Womens USA team Who you got?

[DMac]

Thanks fellas. I just can't imagine liking soccer more than lacrosse but I get that that's a me thing.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

They’re both goalies and goalies seem to get more than the average athletic scholarship.

Were your daughters both goalies in soccer? If not, how did they choose goaltending as the position they wanted to play?

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Sometimes the love of the game isn’t enough. I have a close friend whose daughter discovered lacrosse early in high school. Up to that point, she was completely immersed in competitive team dance. She forgot all about it when she got the lacrosse bug. Couldn’t go to enough camps or clubs to satisfy her. She ended up getting a scholarship to a D3 school in Massachusetts. Sadly however, she quit lacrosse midway through her freshman year. Her reason? The coach was a headcase.

[wlaxphan20]

Question for Dr. Tact and Justalaxdad (it's a simple question I can't seem to get an answer to).
If all things were equal would your daughters have stuck with soccer rather than playing lacrosse?

Dmac-I started to respond last night and realized it was too long winded then fell asleep. LOL

Basically - they are both uber competitive and around middle school realized they had a better chance at D1 sports through lax so that weighed heavily. My first one made the decision to make Lax her #1 during her freshman year. My youngest, seeing how well that worked out for the first one, made the decision in 8th grade. Both of them saved us a lot of money for college so I guess it worked out for us. Not saying works out for everyone. They’re both goalies and goalies seem to get more than the average athletic scholarship. Both are very good students so that obviously helps too.

This is also an excellent point. While the over all attitude about club sports demanding specialization early on from their athletes is frowned upon, I think 8th grade to early high school is a good time to start to concentrate on one. If anything, because of the cost and time spent on competitive club sports and the shift towards college recruiting in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade in club sports. It's not an unreasonable question to ask at that 14 or 15. If you aren't considering playing that sport in college, why continue playing at an elite club level that is now going to college showcases? I guess if you have the means to, why not? But if it's a strain, it might be time to make a choice. I was lucky and went to a public high school that had a very competitive soccer program with talented athletes. Giving up club soccer was an easier pill to swallow when the drop-off to high school wasn't as steep. Just using soccer as the example, but it can apply to other sports as well.

There are also many athletes I know who did not want to give up both sports. There are options for athletes that are not Maggie Bill/Julia Dorsey/Kenzie Kent etc. D2, D3, Ivy League, and even Patriot League are good options for athletes who are serious about wanting explore options for playing multiple sports in college. That also might mean having to find a club team that supports the athlete's goals if the current ones do not.

[DMac]

Here's a long winded bunch of meaningless nothing for ya but it's the reason for my question...choosing one game over another, love of game.
When I was 7-9 my father coached a baseball team at Ft. Devens, Mass. It was the Army post team and these guys were good. This was in the days when the draft was on and if you got drafted and a had good baseball history, you were stationed at Ft. Devens and played baseball for your two year hitch (Ali would have done nothing more than spend time in the gym boxing or coaching boxing had he gone in, for example). It was a PR thing for the Army and that team travelled all over the place playing baseball. I'd equate it to Triple A ball, lot of pro scouts at these games and some of those guys went on to play pro ball. My brother and I were those two little kids who were always at the baseball field with those guys including being in the dugout with our little uniforms on during the games. It was the best...the absolute best! We weren't there for the hot dogs and peanuts, we were there for the baseball. Of course, we were the bat boys but we got to play ball with these guys a lot too. Playing pepper, catch, shagging balls, whatever. Both of us loved the game and both had some natural ability (plus my father was a crazy good coach). The whole point is we grew up watching this level baseball which gave us a huge advantage. Donnie Finnegan was the catcher. Foul mouthed, tobacco chewing, always dirty, stocky little guy who always seemed to be involved in the action. This guy was right up my alley, that's what I wanted to be and where I wanted to play (my dad was a catcher too). I absolutely loved being behind the plate and loved playing baseball.
Then my dad took to me to a lacrosse game at Hobart when I was I was 12. I knew instantly that I was done with baseball as I was completely overtaken by this game. I wanted one those sticks and I wanted to play that game. It was an instant, drug like addiction with me. We stopped at Harmon's Sporting Goods on the way home and my old man bought me a stick. Baseball was fun but what I had just seen completely overtook me. I still wish the two games were played at different times of the year but if I have choose one it's going to be lacrosse, and I'd do that regardless of which sport offered me more in terms of scholarships....I'd do it purely for the love of the game, which again, is why I was asking the question.

As for the baseball coach looking out for himself, w20, probably so but you can't blame him for that. He ended up with a pretty good catcher who batted over 400 in his senior year too...that kid went on to play football at Cornell..was a good athlete. Funny story (to me/us anyway). We both played LL at the same time, both catchers on different teams. I was chosen as the All Star catcher two years in a row and led the league in HRs those two years too. We hadn't seen each other in a few decades and needless to say when we got together the BS flew. You just know that I had to eventually to say to him, "You do know that if I had played baseball you wouldn't have been the starting catcher, right?" His answer was, "Yeah." Needless to say there was a lot of laughing going on there and it was all in good fun.

So there's my whole bunch of meaningless nothing, the discussion just made me think about that stuff.

[watcherinthewoods]

Sometimes the love of the game isn’t enough. I have a close friend whose daughter discovered lacrosse early in high school. Up to that point, she was completely immersed in competitive team dance. She forgot all about it when she got the lacrosse bug. Couldn’t go to enough camps or clubs to satisfy her. She ended up getting a scholarship to a D3 school in Massachusetts. Sadly however, she quit lacrosse midway through her freshman year. Her reason? The coach was a headcase.

Like any other profession, some coaches are excellent, some so-so, and some should never be in position to mentor young women. Unfortunately, they are all called "Coach". And not to be a nudge, and congrats to your friend's daughter, but her scholarship to D3 means she was a standout student or demonstrated financial need:

One key difference between D3 and the other two NCAA divisions is that there are no D3 athletic scholarships, while approximately 60% of D1 and D2 athletes receive athletic aid. However, it’s worth noting that 80% of student athletes in D3 receive non-athletic aid.

[cltlax]

I have a sophomore daughter who is still playing club soccer and club lacrosse. She has been able to make both work, but it's not easy to balance. Things may be coming to a head, however as we enter into the recruiting phase for both sports this year.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

[Justalaxdad]

I have a sophomore daughter who is still playing club soccer and club lacrosse. She has been able to make both work, but it's not easy to balance. Things may be coming to a head, however as we enter into the recruiting phase for both sports this year.

I know your pain. I had two of them playing both club sports (not both kids at the same time but each with both sports) and for one of them to play both it was almost $11k/year.

[hmmm]

There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

It's a meaningless game and Jenny Levy and company are trying to pick a team for the World Championships next year. Who cares who wins that game?

[Justalaxdad]

There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

Funny you mention this. We were watching the USA/Canada game and I said I thought BC would give USA a good run for their money, especially with USA losing Charlotte and Belle back to BC (this is what I thought was going to happen). Ends up BC gave them a run anyway, wonder what would have happened had they both played for BC. I was just interested to see what would have happened.

[Laxfan500]

There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

It’s been done before…typically when Team USA plays a college team, if they have players playing for Team USA, that’s where they play. It’s not a new concept.

[seacoaster]

There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

It’s been done before…typically when Team USA plays a college team, if they have players playing for Team USA, that’s where they play. It’s not a new concept.

Yep, this is pretty much uniformly the experience. You get to play with the USA jersey only a few times.

[glaxer24]

There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

It’s been done before…typically when Team USA plays a college team, if they have players playing for Team USA, that’s where they play. It’s not a new concept.

Yep, this is pretty much uniformly the experience. You get to play with the USA jersey only a few times.

I remember very well Kristen Gaudian playing for USA against JMU in 2018. Definitely isn't new.

[richard]

U

[quote=seacoaster post_id=301580 time=<a href="tel:1634668030">1634668030</a> user_id=319]
[quote=Laxfan500 post_id=301579 time=<a href="tel:1634667921">1634667921</a> user_id=1899]
[quote=OuttaNowhereWregget post_id=301563 time=<a href="tel:1634665556">1634665556</a> user_id=2988]
There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

It’s been done before…typically when Team USA plays a college team, if they have players playing for Team USA, that’s where they play. It’s not a new concept.
[/quote]

Yep, this is pretty much uniformly the experience. You get to play with the USA jersey only a few times
[/quote]

I remember very well Kristen Gaudian playing for USA against JMU in 2018. Definitely isn't new.

This was a U.S. Lacrosse event held at their headquarters!

[/quote]

[Dr. Tact]

I have a sophomore daughter who is still playing club soccer and club lacrosse. She has been able to make both work, but it's not easy to balance. Things may be coming to a head, however as we enter into the recruiting phase for both sports this year.

I know your pain. I had two of them playing both club sports (not both kids at the same time but each with both sports) and for one of them to play both it was almost $11k/year.

I think I was over $5k for one kid/one sport a year....not including camps, campus visits, etc. So pretty close to your experience.

[wlaxphan20]

There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

It’s been done before…typically when Team USA plays a college team, if they have players playing for Team USA, that’s where they play. It’s not a new concept.

Yup. Same applies even when the team's aren't playing each other. Student athletes called up to compete on national teams will miss college games for national team duty, even if they are in-season. Happens in women's soccer, field hockey, etc. National team duties normally take priority.

[wlaxphan20]

As for the baseball coach looking out for himself, w20, probably so but you can't blame him for that. He ended up with a pretty good catcher who batted over 400 in his senior year too...that kid went on to play football at Cornell..was a good athlete. Funny story (to me/us anyway). We both played LL at the same time, both catchers on different teams. I was chosen as the All Star catcher two years in a row and led the league in HRs those two years too. We hadn't seen each other in a few decades and needless to say when we got together the BS flew. You just know that I had to eventually to say to him, "You do know that if I had played baseball you wouldn't have been the starting catcher, right?" His answer was, "Yeah." Needless to say there was a lot of laughing going on there and it was all in good fun.

So there's my whole bunch of meaningless nothing, the discussion just made me think about that stuff.

no you really can't blame him. It sounds like it worked out well for everyone though. In one of the townships in my area, the youth lacrosse and Little League actually work together when scheduling games and practices in the spring to avoid conflicts and allow kids to play both.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

It's a meaningless game and Jenny Levy and company are trying to pick a team for the World Championships next year. Who cares who wins that game?

I don't care who wins an exhibition/scrimmage either but I still don't like it. It offends my fastidious sense of order.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

There was just something plain wrong about taking the players off Boston College to play on Team USA and then have those two teams play against each other. Just not right. We should have been allowed to see just how good Boston College was pitted against Team USA. Taking two of their best players off the Eagles left them significantly handicapped. Not to mention pitting players on the same team against each other. Just wasn’t right.

Funny you mention this. We were watching the USA/Canada game and I said I thought BC would give USA a good run for their money, especially with USA losing Charlotte and Belle back to BC (this is what I thought was going to happen). Ends up BC gave them a run anyway, wonder what would have happened had they both played for BC. I was just interested to see what would have happened.

Me too, dad--me too.