League MVP....no names and completely theoretical

[mcshea21]

OK, so the post concerning MVP candidates got out of hand (a big thank you goes out to the guys who couldn't keep it on the up and up). My question is, who do you feel are the most important players on the field? Historically, the guys who threw up triple digits for points in a season and wowed us with their offensive wizardy (thanks Mark Millon) were at the front of the list, but even they can tell you that without the right "supporting" cast those numbers would be drastically different. So...there are kids who flat out put up numbers, poles who never get beat, LSM's who pride themselves on the take-away check, FOGO's whose sole purpose is possession, and goalies....the last defense. If there is anyone else on the field who you feel makes a distinct impact on play then let’s hear about it & WHY... and please, refrain from naming names, let’s try to keep things civil.

[CP18]

I will contribute to McShea21's intelligent discussion:

Simple answer, a midfielder. A midfielder who can play great D, be tough on ground balls, have speed between the boxes, and the ability to ignite the offense by dodging and dumping and or finishing, or heck, just getting it to the big guns aka the Attack or shooters, always gets a vote in my book!

But hey, I am a Middie Standout Middies for MVP!

[Danny Hogan]

i agree, the ideal MVP would be a middie who is contributes to the transition game, offense, defense, and faceoffs. Doesn't often have the prettiest numbers, but is always a great athlete that makes people around him better. In the over-specialized lax of the 'oght years (i think that is the term for 2000s like '90s) those players are an endangered species.

players like matt garabaldi, will patton, that juco tranfer on byu come to mind. sorry for mentioning names.

[cjwilhelmi]

What about a goalie that plays with incredible passion, one that makes the tough saves and always comes through in clutch situations? The goalie is a constant on field captain that has to work with both the d poles and middies. One that comes to mind is Tillman Johnson from UVA, especially during their title run.

I do agree that two way middies are a dying breed but to add to your list, Kyle Harrison from JHU, he may be one of the very last "do it all" middies.

Sorry I felt it was ok to put in names from the NCAA as examples.

[SFAlax14]

while i definitly agree with the reasoning here, its purely fiction. the ony way someone like that would win is if everyone saw tape of every game played. and in club ball like this, its impossible. the only thing voters really see are the numbers that are turned in, and no matter what people say about their play everyone things its just the teams attempt to pump up their own player. so unless the league develops a committee who's sole purpose is to see every possible game. the mvp will almost always be the guy who puts of the best numbers.
Being from Anne Arundel County, and I know Danny will agree, Paul Gillette was THE do it all middie the terps, he didn't put up the offensive numbers but he was the heart and sole of that team, and you can ask anyone who played with him. but it wasn't till his senior year that he finally got that kind of respect on a national level.

Magothy Middle School Rules!!

[tamu33]

In this age of specialization, the attack will always get the glory/awards. More often than not a coach will now use specific middies for defense and different middies for offense. The attack are now goal machines and middies are the workhorse/mule/whatever adage you want to use. Longpoles rarely warrant enough respect to obtain a mvp award and the middies are now being phased out by the slow down system of collegiate lacrosse. On most HS teams, the squad is small enough that a star player can still dominate the midfield but in college the attack take that away by scoring most of goals. Numbers will always attract awards, and middies won't be able to keep up with the attack under the current system.

I personally agree that a dominant middie should gain attention as a mvp candidate but who, amongst the LSA, can say there has been a dominant middie.

[shrekjr]

Longpoles rarely warrant enough respect to obtain a mvp award

I have to agree here. I know a great athlete D-pole whose job is to shut down the other team's leading scorer every game, and usually does it. But because the D man doesn't score or save goals, he will never be a league MVP. At best, he might some sort of recognition from his own team....maybe!!!

[Anderson]

Its hard not to agree with Park about the Midfielder being the most important players on the field. They are the only ones who can contribute to both sides of the field throughout the length of the game. If your midfield can't clear the ball the no matter how good you attack is you won't be scoring very often. If your midfield can't play defense then your poles got to pick up the slack, and no matter how good they are the will get beat at some time. Just my 2 cents to add to the coin bowl.

[Rice University Coach]

I agree wholeheartedly regarding the importance of midfield play. That is one of our (UH) weaknesses this year versus last year. We have a pretty solid attack and a pretty solid defense, but as Mark and Chris stated, the middies make a big difference on both ends of the field.

[Grant Neeley]

Our team MVP last year was a defensive middie specialist who also played on mandown. He didn't score a goal.

One criteria might be that the person would first have to be selected as the team MVP.

[SFAlax14]

thats just it, he was the team mvp, because the guys voting saw all his hard work, all the time. i think its sad that the d-middie is being fazed out for the lsm. the problem is that not many middies are ok with just playing defense, they want the goals and all th glory. i would take a d-middie like jude collins, benson erwin, or paul gillette over an lsm like rob bateman anyday.

[ACE]

Its not that the attack gets the glory because they score more because of specialization, its just that the attack are the best players on the field.

Seriously, I'd have to say that a defensemen could get the award, especially in a year like this. For arguements sake, if Mark Lamb was still playing in this down year, are you saying he wouldn't be the MVP of the league? With no big time offensive players like Dunn, I definitely think a player like Lamb could win it.

[jessexy]

Lamb should have won it last year. and in CP's definition, i wouldve won MVP at some point. so you can see the disparity in the opinions on who is most important to a team or to the league. we all know i shouldnt have won the MVP award. who are the voters for MVP in the LSA? coaches, board of directors, team captains, tourney evaluators?

[tamu33]

we all know i shouldnt have won the MVP award.

AMEN TO THAT BROTHER!

[ACE]

come on jesse, the close youre eye and shoot directly at the goalie had its magic. that is of course after you learned how to cradle. that was a killer for awhile!!