ISL

[Can Opener]

I know the Grosso family. I have seen Christian play over the years. He’s a great player but this, in my opinion, is why the reclass thing has gone wrong.

There is no way in hell, physically, socially or academically, Christian should be repeating grades.

I know this is not a popular opinion but I just feel it has gotten out of control. The reclass thing has been abused to the point of embarrassment over the past decade.

It truly feels like some of these ISL teams are just really expensive club teams now.

I respect your opinion, but I would suggest we tap the brakes on singling out a HS athlete and criticizing him by name. You can make your overall point without bringing negative attention to a young player for his personal decision.

[Laxxal22]

Congrats to Nick Loring (Nobles, 2018), announced as sole captain for Harvard this upcoming season. Pretty rare to see a team elect just one guy these days. Quite the honor.

https://twitter.com/HarvardMLax

[Laxxal22]

I caught the first scheduling tidbit of the year. Looks like St. Seb's is playing at Lawrenceville during spring break. I imagine they'll schedule another Jersey game while down there (they were set to play Delbarton in 2020 before all hell broke loose).

Seb's is taking a big swing with this one, but could end up taking it on the chin. They'll have a young team with a small senior class replacing a 2022 group that had 10-11 guys who started or played every game. Lawrenceville has been building a beast over the past few years with Joe Tsai's backing, and Inside Lacrosse has 20 commits listed (18 D1) for the Big Red's junior and senior classes. It's probably a top 5 roster in the country and they will have had a lot of fall and winter reps together leading into the spring. It'll definitely be a day for the Arrows to get their weaknesses identified. Respect to coach White continuing to schedule huge non league tests for Seb's, even in what might not be a peak year for the program.

[eumanne]

I caught the first scheduling tidbit of the year. Looks like St. Seb's is playing at Lawrenceville during spring break. I imagine they'll schedule another Jersey game while down there (they were set to play Delbarton in 2020 before all hell broke loose).

Seb's is taking a big swing with this one, but could end up taking it on the chin. They'll have a young team with a small senior class replacing a 2022 group that had 10-11 guys who started or played every game. Lawrenceville has been building a beast over the past few years with Joe Tsai's backing, and Inside Lacrosse has 20 commits listed (18 D1) for the Big Red's junior and senior classes. It's probably a top 5 roster in the country and they will have had a lot of fall and winter reps together leading into the spring. It'll definitely be a day for the Arrows to get their weaknesses identified. Respect to coach White continuing to schedule huge non league tests for Seb's, even in what might not be a peak year for the program.

Interesting, in my opinion this type of scheduling is a double edged sword. St. Seb’s scheduled aggressively early on last year with a very strong team and I really don’t believe it benefited them in the long run. Playing against a far superior opponent early on may lead to false indications in all phases of the game and may mislead one to prioritize issues that may not be the most relevant. In addition, with such a young team this year, an early on “butt spanking” may demoralize a team vs improve their game. It is a very delicate balance early on in the year. Much of it depends on the type of players you have and the expectations/outcomes of these events as well. Only time will tell.

[NNELax]

I caught the first scheduling tidbit of the year. Looks like St. Seb's is playing at Lawrenceville during spring break. I imagine they'll schedule another Jersey game while down there (they were set to play Delbarton in 2020 before all hell broke loose).

Seb's is taking a big swing with this one, but could end up taking it on the chin. They'll have a young team with a small senior class replacing a 2022 group that had 10-11 guys who started or played every game. Lawrenceville has been building a beast over the past few years with Joe Tsai's backing, and Inside Lacrosse has 20 commits listed (18 D1) for the Big Red's junior and senior classes. It's probably a top 5 roster in the country and they will have had a lot of fall and winter reps together leading into the spring. It'll definitely be a day for the Arrows to get their weaknesses identified. Respect to coach White continuing to schedule huge non league tests for Seb's, even in what might not be a peak year for the program.

Interesting, in my opinion this type of scheduling is a double edged sword. St. Seb’s scheduled aggressively early on last year with a very strong team and I really don’t believe it benefited them in the long run. Playing against a far superior opponent early on may lead to false indications in all phases of the game and may mislead one to prioritize issues that may not be the most relevant. In addition, with such a young team this year, an early on “butt spanking” may demoralize a team vs improve their game. It is a very delicate balance early on in the year. Much of it depends on the type of players you have and the expectations/outcomes of these events as well. Only time will tell.

I wonder how much of this schedule is future focused? White is smart enough to know that challenging a young team early can pay dividends in the future...

[eumanne]

I caught the first scheduling tidbit of the year. Looks like St. Seb's is playing at Lawrenceville during spring break. I imagine they'll schedule another Jersey game while down there (they were set to play Delbarton in 2020 before all hell broke loose).

Seb's is taking a big swing with this one, but could end up taking it on the chin. They'll have a young team with a small senior class replacing a 2022 group that had 10-11 guys who started or played every game. Lawrenceville has been building a beast over the past few years with Joe Tsai's backing, and Inside Lacrosse has 20 commits listed (18 D1) for the Big Red's junior and senior classes. It's probably a top 5 roster in the country and they will have had a lot of fall and winter reps together leading into the spring. It'll definitely be a day for the Arrows to get their weaknesses identified. Respect to coach White continuing to schedule huge non league tests for Seb's, even in what might not be a peak year for the program.

Interesting, in my opinion this type of scheduling is a double edged sword. St. Seb’s scheduled aggressively early on last year with a very strong team and I really don’t believe it benefited them in the long run. Playing against a far superior opponent early on may lead to false indications in all phases of the game and may mislead one to prioritize issues that may not be the most relevant. In addition, with such a young team this year, an early on “butt spanking” may demoralize a team vs improve their game. It is a very delicate balance early on in the year. Much of it depends on the type of players you have and the expectations/outcomes of these events as well. Only time will tell.

I wonder how much of this schedule is future focused? White is smart enough to know that challenging a young team early can pay dividends in the future...

Or not… hence the double edged sword

[Laxxal22]

I agree with you on last year's Seb's team. That Philly trip seemed to shake the team's confidence and I'm not sure they ever fully recovered despite the talent of the team.

This year's team might be better suited for a similar outcome. Apologies to this year's group of seniors, but March basically marks the start of a two year build for Seb's. Getting roughed up early might stir up a "We have a long way to go, let's get to work" mentality, whereas last year it was probably more of a panicked "We're not where we should be, did we misuse our prep time?" sentiment.

[NNELax]

If you want to be in the national conversation you need to schedule like this year in and year out...Top dogs in the NEWest do it and you can use it as a recruiting pitch...ISL Championship is great..but I think Seb's wants the nationally notoriety...

[eumanne]

I agree with you both. I just think there is a fine line here as well as point of diminishing returns. Wanting to be nationally recognized is one thing. Having the horses to do it is completely another. NE West is comprised of teams that have the horses including post grads. Teams like Taft, Salisbury, Brunswick, and AOF have the horses year in and year out. They just reload. Sometimes it’s worth it to take a step backward in order to take two steps forward. My opinion on St Sebs is first take care of your house regularly year in and year out which means winning the ISL then take the next step. Don’t rob Peter to pay Paul. That plan rarely works. It usually just puts egg on your face and unnecessary pressure on young developing athletes.

[Laxxal22]

I think Belmont Hill has found the best balance; transitioning their years of scrimmaging Deerfield and Avon Old Farms into actual games was a big deal. Both schools are typically ranked, and neither is too far away - with BH hosting every other year. Since they're also on a NEPSAC calendar the amount of practice going into the match ups is similar. In a given year if BH splits those two games and runs the table and tourney in the ISL, they probably end up with a top 15ish ranking and an invite to the Geico if it continues to exist.

That's plenty of national notoriety and it puts far fewer variables in play than the Seb's roadshows. I'm sure those are fun trips with lots of team building activities, but it's got to be tough to balance taking 30+ boys on the road for 3-4 nights while trying to compete against top 20 caliber teams who are 1-2 weeks further into the season.

[eumanne]

I think Belmont Hill has found the best balance; transitioning their years of scrimmaging Deerfield and Avon Old Farms into actual games was a big deal. Both schools are typically ranked, and neither is too far away - with BH hosting every other year. Since they're also on a NEPSAC calendar the amount of practice going into the match ups is similar. In a given year if BH splits those two games and runs the table and tourney in the ISL, they probably end up with a top 15ish ranking and an invite to the Geico if it continues to exist.

That's plenty of national notoriety and it puts far fewer variables in play than the Seb's roadshows. I'm sure those are fun trips with lots of team building activities, but it's got to be tough to balance taking 30+ boys on the road for 3-4 nights while trying to compete against top 20 caliber teams who are 1-2 weeks further into the season.

Agree!

[Laxxal22]

I’m sure there will be a few more commits over the rest of December (I’ll add here) but since I took a look at the class of 2023 after three months of recruiting last year I’m doing the same this year. Please let me know if I missed anybody.

Belmont Hill
Finn Fox - Lsm/Def - Princeton (Laxachusetts)
Will Stewart - Att - Villanova (3D New England)
Ben Wood - Lsm/Def - Georgetown (3D New England)

BB&N
Henry Waisburd - Goal - Holy Cross (3D New England)

Govs
Tyler Mallie - Att - Merrimack (New England Twisters)
Pearse McDonald - Mid - Penn after PG year next year (Laxachusetts)
Ethan Winterbottom - Lsm/Def - Hobart (True IL)

Middlesex
Nick Moore - Mid - Colgate (Fighting Clams)
Andrew Matarese - Def - Lafayette (Fighting Clams)

Nobles
Christian Grosso - Faceoff - Virginia (3D New England)

Rivers
Greg Canning - Att/Mid - Mercer (Fighting Clams)

Roxbury Latin
John Thomas - Lsm/Def - Vermont (3D New England)

St. George’s
Matthew Deedy - Goal - Air Force (Fighting Clams)

St. Sebastian’s
Chris Merageas - Att - Denver (Laxachusetts)
Michael Quinn - Att - Michigan (Laxachusetts)
James Joyce - Mid - - Michigan (Laxachusetts)

Tabor
Evan O’Neil - Att -Richmond (Laxachusetts)
Brenten Sheffield - Def - Penn (3D Upsate)

Thayer
Chrisl Cabral - Lsm/Def - Rutgers (Laxachusetts)
Nate Austin-Johnstone - Att/Mid - Rutgers (Laxachusetts)
Jackson Henehan - Faceoff - BU (Laxachusetts)

Similar in numbers to the class of 2023 after three months last year (17 commits to 18 last year), but that group had six committed goalies by this point compared to just one for the 2024s. Last year’s class was also heavy on middies, more attack and dmen in this class. Three of the boys are new to the league this year (Deedy, Grosso, Sheffield). It will be interesting to see how they adapt.

There’s another 12-15 kids (who I know of) that seemed D1 caliber, but that seems to be the case every year at the end of fall recruiting. A couple will commit by the end of the year, a few more after spring seasons and June tournaments, but a good portion of this group will end top targets for the stronger NESCAC and Liberty League teams as well as other top 25 type DIII opportunities.

[eumanne]

I’m sure there will be a few more commits over the rest of December (I’ll add here) but since I took a look at the class of 2023 after three months of recruiting last year I’m doing the same this year. Please let me know if I missed anybody.

Belmont Hill
Finn Fox - Lsm/Def - Princeton (Laxachusetts)
Will Stewart - Att - Villanova (3D New England)
Ben Wood - Lsm/Def - Georgetown (3D New England)

Govs
Tyler Mallie - Att - Merrimack (New England Twisters)
Pearse McDonald - Mid - Penn after PG year next year (Laxachusetts)
Ethan Winterbottom - Lsm/Def - Hobart (True IL)

Nobles
Christian Grosso - Faceoff - Virginia (3D New England)

Rivers
Greg Canning - Att/Mid - Mercer (Fighting Clams)

Roxbury Latin
John Thomas - Lsm/Def - Vermont (3D New England)

St. George’s
Matthew Deedy - Goal - Air Force (Fighting Clams)

St. Sebastian’s
Chris Merageas - Att - Denver (Laxachusetts)
Michael Quinn - Att - Michigan (Laxachusetts)
James Joyce - Mid - - Michigan (Laxachusetts)

Tabor
Evan O’Neil - Att -Richmond (Laxachusetts)
Brenten Sheffield - Def - Penn (3D Upsate)

Thayer
Chrisl Cabral - Lsm/Def - Rutgers (Laxachusetts)
Nate Austin-Johnstone - Att/Mid - Rutgers (Laxachusetts)
Jackson Henehan - Faceoff - BU (Laxachusetts)

Similar in numbers to the class of 2023 after three months last year (17 commits to 18 last year), but that group had six committed goalies by this point compared to just one for the 2024s. Last year’s class was also heavy on middies, more attack and dmen in this class. Three of the boys are new to the league this year (Deedy, Grosso, Sheffield). It will be interesting to see how they adapt.

There’s another 12-15 kids (who I know of) that seemed D1 caliber, but that seems to be the case every year at the end of fall recruiting. A couple will commit by the end of the year, a few more after spring seasons and June tournaments, but a good portion of this group will end top targets for the stronger NESCAC and Liberty League teams as well as other top 25 type DIII opportunities.

Excellent work as always Laxxal. Appreciate it. FYI. Looks like WBLl box league run by 3D started this past Sunday. It has some ISL mixed in with some MIAA as well.

[ABClaxfan]

Thayer coach Ben Rubeor is apparently done coaching and has moved on to pursue a different career. Best of luck to him and his family, have to wonder who Thayer will look to hire and how they respond this spring. It appeared that they were a young team improving towards the end of last spring after making the final 4 in the tournament.

[Laxxal22]

Thayer coach Ben Rubeor is apparently done coaching and has moved on to pursue a different career. Best of luck to him and his family, have to wonder who Thayer will look to hire and how they respond this spring. It appeared that they were a young team improving towards the end of last spring after making the final 4 in the tournament.

That's a huge deal. Thayer has enrolled a lot of talent since his arrival, and this upcoming spring looked like the beginning of a multi-year fruit bearing season of the Tigers challenging for titles under his leadership. Now, who knows? I don't think they'll find anyone with the curb appeal of Rubeor.

[NNELax]

Rumor is Bill Daye to Thayer...

[Laxxal22]

That'd be a great get.

[Laxxal22]

Schedule for Nobles is up on Inside Lacrosse. https://www.insidelacrosse.com/recruiti ... chool/7167

A challenging open to the season with McDonough, Deerfield, Salisbury, and Govs. I have the feeling that Govs game might count as non league as there are 12 contests against ISL teams listed on the schedule but playoffs are based on an 11 game league schedule. There's no Milton game listed, but I imagine that game gets played after the playoffs like last year. Ending the regular season against BH and Seb's is interesting. Nobles could end up facing one or both of those teams twice in two weeks depending on how playoff seeds shake out.

[Farfromgeneva]

Unknown as of now but for any St George’s fans out there I believe there’s a decent chance Tim Evnin could grab the third starting attack spot for Hobart this year. We need a feeder who can play behind the cage and he has some comp with EMO experience but from the very little I’ve heard he’s in the mix. Then assuming nothing changes Anthony stillwell will be trying to do the same in 2024.

[NNELax]

Hobart fans are going to love both guys!