UMLL Week #9 3/29-4/4 Game Preditions Thoughts Scores etc...

[Sonny]

Rainy and cold-

St. John's- 14
St. Thomas- 13

Article is up on the main page....

Johnnies Escape Tommies in Collegeville:
http://www.uslia.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=463

[horn17]

I am going to agree with gopherlax27 on the fact that UofM Duluth Campus is running away from the pack, but I feel the league as a whole is getting better every year, with high school lax the UMLL is getting more experienced player. The problem is kids are getting brain washed into going to UofM Duluth campus, but I’m sure its not Graff because he feels strongly that kids should pick there colleges around academics and not lacrosse.

Dont we address this topic every year......and I'm positive its not brainwashing (thats illegal)!!!!

[Gopherlax29]

Campbell...
2 years ago we beat Emory by a score of 15-10 maybe. That was our 3rd game, after we beat UGA in OT. We were rated 25th then adn they were JUST outside the top 25. We then lost by quite a bit to G. Tech then was the Emory win.

Last year, G Tech pummeled us, you recorded these games, you should know....then we lost to Auburn by 1 then beat number 7 (?) FSU in OT. I don't know who scored that game winner but I heard he was sweet!

Alas, it doesn't matter what anyone says here, however, watching UWSP scres roll in they seem down this year. Next in line would be SCSU with all those wins early and they just lost to the U by 5. I think the U is the second best team this year, just a lot bigger gap. I mean no disrespect just my opinion, but losing all three starters on attack from a year ago is enough to strike down any team, much less when you compile that with the top 3 middies and Gerry now out for the year (so I heard)

[DanGenck]

I am going to agree with gopherlax27 on the fact that UofM Duluth Campus is running away from the pack, but I feel the league as a whole is getting better every year, with high school lax the UMLL is getting more experienced player. The problem is kids are getting brain washed into going to UofM Duluth campus, but I’m sure its not Graff because he feels strongly that kids should pick there colleges around academics and not lacrosse.

Dont we address this topic every year......and I'm positive its not brainwashing (thats illegal)!!!!

Would we really call it brainwashing, or is it just that kids want to play for-

#1- A great coach.
#2- An established winner.
#3- A "nation-wide" program.
#4- A place where they can actually see their role on the field (i.e. If you come here, this is how we see you fitting in to the Duluth program).

That's not brainwashing, it's championship recruiting.

[horn17]

Dan...

Thank you for making my point!!! I didnt want to address it, as I needed some one with an objective view....Thanks!!!

Eugene is my hero!!!

[Gooseguy10]

I echo Horn and Dan's comments regarding UMD.

In general the talent level has risen in the UMLL, in terms of lacrosse talent. But I do not think the athletic talent has risen at all that much. The top HS athletes are not playing lacrosse in the Spring. What makes matters worse, is that once the top athletes go to college they can no longer start playing lacrosse. So perhaps the athleticism may have gone down in the UMLL while the lacrosse experience has gone up.

Also people talk about more parity for the UMLL. It may be true that the 2,3 and 4th teams are more equal but until these teams can consistently challenge UMD year in and out, there really isn't that much true parity.
UMD has gone to 13 straight championship with only losing 4 of them (Carleton (1993), U of M (1999), Mankato (2000) , U of M (2005).

We will have to wait and see the results of the UMLL championship later this month, then we can really start talking about parity.

[Jay Zabel]

Do you consider the so-called best Minnesota hockey players going to the U brain-washed??

[gopherlax27]

I think that we have parity because teams 2-last seem to have taken a step back while you can argue that Duluth has at least maintained their status or have even taken a step forward. This year, I have seen a lot of close scores and teams who have not fared well in recent years (scsu, ndsu, eau-claire) play much better. At the same time, teams like kato, uwsp and minnesota have struggled against teams that they normally handle with ease. Who is this years's George Mason of the UMLL?

Maybe if other teams had a coach like Rob Horn, then they could get better. His extensive knowledge of defensive concepts and schemes would be welcomed by anyone.

EZ
U of M Attack/Mid/LSM ret.

[horn17]

Eugene-

Couldn't have put it any better myself!!!

Goose-

I disagree about the High School kids. "The top HS athletes are not playing lacrosse in the Spring. What makes matters worse, is that once the top athletes go to college they can no longer start playing lacrosse." Athletes, focusing on hockey players (like one does in MN), are being pushed towards lacrosse from most coaches who understand the need for off season work. Lacrosse is the perfect alternative for dry land training durring the off season - and its starting to show. My hs kids, 90% of them play other sports...and the hockey and football coaches are pushing for them to play lax instead of baseball because of the footwork, and pure athleticism that is required to multi-task durring athletic competition (athleticism, cognitive concepts). The perfect example of this is Blake - look at the roster for hockey, and then look at their lacrosse roster, you'll see what I am talking about here....remember they won states last year with basically the same roster...(which was a result of Eugene's work from a couple of years ago!!!) ***returning the favor!!

Horn


PS....did anyone see the thread in the water cooler...Chuck Norris Vs. Ditka, who would win?...easily the greatest thread of all time!!

[Adam Gamradt]

Ditka now? Or back in the day?

Same question for Chuck Norris.

[Gooseguy10]

I am totally out of the lax scene, especially the high school scene so I can not comment on any specifics. But are we truly seeing the top athletes? Meaning are top baseball, track, tennis, spring and summer hockey, basketball....giving up a varsity sport to play club lax? Maybe they are but I am under the impression that until lax becomes a varsity sport, you still are not going to get the top tier athletes to play a non-varsity sport such as lacrosse. Until this happens, we (being the midwest) will always lag behind other areas where lacrosse is considered a major varsity sport.

Another issue that prevents top athletes from playing is that if they didn't play in high school it is really hard to pick it up in college. For many programs, duluth included, even if a top athlete wanted to play lacrosse, it is really hard to convince them to play with a $1000+ price tag for a sport they haven't played before. I know a lot of good lacrosse players that would not have played for duluth b.c of the money and the lack of lacrosse experience prior to college.....Arron Kalis, Jay Zabel, Brian Caron, Gary Habisch, Colin Anderson, Corey McKusick, Steve Dahlager, Aaron Olivier, Nick Schmid, Tim Karlstad......the list goes on....

Just my two cents.

z. swart

[LaxRef]

I am totally out of the lax scene, especially the high school scene so I can not comment on any specifics. But are we truly seeing the top athletes? Meaning are top baseball, track, tennis, spring and summer hockey, basketball....giving up a varsity sport to play club lax? Maybe they are but I am under the impression that until lax becomes a varsity sport, you still are not going to get the top tier athletes to play a non-varsity sport such as lacrosse.

I think kids play what they want to play, regardless of whether it's varsity. The kids who want to do lacrosse or Ultimate frisbee or fencing or snowboarding or rugby will do what it takes to do the sport they want.

There are—and will always be—kids who only want to do Varsity sports, or who pick one sport and do it all year round, but I think there's also some cachet in going against the establishment. BTW, the AD at the school where I used to coach used to bemoan the parents who had their kid do the same sport year-round so they could (maybe) get a scholarship. He said the kids that were getting the scholarships were the 3-sport athletes, because they didn't get burned out on one sport and because they were more well-rounded. Even the kid I know who got a DI scholarship in fencing—which absolutely requires a year-round commitment—also played football and did field events in track.

[Jester]

Patience, folks, patience. We can all agree that lacrosse is an infectious sport (once you start, there's no putting it away), but everyone has to acknowledge that the game, in big picture terms, is new here.

The best athletes typically are in sports from a young age. They are often in lots of sports from a young age, and have had lots of chances to get hooked on things before they ever got to a place where "varsity" and "club" existed.

As the youth leagues become common, and kids start younger, we will see the best athletes filter up. It isn't about a choice between sponsorship and non-sponsorship, its just about getting to the kids before their choices have been made.

We are already seeing the beginning of it, with ninth graders dominating teams after playing for six years while the seniors have only been at it for three.

[DanGenck]

The real question is, who will pull an Eden Praire Football and coach the high school team in a local area as well as run the youth league in the same town? Much of EP's football success is directly attributed to the fact that they've had kids playing in the same system, for the same coaches, in the same colors for years and years and years...

More coaches doing this for individual towns will boost the crop of athletes coming up every year, that's for sure. Right now, the foundation is beginning in high school... it needs to begin in elementary school.

[oldmanlax]

I was able to coach 7th and 8th grade lacrosse last spring in the northern suburbs of the metro area. The talent these kids already have is amazing. One particular 8th grader was playing varsity and consistently scoring 3+ points. Another 7th grader had control better than some kids I've seen that have been playing 5+ years. I recently read an article about the Swarm having to change their marketing strategy. Their audience wasn't late twenties to forties adults, it was 13-26. The youth is really getting nuts about lacrosse. The traditional "hockey parents" are welcoming a cross training sport and having their kids take spring and summer to play lacrosse. It's easier on the pocket and gives a little variety.

I can only see one way that these young kids would not take their talent elsewhere and that is with possible scholarships or the lure of varsity notoriety. We've already seen the more talented kids of the state go and try their hand at varsity programs and succeeding. Unfortunately, their friends see that too and the UMLL is only going to be left with the average kids once the Midwest gains exposure and is more of a target for recruiting from varisty programs.

my 2 cents