RU 2024 Mens Lax Commit From MA
- Thread starter bigmatt718
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Kid looks good. Brian isn't accepting commits from anyone they aren't really high on this early. He likes to zig whenever everyone else is zagging. Lacrosse recruiting is very inexact at the evaluation level from prognosticators. The staff knows this and is slow to pull the trigger knowing there are a lot of kids out there that aren't being evaluated properly.
This kid is big and strong and most impressively watching the film, his IQ is really high for a high school kid. He can shoot and finish from what I can tell. Typical Brecht athlete recruit. Plays football two. Let Hopkins and OSU take the lacrosse only guys.
nlfrankings.com
This kid is big and strong and most impressively watching the film, his IQ is really high for a high school kid. He can shoot and finish from what I can tell. Typical Brecht athlete recruit. Plays football two. Let Hopkins and OSU take the lacrosse only guys.
Nate Austin-Johnstone - National Lacrosse Federation
nlfrankings.com
Laxachusetts is a top club. I'm curious how old he is. Kids are getting older and older, and I'm curious how coaches translate guys who are older developing in college. I agree with Cali, taking a kid early probably means he can ball out and is a lacrosse player, not just a top athlete.
As a note, my son is a 2026 and we played the top Laxachusetts a couple of times this summer. We were told by a player on one of their other teams that a kid turned or was turning 17. My kid turned 14 that same June weekend. I have no idea who the kid was or if he was a top player, but no idea how Brian would assess a player like that.
As a note, my son is a 2026 and we played the top Laxachusetts a couple of times this summer. We were told by a player on one of their other teams that a kid turned or was turning 17. My kid turned 14 that same June weekend. I have no idea who the kid was or if he was a top player, but no idea how Brian would assess a player like that.
Very common for prep school kids to be a year older. As a '24 that would make him 17.
I spoke to my own 14 year old son about reclassing briefly because he sees how common it is in lax and football. On one hand, he is a perfect candidate to reclass physically. He's 6 feet and a hard weight gainer at 140lbs. But he gets great grades and fits in really well socially. In the end, he was just a kid who was very much looking forward to HS and I am so glad we chose not to reclass. Truth be told I could envision a scenario where he would be well ahead of other 8th graders and in his frosh/soph years but as a junior and senior every kid is firmly entrenched in their growth spurt by then so I don't see the benefit being so great. Plus, there are days I truly think we are the rare club family that plays the game just for the fun of it and not to showcase for a college.
It's also very common now in wrestling. Many clubs encourage repeating 5th or 8th and sometimes both, and even have their own certified homeschooling program at the practice facility, like gymnastics has had for decades.
Pretty much every kid in the MIAA is a hold back. It’s definitely something to keep an eye on in terms of development. But at the same time having a kid who is older is an advantage. Physically you are much more advanced at 20 than 18.
It’s getting crazy now. OSU has a kid coming in next year who will be 20 as a freshman. Kid was of driving age his first year in high school because he wasn’t just held back once but twice.
He’s very highly rated but I’m going to predict he never lives up to it.
It’s getting crazy now. OSU has a kid coming in next year who will be 20 as a freshman. Kid was of driving age his first year in high school because he wasn’t just held back once but twice.
He’s very highly rated but I’m going to predict he never lives up to it.
Given those facts, I'd say your son should not be held back and if necessary 3-4 years down the road be a PG candidate. Deerfield seems to be the school of choice right now for kids that need a slight academic boost for the Ivies but is by no means the only possibility.
I was a reclass mostly because I was really young for my grade. Would have graduated at 17. That extra year was really good for me.
Yeah since I was born in July, I would've benefitted from being held back a grade and being more physically advanced in school. My parents made a mistake on that one.
I was reclassed going public to prep freshman years, late birthday and being 5'0" and 106 lbs. 12 months later I was 5'6" 135 and still growing.
Different sport, but the 2 best players from my high school baseball team PG'ed at Lawrenceville Prep. One of them pitched against us my senior year. The rationale for them was to get into better colleges than what they would have been able to get into after graduating from our high school. One was 6'5" so didn't need more physical development.
Reclassing is a fascinating topic and I'm positive it could be and maybe should be a thread all it's own. The question of who it's right for and what year would differ for most people. Keeping a kingergartener back and an eight grader back are obviously not the same. My good friend just reclassed his 8th grade son for football. He is being home schooled this year so he can lift and run and I sorta feel bad for the kid but if it's what he wants then so be it. Bottom line is, parents look at it as in "investment" in hopes to gain a partial HS scholarship to a parochial or the like, which will then vault them into better college options. It's quite the gamble.
My son squared off at the FO X against a double reclass kid here in Monmouth county during rec season. My son had only been practicing FOs for a few months and was far less imposing than his opponent who looked every bit like a Jr or Sr in HS. I admit that it was one of the highlights of the season for me personally as I watched my lanky son beat his ass to the tune of 80% that day if for no other reason than the kid was 2 years older.
Hope all you guys are well! I haven’t been on much since the last game in the national semis. Best wishes to Rutgers this fall. I’ll be keeping an eye on things and will continue to support RU Lacrosse fiscally and as a huge fan for life…
I can not wait to come back and visit in late October when last years senior class gets honored at the lacrosse banquet and fall alumni weekend. Should be a fun couple days.
I’ll also be back in late Feb for a game when a team from Baltimore comes to visit SHI 😉
On the topic of hold backs and re-class…while I get very extreme circumstances or doing it if your kid is very young for his grade…aka a late birthday….beyond that I’m very much against it and think it’s simply used to try and create physical advantages for kids that otherwise would not be able to compete or get spots on rosters playing at their correct age group. Not a fan at all and frankly it’s abused more out east then here in the Midwest…it’s very odd to me. Both my guys stayed in their age class and played their club against kids their age and when out east, played vs many clubs loaded with kids 12-18 months older.
Of course kids will perform better when playing against kids 12-18 months younger…
Brennan was recruited early on by Michigan. They offered him a spot if he re-classed…I told the coach at the time, thx but no thanks…we moved on with no regrets
Anyway, sorry if you feel different…we can just agree to disagree. Just not a fan of reclass-mania…
I can not wait to come back and visit in late October when last years senior class gets honored at the lacrosse banquet and fall alumni weekend. Should be a fun couple days.
I’ll also be back in late Feb for a game when a team from Baltimore comes to visit SHI 😉
On the topic of hold backs and re-class…while I get very extreme circumstances or doing it if your kid is very young for his grade…aka a late birthday….beyond that I’m very much against it and think it’s simply used to try and create physical advantages for kids that otherwise would not be able to compete or get spots on rosters playing at their correct age group. Not a fan at all and frankly it’s abused more out east then here in the Midwest…it’s very odd to me. Both my guys stayed in their age class and played their club against kids their age and when out east, played vs many clubs loaded with kids 12-18 months older.
Of course kids will perform better when playing against kids 12-18 months younger…
Brennan was recruited early on by Michigan. They offered him a spot if he re-classed…I told the coach at the time, thx but no thanks…we moved on with no regrets
Anyway, sorry if you feel different…we can just agree to disagree. Just not a fan of reclass-mania…
My son is a 2026. As Cali referenced with his OSU example, this kid will be 20/21 when he graduates high school. Holdbacks are fine, it's the 2 time hold back who also started late this is getting ridiculous. And very common. Very, very common.
And my 14 year old is 5' 1", 95 lbs and hasn't sniffed puberty. My kids (I have a 25 as well) have no desire to hold back. I think they'll be ok in life, just might not be a top college athlete. :)
Prep school hold backs are usually 75 percent academics and 25 percent athletics. PGs are virtually 100 percent academics. Different than same school holdbacks.
I doubt there are accurate stats on the reason for holdbacks, but those stats don't seem anywhere near accurate. In my experience, for wrestling, most athletes do it for an athletic advantage to be more mature, stronger, and more skilled. Holdbacks are encouraged to repeat 5th or 8th grade, and sometimes both.
You can't hold back 5th or 8th grade with prep schools, as almost all are 9th through 12th. And I'm totally confident with the PG number, even for wrestling. I've watched it happen for lacrosse and football for over 50 years. Lower grades is more of a guess.
You're missing my point. Most, if not all, holdbacks happen before high school and in 5th and/or 8th grade, and they repeat the grade at a parochial school or home school. Kids then enter prep school or other private schools, or re-enter public school afterwards.
This, In My experience is not true especially the 8th grade part generally people hold back their kids in kindergarten ( not emotionally ready), 8th grade and as a PG. most PG’s in know were for academic reasons. But, almost every kid I know who did it any other time did it for athletic advantage including kids who repeated their 10 grade year at another prep school. There are lots of ways to do this.
I repeated 9th grade. Most kids I knew back then who were held back did it then too. I transferred schools so it was mostly for academic reasons. The athletic side was a big benefit at the end of the day. Big difference between graduating at 17 and 18.
So you guys are telling me parents hold back kids and pay for a PG year just to get into college and it has NOTHING to do with playing sports in college????
If a kid doesn’t have the grades then they should go to a junior college to hammer out a few credits and then transfer into the preferred university. Very common here in the Midwest…had average or bad grades, go to community college, figure it out and then transfer into university.
Now if your definition of a PG year is for academics so they can then go play a sport at a school…well then the extra year is still to help them mature physically AND academically. PG is for athletes.
Now again, I get the late birthday hold back before kindergarten and even a few exceptions….but when you have a club team of 20 kids and 15 of them are hold backs or re-class, your not gonna sell me on the academic reasoning…but again that’s just me
If a kid doesn’t have the grades then they should go to a junior college to hammer out a few credits and then transfer into the preferred university. Very common here in the Midwest…had average or bad grades, go to community college, figure it out and then transfer into university.
Now if your definition of a PG year is for academics so they can then go play a sport at a school…well then the extra year is still to help them mature physically AND academically. PG is for athletes.
Now again, I get the late birthday hold back before kindergarten and even a few exceptions….but when you have a club team of 20 kids and 15 of them are hold backs or re-class, your not gonna sell me on the academic reasoning…but again that’s just me
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Junior college doesn't work for the Ivies, service academies, Hopkins and a few other schools. In most cases these are athletes who have shown college athletic capability but with grades, and especially SATs, that fall short. They're not held back for athletics, though they obviously benefit from the extra year.
NJ kids repeat 8th grade because NJSIAA rules for public and private schools (not prep schools) limit high school eligibility to 4 consecutive years (8 consecutive semesters) and you can't turn 19 years old before 9/1 of senior year. They repeat 5th grade for similar reasons before entering middle school. And yes many also start kindergarten a year late. Some end up having to leave NJ after sophomore or junior year and go to PA or a prep school, because they aged out...
NJSIAA eligibility rules:
Age – An athlete becomes ineligible for high school athletics if he/she attains the age of nineteen prior to September 1. However, any athlete attaining age nineteen (19) on or after September 1 shall be eligible for the ensuing school year. A birth certificate, issued at the time of birth, is the normal proof of age; in the absence of this, other proofs may be used. The records used will be baptismal records or the earliest school records.
* * *
Semester of Eligibility: 1. No student shall be eligible for high school athletics after the expiration of eight consecutive semesters following his/her entrance into the 9th grade. A student becomes ineligible for high school athletics when the class in which he/she was originally enrolled has graduated.
NJSIAA Student Eligibility Information
Interpretive Guidelines for Student-Athlete Eligibility
NJSIAA Bylaws, Article V, Eligibility of Athletes
I would agree that it is about better opportunities but there is a player at Rutgers right now who PG'd solely due to academics, he had other D-1 offers (not Rutgers) but his parents had the means so they sent him to a PG year where he got his academic straightened out and also benefitted from a more focused weight training program at the school and another year of growth and development. My own son looked seriously at a PG year and that would have been exclusively for athletic advantage. Ultimately, he chose to forgo that and go to college and play at a lower level, where he is incredibly happy and plays on a very talented D3 team (final four team last year).
the issue is the kids who maybe are in 8th grade or freshman and have not really hit puberty yet, most people I know who did that, did it for athletic advantage.
@rufamily
Hope you are well and glad to hear about your son. That is great news and glad he’s found a great home and the right fit. Continued best wishes to him…
Thanks, Matt, I hope that Brennan is crushing life as he is simply a great kid, and also hope that Joey is fully healthy and has a great season with the Greyhounds. If every kid has the college experience that my son is having we would all be very lucky parents. I really feel that this is where a lot of club teams fail their players as they push them into situations that are not great for the kid but good for the program
Living here in South Jersey, the holdback isn't mainstream by any stretch, but we're starting to see more and more of it. It's happening mostly at 8th grade. Kids do a year at a private school and then head to HS. The focus is primarily athletically with a side benefit of academics from the folks I have spoken with.
In MD at least, it seems to be the same but it's also VERY common for them to basically do 1st grade twice and so you get the kids being 2 years older at the same grade as NJ players in that 8th grade year. And you spend the whole time in the early development years playing kids a year older. Not a big deal in 3rd, 4th, 5th too much, but middle school it starts to really show.
In MD at least, it seems to be the same but it's also VERY common for them to basically do 1st grade twice and so you get the kids being 2 years older at the same grade as NJ players in that 8th grade year. And you spend the whole time in the early development years playing kids a year older. Not a big deal in 3rd, 4th, 5th too much, but middle school it starts to really show.
Great points made. The early holdback in kindergarten is predominantly boys and predominantly a school readiness issue. The eighth grade holdback is also for boys and overwhelmingly for athletic reasons. In fact, the parents I have met are either transparent that it is 100% for athletics or will try to persuade you the kids academics play a role but in reality, it doesn't and is just used as a reason. I'm right in the middle of this topic since I coached youth football and lax and my son is in 9th grade. On one hand, I understand so very well that athletics can mean better education opportunities for kids in college but unfortunately I see the vast majority of kids reclassing because daddy thinks his boy will reach the highest levels of the sport.
This
Early age school readiness is normal and I get it and have zero issue with it…it’s all dependent on birthdate, etc…
Almost anything after that is to gain athletic advantage. A few exceptions yes, but that’s about it…
Your last sentence is spot on
Spot on for early year holdbacks. Different for PGs, as by 18 athletic ability (for better or worse) is a reality for 80% of the daddies. And an extra 100-250 points on the SATs (and yes, I saw an actual 250 point bump with a basketball PG I went to school with) is also a reality.
There is definitely an advantage for 19 year olds playing 18 year olds, but it's not as drastic as 14/15/16 year olds playing against 12/13/14 year olds. I would think if you're going to choose to do another year of school ahead of college, there are very direct reasons to do so meaning the better grades/SAT scores gets you into a better school/scholarship opps.
Totally different animal then what I brought up with this recruit coming out of a notorious club for having much older players for their grad year. And my curiosity on how any school figures out what that player might look like once he's always playing against top talent who are physically mature.
Totally different animal then what I brought up with this recruit coming out of a notorious club for having much older players for their grad year. And my curiosity on how any school figures out what that player might look like once he's always playing against top talent who are physically mature.
Speaking of PGs, I wonder if you or @rufamily remember a Delbarton '21 named Max LaTorre. He PGed last year at Salisbury and is one on Dartmouth's top incoming '22s .
And @bigmatt718 Peter Rizzotti found a way to get a 5th year in Hanover so there was no transfer. As the '20 season was cancelled before the spring quarter (not semester) started he probably didn't enroll and is 1 quarter short of his undergrad degree. And it's not like Rutgers needs a LSM.
Not familiar. In fact, the only kid on the Delbarton roster I try to check up on from time to time is a Howell kid my son played with briefly in REC. He is a soph goalie there named Tanner Shimko. Great kid, tremendous athlete and plays with an edge in the cage.
I remember Max he is a good player, but I would assume the PG year had more to do with him getting the grades to get into Dartmouth vs. Loyola, which I believe is where he was initially committed to playing lacrosse.
No inside knowledge with Max but SATs are as likely or more a reason than grades.
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