So it is the first year of IHSA Lacrosse with the season kicking off this week. Just curious how many football players are getting into the sport. I know in Texas a lot of kids are starting to play so that they can stay in a physical sport in Spring.
IHSA Lax
- Thread starter FalconPadre
- Start date
Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the State. A lot of kids are playing at St. Rita. Last February two young were introduced to the alumni at our monthly luncheon after signing letters of intent at the collegiate level. The sport is new to a lot of schools but looking at Loyola’s website I see they have two (2) East Coast trips this spring. I can see a lot of football players who do not play baseball picking up the sport. Next weekend the State High School Hockey Championship will be played at the United Center. Kind of wished that Lacrosse stayed independent a while longer.
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Looks like 78 boys teams. Here are how the regions and sectionals are going to break out: https://www.ihsa.org/SportsActiviti...rmationResults.aspx?url=/data/lcb/1assign.htm
D230 (Sandburg, Andrew and Stagg) has a single "coop" team formed from 2 rather decent-sized club teams from recent years out of the first two schools listed. I hear some severe cuts to smaller numbers were made leaving many players without a structure in which to play any longer. IHSA-sanctioning a double-edged sword?
how do the co-ops work? Don’t some schools get upset since there doesn’t appear to be any classes? It’s all “8A” or one “group”.? Waubonsie and Metea coop for hockey (playing at united center this weekend) and looks like they are doing it for LAX as well? That’s two pretty high enrollment schools “combining”. I can see it for hockey- but I don’t know much about LAX. For me spring is traditionally Track and baseball so am just trying to learn a little about LAX.
I hear Herscher has a nice LAX program but B-Mac has recruited away the top talent. Of course, that has a lot to do with the fact that most Herscher kids are right in B-Mac's back yard.
The IHSLA did a fine job of managing boys lacrosse for years - 2 divisions, A and B. The playoffs were based on power rankings and typically held pretty well for the post-season (full details can be found at the link).
http://www.ihsla.org/Standings.aspx
At the risk of making this a private vs public discussion, which is not my intent, it is my impression that the IHSA allowed public school co-ops to continue this season, but that is not allowed for private schools.
Are there other sports that have co-op teams competing?
http://www.ihsla.org/Standings.aspx
At the risk of making this a private vs public discussion, which is not my intent, it is my impression that the IHSA allowed public school co-ops to continue this season, but that is not allowed for private schools.
Are there other sports that have co-op teams competing?
Hockey is a huge co-op sport, but not sure if sanctioned by the IHSA at co-op level.
That is a good point. In upcoming seasons the Waubonsie - Metea, Lincoln Way or Orland Park Chiefs will get to an elite level and other teams will start to gripe. All three are pretty solid right now but not quite in the top tier.
Pretty much every IHSA sport has coop teams. See link
https://www.ihsa.org/Schools/SchoolDirectory/CooperativeTeams.aspx
I have a feeling such a limitation might not last too much longer after upset parents start weighing in on the fact that "little Johnny got cut."
As I suspected, a suburban sport - the southernmost line of schools playing border the south side of I-80 (Minooka, L-Ws, Hillcrest, H-F). State finals, then, should be at SIUC lol...
I know of no lacrosse programs at any level in the Kankakee area, so the Herscher/Mac discussion is actually kinda funny here...Hockey might be more likely in Kankakee, as the Kankakee Park District's ice arena supports a couple of very successful youth hockey programs...but that coop might be six or seven schools...and I think the high school level club is known as the "Irish"...
I know of no lacrosse programs at any level in the Kankakee area, so the Herscher/Mac discussion is actually kinda funny here...Hockey might be more likely in Kankakee, as the Kankakee Park District's ice arena supports a couple of very successful youth hockey programs...but that coop might be six or seven schools...and I think the high school level club is known as the "Irish"...
Less popular & expensive facility sports have this issue, which is why many are just one class - gymnastics, swimming, water polo, badminton, hockey, tennis...Pontiac, for example, has a host of neighboring schools cooping for swimming...but Pontiac and the neighbors together still don't add up to the enrollment of Bradley-Bourbonnais...
Your average small town 3A, or even 4A, school is not likely to support lacrosse, as it can barely support baseball & track most of the time. Prior to soccer, there were lots of schools in the Kankakee area that were state-ranked annually in cross-country (Herscher, Mac, Manteno, Beecher...). Few schools can still properly support - i.e. full Varsity & Fresh/Soph squads - cross country teams because soccer draws from the same pool of kids...And girls soccer also had similar effects on girls track...
Badminton is another sport of which you geographically describe. Of the 95+ schools competing, no team exists south of Bradley-Bourbonnais HS specifically, to my knowledge. No co-ops either, I am reasonably sure, but a handful of CPS participant schools.
Herscher was going to start a badminton program, but then someone over in Kankakee put up a net in their backyard and . . .
Here’s Illinois high school lacrosse for you.
1. Loyola/New Trier
A few other good teams.
Everyone else.
It’s a nice sport but the north shore is so far ahead of everyone it’s not even close. Pretty sure it’s still growing but the rate has definitely slowed in the last few years.
1. Loyola/New Trier
A few other good teams.
Everyone else.
It’s a nice sport but the north shore is so far ahead of everyone it’s not even close. Pretty sure it’s still growing but the rate has definitely slowed in the last few years.
Can I propose that Waubonsie and Metea coop for football? Both are in 8A so a coop team would stay in 8A and be about the same number of students as Say a Neuqua or Stevie. I’m guessing no one would complain with that?
We have to keep up with the privates you know!Will it still be Naperville Central’s feeder?Can I propose that Waubonsie and Metea coop for football? Both are in 8A so a coop team would stay in 8A and be about the same number of students as Say a Neuqua or Stevie. I’m guessing no one would complain with that?
No we will cut off that gravy train!
Hey TPF- need a post from you in the dumpster fire thread! Any post will do!!
Johnsburg LAX would destroy Herscher.
Lacrosse is traditionally a spring sport as well. Been that way forever. The college championships are known to be on Memorial Day weekend every year.
It would seem that lacrosse becoming IHSA-sanctioned could slow its growth. The sport will now be subject to tighter and more formalized participation consequences from "school things" like: academic shortcomings, school-day discipline episodes, athletic code of conduct breaches and such.
Yes, many sports are better off being club. Not sure how lacrosse works, but perhaps like soccer the better players stick to club.
Actually I heard that they petitioned the IHSA to sanction Cow Tipping for a girls team and Synchronized Swimming for a boys team figuring BMac would never start those sports.....
Not the case in LAX because the clubs want the kids to play on their HS teams.
Agree. Club lacrosse is big in the summer and fall. There is no question about kids not playing for their high school.
Lol. They could combine the entire catholic league vs Loyola and they would still roll.