Long Island 2023

[coda]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

[wahoomurf]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

[coda]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

because you would never think one of the top NY teams would go 0-2 in Texas. That just doesnt happen. Texas lacrosse is way behind the island.

[MDlaxfan76]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

because you would never think one of the top NY teams would go 0-2 in Texas. That just doesnt happen. Texas lacrosse is way behind the island.

mmm, Highland Park and Woodlands are powerhouses. Seriously good athletes and sports programs. Big time football.
And they have mature lax programs with lots of talented coaches in the rec feeder systems.
Note, they are also huge schools, with over 6,000 and 4,000 students in the high school, respectively.
What's Garden City, 1200?

Nevertheless, certainly an unusual, notable event. Warning, if playing Texas or California powerhouses, or for that matter the powerhouse of most any region, they can put 10 on the field with 10+ backups that are very, very good. And they'll be motivated...

I agree with those who suggest that the losses in those games may have contributed to the development of the team.

[coda]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

because you would never think one of the top NY teams would go 0-2 in Texas. That just doesnt happen. Texas lacrosse is way behind the island.

mmm, Highland Park and Woodlands are powerhouses. Seriously good athletes and sports programs. Big time football.
And they have mature lax programs with lots of talented coaches in the rec feeder systems.
Note, they are also huge schools, with over 6,000 and 4,000 students in the high school, respectively.
What's Garden City, 1200?

Nevertheless, certainly an unusual, notable event. Warning, if playing Texas or California powerhouses, or for that matter the powerhouse of most any region, they can put 10 on the field with 10+ backups that are very, very good. And they'll be motivated...

I agree with those who suggest that the losses in those games may have contributed to the development of the team.

Woodlands and HP are not on par with the Big powerhouse Football programs in Texas. Highland Park has 2,260 in their HS. Woodlands is 4,300. You also forget that the best athletes tend to play football. Lax loses a lot of players to football as kids go into HS. I actually live in Texas. Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ. Competition is hard to find. The big programs in Texas (ESD, Jesuit, HP, Woodlands, and Westlake) play only a handful of games that are not blow outs. One of the great things Pressler did at HP. He went out and played a legit schedule. Woodlands best player is a transfer from the Island, he arguably the best player in Texas. He can say all we want about the reasons why they lost, but it is always surprising when a a team from a hot-bed region loses to teams from a place like Texas. More shocking when it is 2 in a row and both were littered with young players (Westlake was the favorite this year).

[MDlaxfan76]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

because you would never think one of the top NY teams would go 0-2 in Texas. That just doesnt happen. Texas lacrosse is way behind the island.

mmm, Highland Park and Woodlands are powerhouses. Seriously good athletes and sports programs. Big time football.
And they have mature lax programs with lots of talented coaches in the rec feeder systems.
Note, they are also huge schools, with over 6,000 and 4,000 students in the high school, respectively.
What's Garden City, 1200?

Nevertheless, certainly an unusual, notable event. Warning, if playing Texas or California powerhouses, or for that matter the powerhouse of most any region, they can put 10 on the field with 10+ backups that are very, very good. And they'll be motivated...

I agree with those who suggest that the losses in those games may have contributed to the development of the team.

Woodlands and HP are not on par with the Big powerhouse Football programs in Texas. Highland Park has 2,260 in their HS. Woodlands is 4,300. You also forget that the best athletes tend to play football. Lax loses a lot of players to football as kids go into HS. I actually live in Texas. Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ. Competition is hard to find. The big programs in Texas (ESD, Jesuit, HP, Woodlands, and Westlake) play only a handful of games that are not blow outs. One of the great things Pressler did at HP. He went out and played a legit schedule. Woodlands best player is a transfer from the Island, he arguably the best player in Texas. He can say all we want about the reasons why they lost, but it is always surprising when a a team from a hot-bed region loses to teams from a place like Texas. More shocking when it is 2 in a row and both were littered with young players (Westlake was the favorite this year).

Thanks, great to get an 'on the ground', informed perspective. Certainly more informed than mine!

I'd caution that a lot of the "best athletes" who play football also don't play lax in NY and MD (where I am), or at least not down the final stretch. My son had a young man in the class behind him at Gilman who was their best FO guy, a beast on SDM, and developing into a force on O...as a sophomore on their 2011 MIAA Championship team. But he decided that he needed to focus on football in his junior and senior seasons... went on to to be AA in football, top linebacker in ACC, Campbell Trophy winner, drafted by Rams...he was a heck of a lax player but football paid off...what we wouldn't have given to have the QB of that football team pick up a lax stick, best athlete on the field always... went to Alabama.

I don't know whether the athletes are actually generally better in Texas, but it's obviously a huge state, so there are a heck of lot of them...and that can get aggregated...

I was intrigued by: Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ.

I assume you mean low lax IQ? Just not enough reps over enough years against high quality opponents?

I do agree fully that it's notable that an end of season championship team from the Island would drop 2 in Texas...but I recall the eventual Island champion coming down to play us in Baltimore my junior year, with us ending up # 3...and we crushed them ignominiously. But early season isn't the same as end of season, we'd been outside for 3 weeks and they were just getting their gloves to unfreeze...it was a bit surprising to us that they ended up so strong by end of season, but I played with and against a bunch of them in college and they were clearly excellent players...just hadn't jelled before they played us. Weather etc is probably not such a big factor these days, with turf fields, etc, and maybe one can argue that with box etc, the stick skills remain sharper year round, but team development of high schoolers is still a factor...that can take some time to jell. My senior year we dropped our first 2 games by a goal each, then ran the table...felt like a different team by end of the season. Presumably the Texas opponents had been playing for more weeks than GC? Had a bunch of games under their belts? Yup...https://www.highlandparklacrosse.org/sc ... son=846962

[coda]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

because you would never think one of the top NY teams would go 0-2 in Texas. That just doesnt happen. Texas lacrosse is way behind the island.

mmm, Highland Park and Woodlands are powerhouses. Seriously good athletes and sports programs. Big time football.
And they have mature lax programs with lots of talented coaches in the rec feeder systems.
Note, they are also huge schools, with over 6,000 and 4,000 students in the high school, respectively.
What's Garden City, 1200?

Nevertheless, certainly an unusual, notable event. Warning, if playing Texas or California powerhouses, or for that matter the powerhouse of most any region, they can put 10 on the field with 10+ backups that are very, very good. And they'll be motivated...

I agree with those who suggest that the losses in those games may have contributed to the development of the team.

Woodlands and HP are not on par with the Big powerhouse Football programs in Texas. Highland Park has 2,260 in their HS. Woodlands is 4,300. You also forget that the best athletes tend to play football. Lax loses a lot of players to football as kids go into HS. I actually live in Texas. Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ. Competition is hard to find. The big programs in Texas (ESD, Jesuit, HP, Woodlands, and Westlake) play only a handful of games that are not blow outs. One of the great things Pressler did at HP. He went out and played a legit schedule. Woodlands best player is a transfer from the Island, he arguably the best player in Texas. He can say all we want about the reasons why they lost, but it is always surprising when a a team from a hot-bed region loses to teams from a place like Texas. More shocking when it is 2 in a row and both were littered with young players (Westlake was the favorite this year).

Thanks, great to get an 'on the ground', informed perspective. Certainly more informed than mine!

I'd caution that a lot of the "best athletes" who play football also don't play lax in NY and MD (where I am), or at least not down the final stretch. My son had a young man in the class behind him at Gilman who was their best FO guy, a beast on SDM, and developing into a force on O...as a sophomore on their 2011 MIAA Championship team. But he decided that he needed to focus on football in his junior and senior seasons... went on to to be AA in football, top linebacker in ACC, Campbell Trophy winner, drafted by Rams...he was a heck of a lax player but football paid off...what we wouldn't have given to have the QB of that football team pick up a lax stick, best athlete on the field always... went to Alabama.

I don't know whether the athletes are actually generally better in Texas, but it's obviously a huge state, so there are a heck of lot of them...and that can get aggregated...

I was intrigued by: Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ.

I assume you mean low lax IQ? Just not enough reps over enough years against high quality opponents?

I do agree fully that it's notable that an end of season championship team from the Island would drop 2 in Texas...but I recall the eventual Island champion coming down to play us in Baltimore my junior year, with us ending up # 3...and we crushed them ignominiously. But early season isn't the same as end of season, we'd been outside for 3 weeks and they were just getting their gloves to unfreeze...it was a bit surprising to us that they ended up so strong by end of season, but I played with and against a bunch of them in college and they were clearly excellent players...just hadn't jelled before they played us. Weather etc is probably not such a big factor these days, with turf fields, etc, and maybe one can argue that with box etc, the stick skills remain sharper year round, but team development of high schoolers is still a factor...that can take some time to jell. My senior year we dropped our first 2 games by a goal each, then ran the table...felt like a different team by end of the season. Presumably the Texas opponents had been playing for more weeks than GC? Had a bunch of games under their belts? Yup...https://www.highlandparklacrosse.org/sc ... son=846962

Having a son that has played on some Texas clubs and East coast clubs, that is more of an observation. I have also heard that from opposing club parents. The difference here is spring football and the coaches. You have to play spring football, if you are on the team. Many coaches are against players playing different sports in Texas, it is not all.

I can tell you I coached with someone that literally went into elementary schools with lax gear and introduced the sport to kids. They played lacrosse for a week, instead of gym. He was part of a small group of Northeastern parents that devoted their time to expand the game. They went to schools and got permission to introduce the sport. That was where my son picked up the love of the game. I think he was one of the last grades to experience that. Unfortunately, that program has been scuttled. That was at one of the lax powerhouses I mentioned. I believe that program started like 15 years ago (not sure) and ran for like 5-7 years. I bring that up to show how relatively new lacrosse is in Texas, compared to places like Long Island and Maryland. There are not a plethora of fathers that grew up playing the game or are familiar with the game. Lot of coaches are converted football coaches or Dads just doing their best with help from other coaches and youtube. The majority of players are the first in their families to play the game. It is changing, but it has a long way to go. That is why the general IQ is lower. I have talked to club coaches that say they have to teach a lot more of the basics here, than when they worked club in the Northeast.

[MDlaxfan76]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

because you would never think one of the top NY teams would go 0-2 in Texas. That just doesnt happen. Texas lacrosse is way behind the island.

mmm, Highland Park and Woodlands are powerhouses. Seriously good athletes and sports programs. Big time football.
And they have mature lax programs with lots of talented coaches in the rec feeder systems.
Note, they are also huge schools, with over 6,000 and 4,000 students in the high school, respectively.
What's Garden City, 1200?

Nevertheless, certainly an unusual, notable event. Warning, if playing Texas or California powerhouses, or for that matter the powerhouse of most any region, they can put 10 on the field with 10+ backups that are very, very good. And they'll be motivated...

I agree with those who suggest that the losses in those games may have contributed to the development of the team.

Woodlands and HP are not on par with the Big powerhouse Football programs in Texas. Highland Park has 2,260 in their HS. Woodlands is 4,300. You also forget that the best athletes tend to play football. Lax loses a lot of players to football as kids go into HS. I actually live in Texas. Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ. Competition is hard to find. The big programs in Texas (ESD, Jesuit, HP, Woodlands, and Westlake) play only a handful of games that are not blow outs. One of the great things Pressler did at HP. He went out and played a legit schedule. Woodlands best player is a transfer from the Island, he arguably the best player in Texas. He can say all we want about the reasons why they lost, but it is always surprising when a a team from a hot-bed region loses to teams from a place like Texas. More shocking when it is 2 in a row and both were littered with young players (Westlake was the favorite this year).

Thanks, great to get an 'on the ground', informed perspective. Certainly more informed than mine!

I'd caution that a lot of the "best athletes" who play football also don't play lax in NY and MD (where I am), or at least not down the final stretch. My son had a young man in the class behind him at Gilman who was their best FO guy, a beast on SDM, and developing into a force on O...as a sophomore on their 2011 MIAA Championship team. But he decided that he needed to focus on football in his junior and senior seasons... went on to to be AA in football, top linebacker in ACC, Campbell Trophy winner, drafted by Rams...he was a heck of a lax player but football paid off...what we wouldn't have given to have the QB of that football team pick up a lax stick, best athlete on the field always... went to Alabama.

I don't know whether the athletes are actually generally better in Texas, but it's obviously a huge state, so there are a heck of lot of them...and that can get aggregated...

I was intrigued by: Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ.

I assume you mean low lax IQ? Just not enough reps over enough years against high quality opponents?

I do agree fully that it's notable that an end of season championship team from the Island would drop 2 in Texas...but I recall the eventual Island champion coming down to play us in Baltimore my junior year, with us ending up # 3...and we crushed them ignominiously. But early season isn't the same as end of season, we'd been outside for 3 weeks and they were just getting their gloves to unfreeze...it was a bit surprising to us that they ended up so strong by end of season, but I played with and against a bunch of them in college and they were clearly excellent players...just hadn't jelled before they played us. Weather etc is probably not such a big factor these days, with turf fields, etc, and maybe one can argue that with box etc, the stick skills remain sharper year round, but team development of high schoolers is still a factor...that can take some time to jell. My senior year we dropped our first 2 games by a goal each, then ran the table...felt like a different team by end of the season. Presumably the Texas opponents had been playing for more weeks than GC? Had a bunch of games under their belts? Yup...https://www.highlandparklacrosse.org/sc ... son=846962

Having a son that has played on some Texas clubs and East coast clubs, that is more of an observation. I have also heard that from opposing club parents. The difference here is spring football and the coaches. You have to play spring football, if you are on the team. Many coaches are against players playing different sports in Texas, it is not all.

I can tell you I coached with someone that literally went into elementary schools with lax gear and introduced the sport to kids. They played lacrosse for a week, instead of gym. He was part of a small group of Northeastern parents that devoted their time to expand the game. They went to schools and got permission to introduce the sport. That was where my son picked up the love of the game. I think he was one of the last grades to experience that. Unfortunately, that program has been scuttled. That was at one of the lax powerhouses I mentioned. I believe that program started like 15 years ago (not sure) and ran for like 5-7 years. I bring that up to show how relatively new lacrosse is in Texas, compared to places like Long Island and Maryland. There are not a plethora of fathers that grew up playing the game or are familiar with the game. Lot of coaches are converted football coaches or Dads just doing their best with help from other coaches and youtube. The majority of players are the first in their families to play the game. It is changing, but it has a long way to go. That is why the general IQ is lower. I have talked to club coaches that say they have to teach a lot more of the basics here, than when they worked club in the Northeast.

Yes, much newer. But maturing...

Though maybe at some or even most schools, I'm not sure it's 100% accurate that you can't play football and lacrosse in Texas...didn't the Mencke boys play both at Highland Park?

Nakeie Montgomery out of Episcopal?

Bear Goldstein out of St. Marks?

Cade Saustad out of Highland Park: https://www.streakingthelawn.com/2017/1 ... e-football

Foster Huggins out of Episcopal?

[coda]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

because you would never think one of the top NY teams would go 0-2 in Texas. That just doesnt happen. Texas lacrosse is way behind the island.

mmm, Highland Park and Woodlands are powerhouses. Seriously good athletes and sports programs. Big time football.
And they have mature lax programs with lots of talented coaches in the rec feeder systems.
Note, they are also huge schools, with over 6,000 and 4,000 students in the high school, respectively.
What's Garden City, 1200?

Nevertheless, certainly an unusual, notable event. Warning, if playing Texas or California powerhouses, or for that matter the powerhouse of most any region, they can put 10 on the field with 10+ backups that are very, very good. And they'll be motivated...

I agree with those who suggest that the losses in those games may have contributed to the development of the team.

Woodlands and HP are not on par with the Big powerhouse Football programs in Texas. Highland Park has 2,260 in their HS. Woodlands is 4,300. You also forget that the best athletes tend to play football. Lax loses a lot of players to football as kids go into HS. I actually live in Texas. Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ. Competition is hard to find. The big programs in Texas (ESD, Jesuit, HP, Woodlands, and Westlake) play only a handful of games that are not blow outs. One of the great things Pressler did at HP. He went out and played a legit schedule. Woodlands best player is a transfer from the Island, he arguably the best player in Texas. He can say all we want about the reasons why they lost, but it is always surprising when a a team from a hot-bed region loses to teams from a place like Texas. More shocking when it is 2 in a row and both were littered with young players (Westlake was the favorite this year).

Thanks, great to get an 'on the ground', informed perspective. Certainly more informed than mine!

I'd caution that a lot of the "best athletes" who play football also don't play lax in NY and MD (where I am), or at least not down the final stretch. My son had a young man in the class behind him at Gilman who was their best FO guy, a beast on SDM, and developing into a force on O...as a sophomore on their 2011 MIAA Championship team. But he decided that he needed to focus on football in his junior and senior seasons... went on to to be AA in football, top linebacker in ACC, Campbell Trophy winner, drafted by Rams...he was a heck of a lax player but football paid off...what we wouldn't have given to have the QB of that football team pick up a lax stick, best athlete on the field always... went to Alabama.

I don't know whether the athletes are actually generally better in Texas, but it's obviously a huge state, so there are a heck of lot of them...and that can get aggregated...

I was intrigued by: Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ.

I assume you mean low lax IQ? Just not enough reps over enough years against high quality opponents?

I do agree fully that it's notable that an end of season championship team from the Island would drop 2 in Texas...but I recall the eventual Island champion coming down to play us in Baltimore my junior year, with us ending up # 3...and we crushed them ignominiously. But early season isn't the same as end of season, we'd been outside for 3 weeks and they were just getting their gloves to unfreeze...it was a bit surprising to us that they ended up so strong by end of season, but I played with and against a bunch of them in college and they were clearly excellent players...just hadn't jelled before they played us. Weather etc is probably not such a big factor these days, with turf fields, etc, and maybe one can argue that with box etc, the stick skills remain sharper year round, but team development of high schoolers is still a factor...that can take some time to jell. My senior year we dropped our first 2 games by a goal each, then ran the table...felt like a different team by end of the season. Presumably the Texas opponents had been playing for more weeks than GC? Had a bunch of games under their belts? Yup...https://www.highlandparklacrosse.org/sc ... son=846962

Having a son that has played on some Texas clubs and East coast clubs, that is more of an observation. I have also heard that from opposing club parents. The difference here is spring football and the coaches. You have to play spring football, if you are on the team. Many coaches are against players playing different sports in Texas, it is not all.

I can tell you I coached with someone that literally went into elementary schools with lax gear and introduced the sport to kids. They played lacrosse for a week, instead of gym. He was part of a small group of Northeastern parents that devoted their time to expand the game. They went to schools and got permission to introduce the sport. That was where my son picked up the love of the game. I think he was one of the last grades to experience that. Unfortunately, that program has been scuttled. That was at one of the lax powerhouses I mentioned. I believe that program started like 15 years ago (not sure) and ran for like 5-7 years. I bring that up to show how relatively new lacrosse is in Texas, compared to places like Long Island and Maryland. There are not a plethora of fathers that grew up playing the game or are familiar with the game. Lot of coaches are converted football coaches or Dads just doing their best with help from other coaches and youtube. The majority of players are the first in their families to play the game. It is changing, but it has a long way to go. That is why the general IQ is lower. I have talked to club coaches that say they have to teach a lot more of the basics here, than when they worked club in the Northeast.

Yes, much newer. But maturing...

Though maybe at some or even most schools, I'm not sure it's 100% accurate that you can't play football and lacrosse in Texas...didn't the Mencke boys play both at Highland Park?

Nakeie Montgomery out of Episcopal?

Bear Goldstein out of St. Marks?

Cade Saustad out of Highland Park: https://www.streakingthelawn.com/2017/1 ... e-football

It not 100%. It it on a case by case basis. ESD and St Marks are small schools. Athletes play every sport there. It probably a bigger hurdle for the growing a lax program. Dallas is the hub of lacrosse in Texas. That is the most mature area. Austin (Westlake) and Houston (woodlands) are far behind Dallas. San Antonio is far behind Austin and Houston. You dont see a lot of lacrosse beign played outside the Metro areas. Keep in mind it is not a HS certified sport in Texas. They are technically club teams.

[wahoomurf]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

because you would never think one of the top NY teams would go 0-2 in Texas. That just doesnt happen. Texas lacrosse is way behind the island.

mmm, Highland Park and Woodlands are powerhouses. Seriously good athletes and sports programs. Big time football.
And they have mature lax programs with lots of talented coaches in the rec feeder systems.
Note, they are also huge schools, with over 6,000 and 4,000 students in the high school, respectively.
What's Garden City, 1200?

Nevertheless, certainly an unusual, notable event. Warning, if playing Texas or California powerhouses, or for that matter the powerhouse of most any region, they can put 10 on the field with 10+ backups that are very, very good. And they'll be motivated...

I agree with those who suggest that the losses in those games may have contributed to the development of the team.

Your precis is spot on. Those 2 schools are indeed athletic powerhouses. A couple of the GC parents told me the players for HP and The Woodlands were big, tough and fast. The UVA goalie played at TW and UVA's best D'man played at HP. Mike Pressler is HP's coach. I suspect he's going to build a top 10 program quickly.

Garden City played 10 one-goal games this season. Lost 4 and won 6. According to some local pundits,this was going to be a down year for GC.I agree that those 2 Lone Star losses brought the team together.

[LI13]

Newsday released its all Long Island team this morning: https://www.newsday.com/sports/high-sch ... 3-lriuux0s

[kr522]

Newsday released its all Long Island team this morning: https://www.newsday.com/sports/high-sch ... 3-lriuux0s

Requires a subscription. Who made the list?

[LI13]

Newsday released its all Long Island team this morning: https://www.newsday.com/sports/high-sch ... 3-lriuux0s

Requires a subscription. Who made the list?

First team:

A Owen Duffy, St. Anthony's (LI POY)
A Gavin Creo, Chaminade
A Alec Gregorek, SWR
A Jake Lewis, Calhoun
A Tyler Moore, Connetquot
A Jack Speidell, St. Anthony's

M Stevie Finnell, Garden City
M Tyler McCarthy, Connetquot
M Jack Petersen, Manhasset

M/FO Cal Girard, Manhasset (Nassau POY)

D Aidan Carrello, Huntington
D Cole Webber, Garden City

LSM/D Drew Miller, Northport
LSM/D Peter Thomann, Calhoun

G Michael Ippoliti, Farmingdale

Second team:

A Liam Connor, Manhasset
A Liam Kershis, SWR
A Brendan Reilly, Chaminade
A Ryan Rooney, Smithtown East

A/M CJ Reilly, CSH
A/M Brendan O'Keefe, Farmingdale
A/M Luke Meyer, Port Washington

M JJ Aiello, BBP
M Jack Archer, Garden City
M Matt Cargiulo, Manhasset
M Jackson Greene, St. Anthony's

FO/M Anthony Annunziata. Huntington
FO/M Jake Spallina, Mt. Sinai

D Zachary Maggiacomo, Pat-Med
D Chase Rogers, Islip
D Tristan Mullahey, Garden City
D AJ Zuleta, Syosset

LSM/D Joe Valenza, Hauppague

G PJ Verdi, Chaminade
G Brayden Wilcken, Mt Sinai

[kr522]

Newsday released its all Long Island team this morning: https://www.newsday.com/sports/high-sch ... 3-lriuux0s

Requires a subscription. Who made the list?

First team:

A Owen Duffy, St. Anthony's (LI POY)
A Gavin Creo, Chaminade
A Alec Gregorek, SWR
A Jake Lewis, Calhoun
A Tyler Moore, Connetquot
A Jack Speidell, St. Anthony's

M Stevie Finnell, Garden City
M Tyler McCarthy, Connetquot
M Jack Petersen, Manhasset

M/FO Cal Girard, Manhasset (Nassau POY)

D Aidan Carrello, Huntington
D Cole Webber, Garden City

LSM/D Drew Miller, Northport
LSM/D Peter Thomann, Calhoun

G Michael Ippoliti, Farmingdale

Second team:

A Liam Connor, Manhasset
A Liam Kershis, SWR
A Brendan Reilly, Chaminade
A Ryan Rooney, Smithtown East

A/M CJ Reilly, CSH
A/M Brendan O'Keefe, Farmingdale
A/M Luke Meyer, Port Washington

M JJ Aiello, BBP
M Jack Archer, Garden City
M Matt Cargiulo, Manhasset
M Jackson Greene, St. Anthony's

FO/M Anthony Annunziata. Huntington
FO/M Jake Spallina, Mt. Sinai

D Zachary Maggiacomo, Pat-Med
D Chase Rogers, Islip
D Tristan Mullahey, Garden City
D AJ Zuleta, Syosset

LSM/D Joe Valenza, Hauppague

G PJ Verdi, Chaminade
G Brayden Wilcken, Mt Sinai

From the little that I know, seems like a decent list, I’m surprised St Anthony’s didn’t have another player or two on there. Wrt Manhasset, I felt Mulholland was their best player after Girard and Petersen

[wahoomurf]

Newsday released its all Long Island team this morning: https://www.newsday.com/sports/high-sch ... 3-lriuux0s

Requires a subscription. Who made the list?

First team:

A Owen Duffy, St. Anthony's (LI POY)
A Gavin Creo, Chaminade
A Alec Gregorek, SWR
A Jake Lewis, Calhoun
A Tyler Moore, Connetquot
A Jack Speidell, St. Anthony's

M Stevie Finnell, Garden City
M Tyler McCarthy, Connetquot
M Jack Petersen, Manhasset

M/FO Cal Girard, Manhasset (Nassau POY)

D Aidan Carrello, Huntington
D Cole Webber, Garden City

LSM/D Drew Miller, Northport
LSM/D Peter Thomann, Calhoun

G Michael Ippoliti, Farmingdale

Second team:

A Liam Connor, Manhasset
A Liam Kershis, SWR
A Brendan Reilly, Chaminade
A Ryan Rooney, Smithtown East

A/M CJ Reilly, CSH
A/M Brendan O'Keefe, Farmingdale
A/M Luke Meyer, Port Washington

M JJ Aiello, BBP
M Jack Archer, Garden City
M Matt Cargiulo, Manhasset
M Jackson Greene, St. Anthony's

FO/M Anthony Annunziata. Huntington
FO/M Jake Spallina, Mt. Sinai

D Zachary Maggiacomo, Pat-Med
D Chase Rogers, Islip
D Tristan Mullahey, Garden City
D AJ Zuleta, Syosset

LSM/D Joe Valenza, Hauppague

G PJ Verdi, Chaminade
G Brayden Wilcken, Mt Sinai

I was impressed with Jake Lewis (Calhoun).He is the only uncommitted Senior. Whither to J.C.,P.G., gap year, the Military or ???

[ALaudico7]

Newsday released its all Long Island team this morning: https://www.newsday.com/sports/high-sch ... 3-lriuux0s

Requires a subscription. Who made the list?

First team:

A Owen Duffy, St. Anthony's (LI POY)
A Gavin Creo, Chaminade
A Alec Gregorek, SWR
A Jake Lewis, Calhoun
A Tyler Moore, Connetquot
A Jack Speidell, St. Anthony's

M Stevie Finnell, Garden City
M Tyler McCarthy, Connetquot
M Jack Petersen, Manhasset

M/FO Cal Girard, Manhasset (Nassau POY)

D Aidan Carrello, Huntington
D Cole Webber, Garden City

LSM/D Drew Miller, Northport
LSM/D Peter Thomann, Calhoun

G Michael Ippoliti, Farmingdale

Second team:

A Liam Connor, Manhasset
A Liam Kershis, SWR
A Brendan Reilly, Chaminade
A Ryan Rooney, Smithtown East

A/M CJ Reilly, CSH
A/M Brendan O'Keefe, Farmingdale
A/M Luke Meyer, Port Washington

M JJ Aiello, BBP
M Jack Archer, Garden City
M Matt Cargiulo, Manhasset
M Jackson Greene, St. Anthony's

FO/M Anthony Annunziata. Huntington
FO/M Jake Spallina, Mt. Sinai

D Zachary Maggiacomo, Pat-Med
D Chase Rogers, Islip
D Tristan Mullahey, Garden City
D AJ Zuleta, Syosset

LSM/D Joe Valenza, Hauppague

G PJ Verdi, Chaminade
G Brayden Wilcken, Mt Sinai

I was impressed with Jake Lewis (Calhoun).He is the only uncommitted Senior. Whither to J.C.,P.G., gap year, the Military or ???

His Instagram bio has LIU in it https://www.instagram.com/jakelewiy/

And Lacrosse bucket also has him as an LIU commit with a late April commitment date. https://lacrossebucket.com/liu-recruiting/

[Farfromgeneva]

thoughts on 2023 finals
- Farmingdale was a great development but ultimately not on the level of Baldwinsville. No shame in that, but I’m not sure they get past Northport without Ippoliti, and next year they won’t have him, so this might have been their best shot

- GC: i know the final score was close, but if they played Victor tomorrow I’d pick them in a heartbeat. I thought they were guilty of trying to run out the clock mentally when they had that 4-5 goal lead midway through 4th quarter, but their defense stymied Victor, and on offense they were breaking down Victor frequently.

- Manhasset: Ford is right, this team belongs up there with some of their other top teams. They’re certainly not out of place with the 09 and 10 teams. Hard to overstate what a weapon Girard was for them too

- CSH: it’s nice to be a great program and play in D. You get your cake (playing all the top local teams as a measuring stick) and eat it too (collecting state titles). They have 6 Long Island titles, and 6 State titles….a perfect 100% conversion rate

I'ts crazy GC ended up winning the Class B championship after an 0-2 trip to Texas.[/u]

HUH?

Not sure what you are asking

Why do you deem it CRAZY that a team that lost 2 one goal games in Texas, ended up winning the NYS Class B championship?

because you would never think one of the top NY teams would go 0-2 in Texas. That just doesnt happen. Texas lacrosse is way behind the island.

mmm, Highland Park and Woodlands are powerhouses. Seriously good athletes and sports programs. Big time football.
And they have mature lax programs with lots of talented coaches in the rec feeder systems.
Note, they are also huge schools, with over 6,000 and 4,000 students in the high school, respectively.
What's Garden City, 1200?

Nevertheless, certainly an unusual, notable event. Warning, if playing Texas or California powerhouses, or for that matter the powerhouse of most any region, they can put 10 on the field with 10+ backups that are very, very good. And they'll be motivated...

I agree with those who suggest that the losses in those games may have contributed to the development of the team.

Woodlands and HP are not on par with the Big powerhouse Football programs in Texas. Highland Park has 2,260 in their HS. Woodlands is 4,300. You also forget that the best athletes tend to play football. Lax loses a lot of players to football as kids go into HS. I actually live in Texas. Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ. Competition is hard to find. The big programs in Texas (ESD, Jesuit, HP, Woodlands, and Westlake) play only a handful of games that are not blow outs. One of the great things Pressler did at HP. He went out and played a legit schedule. Woodlands best player is a transfer from the Island, he arguably the best player in Texas. He can say all we want about the reasons why they lost, but it is always surprising when a a team from a hot-bed region loses to teams from a place like Texas. More shocking when it is 2 in a row and both were littered with young players (Westlake was the favorite this year).

Thanks, great to get an 'on the ground', informed perspective. Certainly more informed than mine!

I'd caution that a lot of the "best athletes" who play football also don't play lax in NY and MD (where I am), or at least not down the final stretch. My son had a young man in the class behind him at Gilman who was their best FO guy, a beast on SDM, and developing into a force on O...as a sophomore on their 2011 MIAA Championship team. But he decided that he needed to focus on football in his junior and senior seasons... went on to to be AA in football, top linebacker in ACC, Campbell Trophy winner, drafted by Rams...he was a heck of a lax player but football paid off...what we wouldn't have given to have the QB of that football team pick up a lax stick, best athlete on the field always... went to Alabama.

I don't know whether the athletes are actually generally better in Texas, but it's obviously a huge state, so there are a heck of lot of them...and that can get aggregated...

I was intrigued by: Texas lax does generally have better athletes. It also has very low general IQ.

I assume you mean low lax IQ? Just not enough reps over enough years against high quality opponents?

I do agree fully that it's notable that an end of season championship team from the Island would drop 2 in Texas...but I recall the eventual Island champion coming down to play us in Baltimore my junior year, with us ending up # 3...and we crushed them ignominiously. But early season isn't the same as end of season, we'd been outside for 3 weeks and they were just getting their gloves to unfreeze...it was a bit surprising to us that they ended up so strong by end of season, but I played with and against a bunch of them in college and they were clearly excellent players...just hadn't jelled before they played us. Weather etc is probably not such a big factor these days, with turf fields, etc, and maybe one can argue that with box etc, the stick skills remain sharper year round, but team development of high schoolers is still a factor...that can take some time to jell. My senior year we dropped our first 2 games by a goal each, then ran the table...felt like a different team by end of the season. Presumably the Texas opponents had been playing for more weeks than GC? Had a bunch of games under their belts? Yup...https://www.highlandparklacrosse.org/sc ... son=846962

Having a son that has played on some Texas clubs and East coast clubs, that is more of an observation. I have also heard that from opposing club parents. The difference here is spring football and the coaches. You have to play spring football, if you are on the team. Many coaches are against players playing different sports in Texas, it is not all.

I can tell you I coached with someone that literally went into elementary schools with lax gear and introduced the sport to kids. They played lacrosse for a week, instead of gym. He was part of a small group of Northeastern parents that devoted their time to expand the game. They went to schools and got permission to introduce the sport. That was where my son picked up the love of the game. I think he was one of the last grades to experience that. Unfortunately, that program has been scuttled. That was at one of the lax powerhouses I mentioned. I believe that program started like 15 years ago (not sure) and ran for like 5-7 years. I bring that up to show how relatively new lacrosse is in Texas, compared to places like Long Island and Maryland. There are not a plethora of fathers that grew up playing the game or are familiar with the game. Lot of coaches are converted football coaches or Dads just doing their best with help from other coaches and youtube. The majority of players are the first in their families to play the game. It is changing, but it has a long way to go. That is why the general IQ is lower. I have talked to club coaches that say they have to teach a lot more of the basics here, than when they worked club in the Northeast.

I got roped into youth coaching in georgia two springs ago and told the guy (from LI who went to Cortland in the 70s himself) “yeah, I’ve played summer leagues and lived with lacrosse guys at Bart most of my time but actually played football there not lacrosse”. (And a year of tennis but that’s being a decent athlete at a D3 school that didn’t have many bodies for tennis that year and I had won some summer tournaments in youth)

His response: “that’s great most of these guys just learn it on YouTube!”. As if I was an upgrade. I imagine TX is worse than Atlanta for that.

frankly I think there’s be a decent Subscription service knowledge sharing platform outside UsA lacrosse that could aggregate this because the ones I decided to look up on the interweb are fragmented and suck.

[coda]

Its pretty much the same. Its amazing the difference between football and lacrosse here. I coached both. These guys are filming games and even practices in elementary school for football. You would get together on a Sunday with the team and breakdown the game film. One HC filmed practice and sent cut ups to players during the week. In Lax you get a bucket of balls and cones.

[Farfromgeneva]

Its pretty much the same. Its amazing the difference between football and lacrosse here. I coached both. These guys are filming games and even practices in elementary school for football. You would get together on a Sunday with the team and breakdown the game film. One HC filmed practice and sent cut ups to players during the week. In Lax you get a bucket of balls and cones.

You got cones?!?!?! I had to buy those and raised a few grand for the league just strong arming some exec clients of mind for piddling $250-$500 donations.

[Pio9]

Just looking at some stats and saw some kid from Great Neck North, Dan Perlman(2025), put up 91 goals and 24 assists last season. I know it's mostly against weaker comp, but thats pretty productive. Has anyone seen him play? TIA