What makes the top teams so good?

[the lax]

One word answers.

[tamu33]

Depth was my answer - Its not the first line of middies on a team that can win you a game it is the second, third and sometimes fourth line. Depth goes a long way in terms of a season. I would rather have my goals and assists spread evenly throughout my middie lines than only on the first line.

Coaching (#2) - a group of talented players can only go so far. Utilizing those talents in a system is what coaching is all about. Understanding when and why to sub, what to call and how to improve your players abilities are vital to success.

Money (5)- is the last thing a team needs to be successful in my eyes. Fundraising is something we all do.

Recruiting (4)- honestly, its not like the MDIA actively recruits nationally touted lacrosse players. locally there might be some recruiting but not to the extent of what the NCAA does. (i.e. official visits and what not)

Practice (3)- I think this is wrapped up in coaching. If you mean individual practice then yes it takes some personal practice to achieve greatness.

[dv]

Depth was my answer - Its not the first line of middies on a team that can win you a game it is the second, third and sometimes fourth line.

Word tamu33.

Anyone who has played or seen UCSB play knows that they purposely put their strongest midfielders at line 2, that's because their line 1 can tire out the other team's line 1 and then the SB line 2 goes to work on the mismatched other team's line 2. So I guess depth and coaching synergize quite well.

[TrainerDan]

I would answer all of the above to that question.

[Hugh Nunn]

My choice for a one-word answer isn't one of your selections: Program.

The teams that dominate year in and year out are the ones that bring it all together. All of your points above are parts of the success, but when it happens the way it does at UCSB, CSU, Michigan, etc, it is the result of hard work and success on a whole bunch of levels.

Reading excerpts from Flip's journal or some of John Paul's epic posts gives some insight into this. But basically, consistently successful teams are more than the sum of their parts because everyone is so completely on the same sheet of music. The Chinese phrase "gung ho" translates roughly into "promoting harmony." This attitude sums it up nicely.

[John Paul]

You know, my "epic posts" are less epic than Flip's journal. Imagine if he posted it on here. Nobody would notice how long my diatribes are.

[laxfan25]

I give coaching the nod, because if you have two fairly evenly matched squads the one with better coaching will win out. While there is variation in skill and experience to some degree in the USLIA, I think teams are more evenly matched here than in the NCAA, and coaching can and will make a difference. Granted, the same teams will show up in the Top 10, but that is partly due to tradition and consistency in coaching approach.
I often look at Minn-Duluth. You know they're not producing a lot of local talent along Lake Superior, and almost the whole squad is from the Twin Cities area. Lacrosse is still in its infancy in HS in MN, so the players aren't coming in as HS All-Americans. Year in and year out Coach Graff molds them and trains them to where they are a very decent team. Their road trip this weekend with 1-goal losses to Miami and Lindenwood and a win over Illinois shows how close they are to the upper echelon. Now if you gave Graff the same kind of players that SB, CSU and UM get, he would be a national contender.
So depth makes a difference but good coaching is the linchpin.

[CATLAX MAN]

All of those factors, except for money, come into play. However, I'd have to say that when tournament time comes around, the difference swings to depth. It makes a huge difference in a 4 day tournament when you can successfully run 3 lines of middies at another team without a big dropoff in talent. The fatigue factor is very important in the later stages of the tournament.

[Bentiss]

Although I'd put depth at #1, I'd put money higher than most especially in this and any club league. Good teams are often criticized for and easy OOC schedule. Although fundraising will help reach the goal of a challenging schedule, it doesn't take away from the fact that MONEY is being raised. Division 1 programs would put more stock in coaching than the MDIA. Another thread proves this by stating how many MDIA players for great programs have not picked up a lacrosse stick before college.

[sohotrightnow]

How is this even a debate in the MDIA? If I'm not mistaken, year in and year out the teams with the best talent win. Sure coaching may make a difference, but I think that some people are afraid that they will be reprimanded for saying that certain teams make it year in and year out to the tourney due to the fact that they have the best players, not the best coaches. There are obvious exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, talent plays the biggest factor.

[Laxman50]

Depth comes from recruiting that comes from money. Practice comes from good coaching. A good coach with bad recruiting wont go very far but a bad coach with lots of good players will last longer. Money drives the car if you have the ability to go places and send out information on your team and make hats and look good on the field kids will be drawn to play at your school. I have seen the top coaches in the MDIA at state all star games and at recruiting camps. Also the ability to bring in coaches and pay them helps a team out a allot. When you have a good D pole coach and a good goal coach and an offensive coach it helps. Oh ya and luck.

[the lax]

Depth is essentially talent. A team has depth because they have more than 3 talented attackman, midfielders, and close defenders. You never compliment a team for having depth because they have 50 awful players.

[Bentiss]

Depth is essentially talent. A team has depth because they have more than 3 talented attackman, midfielders, and close defenders. You never compliment a team for having depth because they have 50 awful players.

Exactly

[Chris O'Donnell]

i would include another category: Location. Alot of those Cali and Colorado boys stay out west for school instead of going to play at some D3 school in the Northeast. I can't blame em'. HS kids around here are so obsessed with playing D3, D2, or crappy D1 ball that they sacrifice what should be the best 4 years of their life by going to some college in the sticks thats average snowfall is 300 ft. and has less students than most high schools. I tell kids all the time that they should look into playing in the MDIA because they can go to good schools in sweet locations while still playing some great lax. (My first choice was actually UC-Boulder(sweet campus), but I couldn't afford it)

I think Hugh is onpoint in mentioning the whole "program" thing. It's a combination of having a well structured system headed by a professional, well respected, head coach. When you have a bunch of guys that aren't on schoalarship and paying for their gear things can get messy in a hurry.

Money is definately a factor like it or not. Traveling is expensive and you need to travel if you want to play the big boys. I heard that Michigan has access to all their schools varsity program facilities and trainers and what not. Tell me that doesn't make a differance. (by the way, I'm not trying to knock Michigan, I think that what the school has done is great and I wish more schools would follow suit)

Recruiting is not really big as far as I've seen. Alot of team websites have a section for interested players, but thats about it. Word of mouth from players is far more effective, I tell guys all the time how much fun I had playing at UF.

Lastly, USBC's coach's do alot more than simply switch the 1st 2 lines of middies to make that team good. Any coach with half a brain would just do the same. Maybe the fact that the 2nd line middies at USBC are better than 75% of MDIA teams 1st line guys makes a difference too.