5th grade team seem like a nice group of boys.
Should I expect the MadLax coach, parents, and team to be a lot different? More "competitive" (or obnoxious, if you prefer)?
Should I expect the MadLax coach, parents, and team to be a lot different? More "competitive" (or obnoxious, if you prefer)?