HS Boys National Rankings

[Laxallday]

St. Anthony's won a lot of the statistical plays but St. Johns won a lot of the "tic tac toe" plays. Their positioning and spacing was unreal.

Talent coupled with outstanding coaching equals a terrific outcome against a powerful opponent. Those kids were awesome and deserve the #1 ranking!

Excellent team and strong results so far. Second best Team in the country.

[wahoomurf]

St. Anthony's won a lot of the statistical plays but St. Johns won a lot of the "tic tac toe" plays. Their positioning and spacing was unreal.

Talent coupled with outstanding coaching equals a terrific outcome against a powerful opponent. Those kids were awesome and deserve the #1 ranking!

Excellent team and strong results so far. Second best Team in the country.

Which team is #1?

[JoeMauer89]

St. Anthony's won a lot of the statistical plays but St. Johns won a lot of the "tic tac toe" plays. Their positioning and spacing was unreal.

Talent coupled with outstanding coaching equals a terrific outcome against a powerful opponent. Those kids were awesome and deserve the #1 ranking!

Excellent team and strong results so far. Second best Team in the country.

Which team is #1?

He's implying Brunswick School is, we will probably get to see that matchup in the Geico Nationals Final on 5/31/22 on ESPNU. So it may very well be decided on the field this year!

Joe

[wahoomurf]

St. Anthony's won a lot of the statistical plays but St. Johns won a lot of the "tic tac toe" plays. Their positioning and spacing was unreal.

Talent coupled with outstanding coaching equals a terrific outcome against a powerful opponent. Those kids were awesome and deserve the #1 ranking!

Excellent team and strong results so far. Second best Team in the country.

Which team is #1?

He's implying Brunswick School is, we will probably get to see that matchup in the Geico Nationals Final on 5/31/22 on ESPNU. So it may very well be decided on the field this year!

Joe

Down in C'ville, Xander Dixon, a young man from the Brunswick School is lighting it up.

I heard from a former teammate that the St. John's is #1 and CHC is ranked second. Polls are fluid. Day-to-day results are likely to alter the rankings overnight.

Your point re: settling the debate on the field is well taken.

[Laxallday]

St. Anthony's won a lot of the statistical plays but St. Johns won a lot of the "tic tac toe" plays. Their positioning and spacing was unreal.

Talent coupled with outstanding coaching equals a terrific outcome against a powerful opponent. Those kids were awesome and deserve the #1 ranking!

Excellent team and strong results so far. Second best Team in the country.

Which team is #1?

He's implying Brunswick School is, we will probably get to see that matchup in the Geico Nationals Final on 5/31/22 on ESPNU. So it may very well be decided on the field this year!

Joe

Down in C'ville, Xander Dixon, a young man from the Brunswick School is lighting it up.

I heard from a former teammate that the St. John's is #1 and CHC is ranked second. Polls are fluid. Day-to-day results are likely to alter the rankings overnight.

Your point re: settling the debate on the field is well taken.

Would love to see it settled on the Field. Both SJ and Wick are likely to win out. Hope they get to play each other. I’d buy a ticket to that game!

[fordmaddoxford]

Who’s invited?

[JoeMauer89]

Who’s invited?

No announcement yet, but considering those teams have accepted in the past and are currently the top 2 in the nation, it's a good bet they are 2 of the 4 teams playing. I know the dates are 5/30/22 and 5/31/22 though.

Joe

[WoodStick]

I think we can agree that the HS rankings are a little bit silly as it is really difficult to speculate on how a team from the west or the south would do against a team from the mid-atlantic or east coast. But it is fun for the kids and probably more so the fathers to flex on who is better than who. That being said, it would really be great to see them put together two distinct polls, one with all of the private (boarding, parochial, and day schools) and the other of the public schools. Yes, B'Wick will play Darien or St. Anthony's will play Manhasset but if you are going to have a poll then they really should be split.

[Turnandrake]

I think we can agree that the HS rankings are a little bit silly as it is really difficult to speculate on how a team from the west or the south would do against a team from the mid-atlantic or east coast. But it is fun for the kids and probably more so the fathers to flex on who is better than who. That being said, it would really be great to see them put together two distinct polls, one with all of the private (boarding, parochial, and day schools) and the other of the public schools. Yes, B'Wick will play Darien or St. Anthony's will play Manhasset but if you are going to have a poll then they really should be split.

Teams from the MIAA and WCAC have been playing on national schedule.

[Turnandrake]

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... ek-8/59461

[get it to x]

I think we can agree that the HS rankings are a little bit silly as it is really difficult to speculate on how a team from the west or the south would do against a team from the mid-atlantic or east coast. But it is fun for the kids and probably more so the fathers to flex on who is better than who. That being said, it would really be great to see them put together two distinct polls, one with all of the private (boarding, parochial, and day schools) and the other of the public schools. Yes, B'Wick will play Darien or St. Anthony's will play Manhasset but if you are going to have a poll then they really should be split.

Why? Are they playing a drastically different game? Without getting into hold backs and post grads it’s still high school lacrosse. Sure, the MIAA and some other private conferences and independent schools play NCAA rules but some of the publics in PA, NJ and NY can play with anybody , no matter which set of rules you use.

[Matnum PI]

Why? Are they playing a drastically different game?

I tend to agree with you. With this said, I must admit, I bristle when I see mediocre private programs becoming powerhouses overnight based explicitly on an influx of money. It's not to say that public programs don't get money from a booster(s). But, over and over, the programs that benefit the most from this influx of cash tend to be the privates. That bothers me and, yes, I'm aware, this is America, get over it, it's my issue, etc.

[fordmaddoxford]

Why? Are they playing a drastically different game?

I tend to agree with you. With this said, I must admit, I bristle when I see mediocre private programs becoming powerhouses overnight based explicitly on an influx of money. It's not to say that public programs don't get money from a booster(s). But, over and over, the programs that benefit the most from this influx of cash tend to be the privates. That bothers me and, yes, I'm aware, this is America, get over it, it's my issue, etc.

Amen. And it’s not just the money. It’s an affirmative decision on the part of administrations to deviate from long held practices/philosophies to become a little less like themselves and a little more like the sports centric “schools” which have been springing up for some time now. What some of these institutions are doing detracts from rather than enhancing their estimable reputations,imo.

[WoodStick]

Get it to x......did you really ask why? Yes holdbacks and PG's are a major difference of why it is not an apples to apples comparison but how about the fact that the rosters of kids from NE West are national and not all from one town. Deerfield, Taft, Hotchkiss etc draw from all of the country and Canada and some level recruit. Do you honestly think that they do not have an advantage over a local high school. Brunswick draws kids from Connecticut, Westchester County and even some from NYC, do you think that that might give them a bit of an advantage over Yorktown. Please do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with what the private schools do, am all for it. But when comparing and ranking the various schools you should go like for like.

[Jumbo]

Get it to x......did you really ask why? Yes holdbacks and PG's are a major difference of why it is not an apples to apples comparison but how about the fact that the rosters of kids from NE West are national and not all from one town. Deerfield, Taft, Hotchkiss etc draw from all of the country and Canada and some level recruit. Do you honestly think that they do not have an advantage over a local high school. Brunswick draws kids from Connecticut, Westchester County and even some from NYC, do you think that that might give them a bit of an advantage over Yorktown. Please do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with what the private schools do, am all for it. But when comparing and ranking the various schools you should go like for like.

Private schools have so many advantages over public.

Recruiting is the biggest. Just in our home HS school area, there are 7 D1 seniors that should be at the local public school, but are playing for the private school.
The second advantage is some private schools are also giving scholarships to entice kids to switch schools
Then you have the time allowed to practice and play. Public schools get 2 1/2 months. March 1 a mid May if they are lucky. Private schools are doing something (practice, workouts, senior lead practice, fall leagues, fall touneys) year round.

Then add in the money from alumni. SJC received a $16 million donation for the athletic facilities from UA. Public school kids are out knocking on doors asking for donations to buy jerseys.

The next big advantage is the talent you play against. Take a team like St Marys Annapolis. Every team they play will have a D1 committ. The public schools are playing against teams with some kids that are playing for the first time ever.

It’s apples vs oranges. Like D1 vs juco

[MDlaxfan76]

Get it to x......did you really ask why? Yes holdbacks and PG's are a major difference of why it is not an apples to apples comparison but how about the fact that the rosters of kids from NE West are national and not all from one town. Deerfield, Taft, Hotchkiss etc draw from all of the country and Canada and some level recruit. Do you honestly think that they do not have an advantage over a local high school. Brunswick draws kids from Connecticut, Westchester County and even some from NYC, do you think that that might give them a bit of an advantage over Yorktown. Please do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with what the private schools do, am all for it. But when comparing and ranking the various schools you should go like for like.

Private schools have so many advantages over public.

Recruiting is the biggest. Just in our home HS school area, there are 7 D1 seniors that should be at the local public school, but are playing for the private school.
The second advantage is some private schools are also giving scholarships to entice kids to switch schools
Then you have the time allowed to practice and play. Public schools get 2 1/2 months. March 1 a mid May if they are lucky. Private schools are doing something (practice, workouts, senior lead practice, fall leagues, fall touneys) year round.

Then add in the money from alumni. SJC received a $16 million donation for the athletic facilities from UA. Public school kids are out knocking on doors asking for donations to buy jerseys.

The next big advantage is the talent you play against. Take a team like St Marys Annapolis. Every team they play will have a D1 committ. The public schools are playing against teams with some kids that are playing for the first time ever.

It’s apples vs oranges. Like D1 vs juco

Of course, that does not mean that there aren't public powerhouses that can knock off many if not all of the privates in their region and sometimes beyond. Depends on the region.

But yes, recruiting is definitely part of the challenge for public versus private, though I'm not sure what "should be at the local public school" necessarily means...do you mean they are getting financial aid at the private? Should kids from less affluent families get financial aid? Or even purely merit scholarships based on various outstanding qualities? (I'm not a fan of 'merit' unless need-based as well). Or is the public a better academic opportunity that they are sacrificing to go to the private just to play ball?

Maybe you meant "would be" absent their athletic talent.

Not so sure that the differences in practice times are really that different...most privates discourage year round team based practices and competition, though coaches at public and private both encourage club and gym time year round, if not playing another sport (and even if...keep the stick in the hands); but of course there are exceptions that do much more than others. And the private school kids may well be more affluent, so be more able to afford that extra coaching, club experience, gym training, etc.

and indeed, some private schools are positioned as sports-first academies, recruiting nationally as such. Others are recruiting PG's as part of the normal course.

All sorts of differences.

And some of these schools are definitely violating the expressed, supposed standards of their leagues in their recruiting practices, all to be the "best"...

I dunno that we can't rank all of the variations on a single list, but it also makes sense to have multiple lists, apples with the apples, oranges with the oranges, etc. But there's nothing wrong with simply ranking them purely on their performance on the field, regardless of they got there and how much time they put into it. It's indeed the same game.

[Turnandrake]

Please stop with excuses for public schools. This thread is National high school rankings. Sorry but ever school can’t be ranked.

[Jumbo]

Please stop with excuses for public schools. This thread is National high school rankings. Sorry but ever school can’t be ranked.

Lighten up Francis. This is a message board to either complain or brag.

[get it to x]

St Mary's has 500 students co-ed. Severna Park has almost 1900. It's also tuition free. Public schools have many advantages, but if we're just talking about lacrosse, the prestige of playing for a top MIAA team is a very strong attraction. I can't speak for the NE Prep schools, but it would seem to hold true there as well.

[random observer]

St Mary's has 500 students co-ed. Severna Park has almost 1900. It's also tuition free. Public schools have many advantages, but if we're just talking about lacrosse, the prestige of playing for a top MIAA team is a very strong attraction. I can't speak for the NE Prep schools, but it would seem to hold true there as well.

Maybe I'm misreading this, but are you arguing that Severna Park has some sort of advantage based on numbers? Because the number of students at the school has practically zero relevance when you're comparing a public to a private school. St. Mary's having 500 students has no bearing on whether they can recruit a quality lacrosse team, and 1900 students does not guarantee that a public school will be flush with talent (especially when the private schools come in snatch up most of the top guys).

FWIW I do agree that in general private schools and public schools each have their advantages. In regards to lacrosse, there are certainly some inherent advantages at private schools that an invested administration can take advantage of, and that's perfectly fine. Nonetheless I do feel as if that more and more we are entering a win at all costs arms race that is perverting the spirit of competition. Namely more and more holdbacks and reclasses, and programs with traditional local recruiting grounds now reaching across the country to pull in more kids. It's a free country and there's nothing truly wrong about any of this, but personally I find it makes the wins and losses feel a bit more hollow.