LaxPower Back-Up Stick

nyjay wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:54 pm Don't be so literal 16, I was only joking (well, mostly joking).

nyjay wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:04 pm And, not to delve into the politics of COVID, but if college kids aren't back on campus for the spring, I may just jump off a bridge due to the absurdity of the entire situation. And thereafter, won't worry so about about our lack of commits.

nyjay wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 11:13 pm It's probably a generational thing, but I don't actually hate the Terps all that much.

Michael Trepeta knew he’d be in high demand on Sept. 1. He just didn’t know how much of a hot commodity he’d be.

When 12:01 a.m. came a couple of Tuesdays ago, Trepeta’s phone went crazy as text messages, emails and phone calls started rolling in to express interest in the Team 91 2022 Smash and Mount Sinai defenseman. It wasn’t a surprise that the No. 18 prospect in the country according to the NLF rankings and a four-star recruit per Inside Lacrosse was in high demand. Still, Trepeta never expected the sheer volume.

“I was definitely swamped and things got even more hectic in the morning,” Trepeta said. “It was stressful at first, but I took a step back and realized that you have to fun and can’t worry about the process.”

One of those schools stood out more than most, though. Johns Hopkins, one of the sport’s blue blood programs and one of the best academic schools in Division I lacrosse, caught the academically-minded Trepeta’s eye right off the bat. When he got to campus, he got that feeling where he knew it was probably going to be the place where he’d end up.

“When I stepped on campus, I just felt it right away,” Trepeta said. “The campus was beautiful, and I was looking for academics along with lacrosse. It’s a top-10 academic school and Hopkins is the original great program. When I saw Homewood Field, I knew that I wanted to be a part of their tradition.”

After thinking about it and fielding interest from some of the sport’s other elite programs, Trepeta decided he’d seen enough and verballed to the Blue Jays. He’s the fourth Smash player to commit after Brock Behrman (Niskayuna / Notre Dame), Dominic Senft (Chaminade / Air Force) and Joey Spallina (Mount Sinai / Syracuse) and he’s the third player in Team 91 history to choose Hopkins, where he’ll join ’20 Crush midfielder Brett Martin (Half Hollow Hills West).

“I looked for the perfect blend between a top academic school and a program that can compete for a national championship,” Trepeta said. “Johns Hopkins obviously fits both criteria. They have a very strong alumni network that can get you places and set you up for success. After speaking with (new Hopkins defensive coordinator) Coach K (Jamison Koesterer) and (new head coach) Coach (Peter) Milliman countless times throughout the past two weeks, it became clear that we all had the same philosophies and vision. Coach K told me exactly where I’d fit into his defensive scheme and that he felt like I could make an immediate impact. We’re looking for that national championship.”

HopFan16 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2020 2:48 pm Got another 4-star: Mikey Trepeta, a Long Island defenseman who happened to play with Spallina for Mount Sinai and Team 91. Those battles should be fun in a few years. Nice pickup.

https://twitter.com/tyxanders/status/13 ... 8320968708
https://boys.team91lacrosse.com/22-smas ... s-hopkins/

Michael Trepeta knew he’d be in high demand on Sept. 1. He just didn’t know how much of a hot commodity he’d be.

When 12:01 a.m. came a couple of Tuesdays ago, Trepeta’s phone went crazy as text messages, emails and phone calls started rolling in to express interest in the Team 91 2022 Smash and Mount Sinai defenseman. It wasn’t a surprise that the No. 18 prospect in the country according to the NLF rankings and a four-star recruit per Inside Lacrosse was in high demand. Still, Trepeta never expected the sheer volume.

“I was definitely swamped and things got even more hectic in the morning,” Trepeta said. “It was stressful at first, but I took a step back and realized that you have to fun and can’t worry about the process.”

One of those schools stood out more than most, though. Johns Hopkins, one of the sport’s blue blood programs and one of the best academic schools in Division I lacrosse, caught the academically-minded Trepeta’s eye right off the bat. When he got to campus, he got that feeling where he knew it was probably going to be the place where he’d end up.

“When I stepped on campus, I just felt it right away,” Trepeta said. “The campus was beautiful, and I was looking for academics along with lacrosse. It’s a top-10 academic school and Hopkins is the original great program. When I saw Homewood Field, I knew that I wanted to be a part of their tradition.”

After thinking about it and fielding interest from some of the sport’s other elite programs, Trepeta decided he’d seen enough and verballed to the Blue Jays. He’s the fourth Smash player to commit after Brock Behrman (Niskayuna / Notre Dame), Dominic Senft (Chaminade / Air Force) and Joey Spallina (Mount Sinai / Syracuse) and he’s the third player in Team 91 history to choose Hopkins, where he’ll join ’20 Crush midfielder Brett Martin (Half Hollow Hills West).

“I looked for the perfect blend between a top academic school and a program that can compete for a national championship,” Trepeta said. “Johns Hopkins obviously fits both criteria. They have a very strong alumni network that can get you places and set you up for success. After speaking with (new Hopkins defensive coordinator) Coach K (Jamison Koesterer) and (new head coach) Coach (Peter) Milliman countless times throughout the past two weeks, it became clear that we all had the same philosophies and vision. Coach K told me exactly where I’d fit into his defensive scheme and that he felt like I could make an immediate impact. We’re looking for that national championship.”

“Judging from the summer, he’s gotta be one of the better defensemen in the Class of 2022,” proclaimed Inside Lacrosse Director of Recruiting and High School Content Ty Xanders.

It didn’t take long for schools to notice, one more than others. College lacrosse titan Johns Hopkins, with its new coaching staff spearheaded by new head coach Peter Milliman, reached out to Didden immediately. The attention from one of arguably the best program in college lacrosse history was a lot for Didden to handle, but it didn’t take long for him to realize that he wanted to play on Homewood Field.

“Everyone knows the basics about Hopkins,” Didden said. “It’s a great academic school with the best schedule in college lacrosse. Coach Milliman reached out to me and we got to know each other very well. Throughout the entire process, I was very impressed with the coaching staff. Hopkins is the place to be to be able to compete for national championships.”

Didden knew that Hopkins was the place for him. He became the fourth Leading Edge ’22 to commit after goalie Jaz Zanelli (Seton Hall Prep / Bucknell), LSM Konrad Miklaszewski (Montclair / Yale) and faceoff midfielder Luke Engelke (Pingry / Duke). He joins an impressive lineage of Leading Edge alums that became Blue Jays, and he’ll join ’19 alum and ’23 coach Jack Ruddy (Hun) in Baltimore.

“It came down to the culture of the team,” Didden said as to how the Blue Jays fended off an impressive group of high-academic schools. “Hopkins is the best program ever and I wanted to be a part of it. So many of the game’s greats like (PLL Redwoods midfielder) Kyle Harrison and (PLL founder and Atlas midfielder) Paul Rabil played there. Playing on Homewood Field and protecting that turf will be an absolute honor and privilege. It’s also one of the top 10 colleges in then world and you really can’t get much better than that academically.”

nyjay wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:30 pm TX isn't the only guy breaking news these days, I guess. Gotta follow all the clubs, I guess.

Good for the staff, getting non-Canadians from top tier clubs. If you can get the Canadians and get your share of guys from the NLF-type clubs, you might actually have something. Very happy to see a couple of "on the radar" guys commit.

HopFan16 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:22 pm It’s also one of the top 10 colleges in then world and you really can’t get much better than that academically.”

jhu06 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 18, 2020 1:07 pm a lot of those rankings are based on how much $ kids make-we don't have one of the better wall street pipelines, how happy kids are on campus-daniels hates fun and most kids aren't, how many kids graduate-a lot transfer out because of the pressure, faculty resources-they tell us all the time how we lose ppl to places like duke which pay better, it's surprising we're that high up there. A lot of it I think is because of how good our dc team is at getting $ out of uncle sam, I think we have one of the biggest lobbying budgets in the country.

Onto lax, what are the differences between the kids PM is getting and the ones Petro had and next spring are we going to see another wave of transfers out when petro kids look at incoming PM kids and think maybe they'll play ahead of me?

HopFan16 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:29 am

nyjay wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:03 am US Lax Mag has the Jays at 15 in their way ahead of preseason rankings. Here's their blurb, none of which is unfair.

Maybe a new voice will immediately revitalize Hopkins, which found itself overwhelmed against high-end competition before the season was halted. The Blue Jays’ first new coach in two decades is Peter Milliman, who did fine work at Cornell but is tasked with energizing a team that frankly was subpar at just about everything other than faceoffs (17th nationally) and man-up offense (33rd) in 2020. Milliman inherits an excellent offensive centerpiece in Joey Epstein, who dealt with injuries last year after a brilliant freshman season. There are a lot of places Hopkins needs to get better, but the defensive end again was a glaring issue. Little wonder Milliman’s early moves on the transfer wire addressed that end of the field. The addition of long pole Jared Fernandez (Syracuse) and goalie Josh Kirson (Ohio State) figure to make the Blue Jays more competitive, but it’s probably premature to expect an instant return to contending for Memorial Day weekend trips.

Seems pretty fair to me. Given what occurred in the abbreviated 2020 season we clearly don't warrant a preseason top 10, but I think outside the top 20 would be an overcorrection given the presumably healthy return of Joey Epstein (among other things, like the incoming transfers, the promising freshman class, and the new staff who have been responsible for lots of very recent success on both sides of the ball). Anywhere between like 12-18 is defensible IMO.

IF there is a season, I am very, very curious to see how freshmen across the country do having not finished their senior years of high school and now not getting a real fall ball program. Might be unwise to expect much of an impact from them in 2021, though sometimes talent wins out.

flalax22 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 18, 2020 1:16 pm

jhu06 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 18, 2020 1:07 pm a lot of those rankings are based on how much $ kids make-we don't have one of the better wall street pipelines, how happy kids are on campus-daniels hates fun and most kids aren't, how many kids graduate-a lot transfer out because of the pressure, faculty resources-they tell us all the time how we lose ppl to places like duke which pay better, it's surprising we're that high up there. A lot of it I think is because of how good our dc team is at getting $ out of uncle sam, I think we have one of the biggest lobbying budgets in the country.

Onto lax, what are the differences between the kids PM is getting and the ones Petro had and next spring are we going to see another wave of transfers out when petro kids look at incoming PM kids and think maybe they'll play ahead of me?

I think it’s safe to say that the new staff is valuing gritty tough skilled kids. I believe you’re going to see a lot less MIAA kids on ‘Wood. That’s not going to sit well with many of the alumni, locals and resident message board critics but if they win people will come around.

flalax22 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 18, 2020 1:16 pm I think it’s safe to say that the new staff is valuing gritty tough skilled kids. I believe you’re going to see a lot less MIAA kids on ‘Wood. That’s not going to sit well with many of the alumni, locals and resident message board critics but if they win people will come around.

runrussellrun wrote: ↑Sat Sep 19, 2020 7:29 am Further proof that US Lax is a joke..........and the most laughable thing is that they are totally dissing the former coach without even realizing it.