LaxPower Back-Up Stick

How does the HS All AMERICAN voting work? Is it the coa her in your district? Does it go to some national board for validation?

I understand ALL DISTRICT, ALL STATE, just wondering how AA works?

My understanding is that HS coaches submit their own players to the US Lacrosse region/chapter in which the school is located, e.g., Florida Gulf Coast. Each such region/chapter has a panel of coaches who consider nominees and select the awardees for AA, AAA, Bob Scott and COY. I believe each region/chapter has a designated number of awards of each type it can give out. As far as validation by the US Lacrosse nationally, I assume it rubber stamps those who the region submits; although I do know that awardees receive certificates from HQ and of course HQ publishes the names on uslax.com.

Not speaking to the selection but as I understand it, the number of selections that each state/league receives is calculated based on the number of US Lacrosse members (or players, not sure which) in that region. While it is of course an honor, there is no way to compare USL AA’s across regions. Making all league or all county in some areas is likely more difficult than making AA in others However flawed, the UA AA is the current “true” AA.

ctbagataway wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 7:21 am Not speaking to the selection but as I understand it, the number of selections that each state/league receives is calculated based on the Making all league or all county in some areas is likely more difficult than making AA in others However flawed, the UA AA is the current “true” AA.

Sayeth a member of the UA AA committee or maybe has had a son on that team in the past.

Nice try UP, but go fish. The USL AA process is basically a glorified all-state honor, actually more all-region. Is the UA process perfect? Far from it (not I said “however flawed” in my post). Far too focused on early commits and heavily influenced by marketing. But with that said, it is a far more selective group than the USL AA, and also selects from the “best” players from across the country, not just the individual USL region.

Here’s the link to last year’s USL AA’s. Not denigrating any on the list, but when CT public’s get 17 nominees and St Anthony’s and Chaminade have to battle for one spot, something doesn’t smell right. Everyone gets a trophy but some get more than others.

https://www.uslacrosse.org/players/hig ... s#american

ctbagataway wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:27 am Nice try UP, but go fish. The USL AA process is basically a glorified all-state honor, actually more all-region. Is the UA process perfect? Far from it (not I said “however flawed” in my post). Far too focused on early commits and heavily influenced by marketing. But with that said, it is a far more selective group than the USL AA, and also selects from the “best” players from across the country, not just the individual USL region.

virtually impossible to select the best players from across the country, who don't play each other. i takenit that's why u have it in quotes and it's done by a group that run events. no reason for you to bring them up in explaining this.

ctbagataway wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 7:21 am Not speaking to the selection but as I understand it, the number of selections that each state/league receives is calculated based on the number of US Lacrosse members (or players, not sure which) in that region. While it is of course an honor, there is no way to compare USL AA’s across regions. Making all league or all county in some areas is likely more difficult than making AA in others However flawed, the UA AA is the current “true” AA.

us lacrosse has for decades designated that high school teams get one all -american for every 5 teams in your region.
some regions are carved up by state, some by section, some by county, some by league.
the coaches can submit nominees for AA (and academic AA, which might be one for every 10 teams, etc), bob scott award...
then coaches are asked to vote. not all coaches do.

OP asked about the AA selection process, not whether it represented the best players in the US, whether it was legit as compared to the UA AA team or whether it was a "glorified all state" FFS. It is what it is, and it has been that way since forever. Besides, I assume no one is foolish enough to think that an AA that goes to a DIII school (for example) is a comparable player to a top recruit (AA or otherwise) going to Yale, MD, etc. In any event, it is a nice honor and I hope OP's son/player wins an award if he is deserving and if that is why he asked.

As an FYI, if I remember my league (not in CT, NJ, NY, MD) got three selections my sr. year (a long time ago). One was subsequently a 2x AA at Brown, another gave up lax to focus on hockey and won at least two Stanley Cups, not sure what happened to the 3rd. The first and second were likely among the best HS players in the country.

There are great players from all over the country, and thanks WG for clarifying the AA numbers. Originally I was just trying to differentiate between that process and the other. Didn’t think everyone would be so touchy. And if every post here stuck solely to the exact question posted by an OP, we wouldn’t have much of a conversation. Enjoy the season and best of luck to whichever teams you root for.

Thanks for the answers. It definitely provided clarity.

When I was coaching, our region--Baltimore County--was allocated a certain number of HS AA positions--four, if I remember correctly--and we picked them at a coaches' meeting where we also picked the all county team. If we got four, the MIAA, viewed by most followers as the most competitive league in Maryland, if not the country, was allocated about the same number, maybe a few more. When the media picked their all metro teams, a few county players made them, but the MIAA made up the overwhelming majority of all metro picks.
HS AA is an honor, but it is true that it is more difficult to make some all conference teams than it is to make HS AA.

molo wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2020 7:59 pm When I was coaching, our region--Baltimore County--was allocated a certain number of HS AA positions--four, if I remember correctly--and we picked them at a coaches' meeting where we also picked the all county team. If we got four, the MIAA, viewed by most followers as the most competitive league in Maryland, if not the country, was allocated about the same number, maybe a few more. When the media picked their all metro teams, a few county players made them, but the MIAA made up the overwhelming majority of all metro picks.
HS AA is an honor, but it is true that it is more difficult to make some all conference teams than it is to make HS AA.

I believe there's a league allocation, based upon the number of teams in the league (consistent with WGDSR), which is why it is harder to be named from the MIAA "A" than from many other leagues, including local Balt County as there's no adjustment (last I read) for quality/depth of the league.

Yes, UA is more 'selective', though, as discussed, 'flawed'.
As flawed as it may be, it's at least an attempt to select the best players nationally rather than the best from a league as if all leagues are equivalent.

[quote
rather than the best from a league as if all leagues are equivalent.
[/quote]

No sh!t. You "hotbed" guys are just brutal, you remind me of Canadian hockey fans.

Unknown Participant wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:56 pm [quote
rather than the best from a league as if all leagues are equivalent.

No sh!t. You "hotbed" guys are just brutal, you remind me of Canadian hockey fans.
[/quote]

UP, I think you're picking an unnecessary fight.

You initially reacted derisively to ctbagataway who offered an initial view about "All-American" (the name of the thread in the HS section). Actually an offensive as well as misplaced reaction to his added perspective.

Now you're doing it with me.

No one on here, literally no one, has suggested that tremendous players fully deserving of acclaim don't come from non-hotbed areas.

They obviously do.

But unlike the college All-American process which does attempt to select the very best players in each division (how imperfectly they may get it), the US Lacrosse process makes no such attempt. Indeed, it actually structurally disadvantages selection from certain leagues.

My advice is to not get your back up over that reality.

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:45 am

Unknown Participant wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:56 pm

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:45 am rather than the best from a league as if all leagues are equivalent.

No sh!t. You "hotbed" guys are just brutal, you remind me of Canadian hockey fans.

UP, I think you're picking an unnecessary fight.

You initially reacted derisively to ctbagataway who offered an initial view about "All-American" (the name of the thread in the HS section). Actually an offensive as well as misplaced reaction to his added perspective.

Now you're doing it with me.

No one on here, literally no one, has suggested that tremendous players fully deserving of acclaim don't come from non-hotbed areas.

They obviously do.

But unlike the college All-American process which does attempt to select the very best players in each division (how imperfectly they may get it), the US Lacrosse process makes no such attempt. Indeed, it actually structurally disadvantages selection from certain leagues.

My advice is to not get your back up over that reality.

none of what you posted is in any way related to the op's question. and... ct has covered that ground.

the miaa-a steals/or did steal the b (and is there a c?) all-americans last i checked, so it's actually not that tough. the "toughest" league to make us lacrosse all american is actually the b league.

wgdsr wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 9:57 pm

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:45 am

Unknown Participant wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:56 pm

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:45 am rather than the best from a league as if all leagues are equivalent.

No sh!t. You "hotbed" guys are just brutal, you remind me of Canadian hockey fans.

UP, I think you're picking an unnecessary fight.

You initially reacted derisively to ctbagataway who offered an initial view about "All-American" (the name of the thread in the HS section). Actually an offensive as well as misplaced reaction to his added perspective.

Now you're doing it with me.

No one on here, literally no one, has suggested that tremendous players fully deserving of acclaim don't come from non-hotbed areas.

They obviously do.

But unlike the college All-American process which does attempt to select the very best players in each division (how imperfectly they may get it), the US Lacrosse process makes no such attempt. Indeed, it actually structurally disadvantages selection from certain leagues.

My advice is to not get your back up over that reality.

none of what you posted is in any way related to the op's question. and... ct has covered that ground.

the miaa-a steals/or did steal the b (and is there a c?) all-americans last i checked, so it's actually not that tough. the "toughest" league to make us lacrosse all american is actually the b league.

"steal"?
I really have no argument at all here, I just don't think we need to get nasty with one another on this topic.

The MIAA has two selections. One per 6 teams.
Baltimore County public gets 4. Montgomery County Public 4...etc.

Here's a full list of 2019 organized by state and by league: https://www.uslacrosse.org/players/high ... ool-awards

Here's the actually rules: https://www.uslacrosse.org/sites/defaul ... ook-v3.pdf

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 8:04 am

wgdsr wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 9:57 pm

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:45 am

Unknown Participant wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:56 pm

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:45 am rather than the best from a league as if all leagues are equivalent.

No sh!t. You "hotbed" guys are just brutal, you remind me of Canadian hockey fans.

UP, I think you're picking an unnecessary fight.

You initially reacted derisively to ctbagataway who offered an initial view about "All-American" (the name of the thread in the HS section). Actually an offensive as well as misplaced reaction to his added perspective.

Now you're doing it with me.

No one on here, literally no one, has suggested that tremendous players fully deserving of acclaim don't come from non-hotbed areas.

They obviously do.

But unlike the college All-American process which does attempt to select the very best players in each division (how imperfectly they may get it), the US Lacrosse process makes no such attempt. Indeed, it actually structurally disadvantages selection from certain leagues.

My advice is to not get your back up over that reality.

none of what you posted is in any way related to the op's question. and... ct has covered that ground.

the miaa-a steals/or did steal the b (and is there a c?) all-americans last i checked, so it's actually not that tough. the "toughest" league to make us lacrosse all american is actually the b league.

"steal"?
I really have no argument at all here, I just don't think we need to get nasty with one another on this topic.

The MIAA has two selections. One per 6 teams.
Baltimore County public gets 4. Montgomery County Public 4...etc.

Here's a full list of 2019 organized by state and by league: https://www.uslacrosse.org/players/high ... ool-awards

Here's the actually rules: https://www.uslacrosse.org/sites/defaul ... ook-v3.pdf

you should have actually read the rules and the selections before correcting me.
the miaa-a had 5 selections last year. like they do most every year. they had 3 from one team, and 2 from one position on that team.
so it's actually not that hard to make all american in the miaa, and can be much more difficult in a 10 or 15 team league somewhere else.
you can call it stealing or whatever you like. they take them from the b (and c, i guess). they add those teams in so they can have more aa's for themselves.
maybe they care more about it than fans have let on over the years.

wgdsr wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:34 am

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 8:04 am

wgdsr wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 9:57 pm

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:45 am

Unknown Participant wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:56 pm

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:45 am rather than the best from a league as if all leagues are equivalent.

No sh!t. You "hotbed" guys are just brutal, you remind me of Canadian hockey fans.

UP, I think you're picking an unnecessary fight.

You initially reacted derisively to ctbagataway who offered an initial view about "All-American" (the name of the thread in the HS section). Actually an offensive as well as misplaced reaction to his added perspective.

Now you're doing it with me.

No one on here, literally no one, has suggested that tremendous players fully deserving of acclaim don't come from non-hotbed areas.

They obviously do.

But unlike the college All-American process which does attempt to select the very best players in each division (how imperfectly they may get it), the US Lacrosse process makes no such attempt. Indeed, it actually structurally disadvantages selection from certain leagues.

My advice is to not get your back up over that reality.

none of what you posted is in any way related to the op's question. and... ct has covered that ground.

the miaa-a steals/or did steal the b (and is there a c?) all-americans last i checked, so it's actually not that tough. the "toughest" league to make us lacrosse all american is actually the b league.

"steal"?
I really have no argument at all here, I just don't think we need to get nasty with one another on this topic.

The MIAA has two selections. One per 6 teams.
Baltimore County public gets 4. Montgomery County Public 4...etc.

Here's a full list of 2019 organized by state and by league: https://www.uslacrosse.org/players/high ... ool-awards

Here's the actually rules: https://www.uslacrosse.org/sites/defaul ... ook-v3.pdf

you should have actually read the rules and the selections before correcting me.
the miaa-a had 5 selections last year. like they do most every year. they had 3 from one team, and 2 from one position on that team.
so it's actually not that hard to make all american in the miaa, and can be much more difficult in a 10 or 15 team league somewhere else.
you can call it stealing or whatever you like. they take them from the b (and c, i guess). they add those teams in so they can have more aa's for themselves.
maybe they care more about it than fans have let on over the years.

You are correct about 5!

I was looking at the Academic list. Thanks for the correction.

5 indeed from the MIAA, which does make sense looking at the total # of MIAA teams between A, B, C.

Are you saying that there are B and C players more deserving than those actually selected?
It's theoretically possible. Not so sure they wouldn't be considered, though.

But are you also saying that there are kids, say from Georgia, who are more deserving of selection, on a national basis, than any of those 5 chosen?

Or would you agree that there are quite likely some players from the MIAA, not selected, who are actually better than some of those chosen from say Georgia? (nothing against Georgia players, just taking as an example of a state with a lot of selections, but not many teams in the top 50.)

Again, I have zero dog in this fight.
It's just fascinating that someone would think it's "actually not that hard to make all american in the miaa".

Of course, I also wouldn't say it's harder to do from the MIAA than any other league in the nation as I don't happen to know the size of each league, the # of selections etc, for the very toughest leagues. Could well be a very, very tough league, of caliber comparable to the MIAA for instance, which has fewer selections. Feel free to suggest such a league, if you'd like.

NE West 1, 13 teams, 4 AA’s.

I don’t subscribe to the theory that all great players come from great teams, though. Look at the college game and there are a lot of great players who came from high school teams that were just ok.