Centerstage ’28s: Top Uncommitted Offensive Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taking place on the first day of November, Centerstage is one of the region's first club events to spotlight high school-aged club teams this fall. It's a smaller event with four '28 teams and six '29 squads, but multiple D-1 coaches attended and saw some excellent lacrosse.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the '28 division, I wanted to focus on players who haven't announced their commitment yet, as opposed to the top players that everyone is already well aware of. Was it awesome to watch guys like Max Marschner and Austin Tuttle tear it up with the 2Way '28 team? Yes. But let's turn our focus to some of the other players vying for national attention.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["218029"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae7c319c80df"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Giraldi is interesting; he's one of those attackmen who plays himself into the game, getting stronger as the contest pushes forward. He will spend the first few possessions swinging the ball, and it looks like he's just a passive hinge on the elbow, but he's actually measuring where and when his defender will try to close him out. You can see it in how he dodges in the second half of games; it's like he knows what the defenseman is going to do and where they are going to be before they do. Giraldi is excellent at getting underneath big checkers and can get his hands free for a shot without fading because he will soak the contact no problem. Tough and cerebral; what's not to like?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["212900"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae7c319c8179"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Another Laxachusetts slasher, Delgado, much like Giraldi, is a player who gets better as the game wears on. However, unlike Giraldi, his approach isn't to be more measured; he's just going in fifth gear the entire time, and the second a defenseman takes an eye off him or tucks inside too far, Delgado is cutting behind his helmet. In Laxachusetts' final game, he went off and had two stellar goals: the first was a hesi-dodge to the middle to free up his hands for a big top corner rip, and the second was a hesi-drive that beat two top side poles with a behind-the-back finish. However, my favorite thing about Delgado is how he plays with such inimitable fire on every possession. Maybe he's from Texas, but he has that Massachusetts attitude when he plays - there's nothing polite about it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["201591"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae7c319c81ca"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Baehr is an accomplished dodger. He's decidedly two-handed; I actually had trouble deciphering which hand he is on each dodge volley. Because this guy doesn't just dodge once or twice, he's tripling up body movement before he picks the ultimate destination. That being said, he probably had a great time playing for this 2Way squad because the defensive slides knew they couldn't leave guys like Austin Tuttle or Huntley Walsh to stop the ball. However, Baehr made the most of his chances, getting downhill twice in the same footwork sequence. In one possession, he turned a double into a stepdown, chased down a loose ball through a crowd, and then capped it off with a three-quarter sidearm that completely fooled the goaltender.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["218035"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae7c319c8212"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">You don't score 116 points as a sophomore by accident, no matter what league you play in. I can confirm Jacob is, indeed, a bucket. At Centerstage, he was also one of those players who rarely made a mistake with or without the ball. He is a true hybrid offensive player who loves the wing. There is an entire generation of players that just dodge top down and rip the ball because they're just faster or bigger than their defender. Jacob is not that; he's a versatile scorer, dodger, and passer. What's more, he's a party-starter of a dodger who isn't predictable and knows how to leave defenders reaching for backchecks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["141791"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae7c319c8258"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Quick and low to the ground, Jacob moves around the field like a rocket strapped to a skateboard. Snider was a real master of the top half of the restraining line at Centerstage. In my eyes, he was the only player there that I would describe as so fast that he's bouncy. Like when a sports car without suspension hits a speed bump; it jumps up. Snider does that when he dodges, and defenders just cannot handle this kind of aerial direction change. Does he look kinda small on a field with giant 6-foot-2 poles and monster middies crashing through the first layer of the defense? Yeah, but Snider knows how to impact a game with his speed and doesn't try to beat four guys with his dodges; he's killing the first guy, maiming the slide, and hitting the pass or the shot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->