Fighting Clams Summer 2024 Tournaments

Before the fall of 2021, none of our current high school teams were ranked inside the top 50 nationally in their respective classes. At the end of the fall of 2023, all three of these classes are inside the 50, and one is inside the top 20!

By more carefully considering how teams are labeled and what they represent, as a program it was easier for college coaches to appropriately track and follow our teams. Our national rankings were also more accurate and appropriately reflective of what we truly are. They clearly showed the performances of national teams vs. local teams, and what it represented in the big picture.

In fact, after taking a deep dive into year over year performances for all teams, a majority of every single type of Clam team improved, and again, most by a significant margin.  And this trend was an extension of last year’s improvement, in which we made similar progress.

We’ve categorized our tournament offerings into three general groups, so you have as much information as possible about team composition and our overarching goals for each event you consider. You'll see we’ve again included a “target roster size” in each event’s description along with an idea of what to expect from a playing time perspective.

~Assigning Names To Our Teams At Tournaments~

“Fighting Clams” Teams = Our absolute best teams. These teams play to win and playing time will be allocated accordingly. These teams are almost always ranked in the top fifth of all teams nationally, and sometimes as high at the top tenth. All players on these teams should be college prospects or eventual college prospects.

“Clams Blue” Teams = Very competitive teams comprised of numerous top team players. Playing time may be modified in the interest of winning but everyone on Clam Blue teams will play in all games, and we’ll strive for meaningful minutes for all. Teams labeled in this manner are created to be in the top quarter of all teams nationally, and should be comprised almost entirely of college prospects or eventual college prospects.

“Clams Orange” Teams = Competitive teams that will be scheduled against appropriately challenging opponents. Playing time will most often be balanced among players. Teams labeled in this manner should always be in top half of all club teams nationally, and should be competitive with higher ranked teams. A majority of players on these teams should be college prospects or eventual college prospects.

Important note: Very often we don’t finalize the exact team names until weeks before the event. There are many things that are considered when we assign names to our teams. With the success and influence of the different groups that provide club rankings, like US Club Lax, it’s more important than ever that our teams are named appropriately. We factor in things like:

  • An in-depth look at each and every player that’s on the roster, including consideration for player performances at our most recent practices and events.
  • Whether the event offers two brackets in each age group (A & AA) or the entire class plays in the same bracket
  • If that event utilizes a championship format with playoffs, or has a set schedule ahead of time

~Classifying Our Summer 2024 Events & Outlining Our Goals For Each Group~

Tier 1: Fighting Clams National-Caliber Events

Events: Prime Time (NY) Summer Invitational at Yale, SweetLax Summer Challenge, Legacy Summer Invitational & NLF National Championships

*Target Roster Size: 21-24*

We have four events this summer that we consider 'all hands on deck' tournaments for our top guys. The best players at each position will initially be invited to attend. At these events we‘ll put our best foot forward and we’d like every player who’s invited to these events to attend if they can. We will play games at these events to win, and for our best players to be featured prominently for recruiting purposes. We play at these knowing our national reputation in terms of recruiting effectiveness and overall brand strength will be disproportionately affected with every one of our teams’ outcomes at these elite, national events.

Tier 2: Clams Regional Events 

Events: PrimeTime Shootout, PrimeTime Bulldog Brawl, PrimeTime Mid-Summer Classic & PrimeTime National

*Target Roster Size: 19-23*

Well over half the players on the teams attending these events will be from the top half of our program. That said, we will also have in attendance stronger Clams that aren’t always considered to be in our top half, but are very close and deserve the opportunity to compete in these competitive settings. We believe top players should carefully consider these events, as they’ll be more likely produce more highlight reel content, and more options for leadership and the availability of a more prominent overall role. Players pushing for top half placement and getting invited to these events should see them as a great opportunity to show they belong in the top group. A positive performance can positively impact player recruitment, and their future tournament invitations moving forward. 

Tier 3: Clams Local Events 

Events: PrimeTime Brawlin' at the Beach & PrimeTime Vermont Classic

*Target Roster Size: 17-20*

Players from all parts of our program will be invited to these events, and we will divide up, bracket and appropriately name the teams after all registrants have made their selections. These events will have elite divisions in all high school brackets and this year we expect these to be as strong as they've been to date. So we hope and expect to have AA-caliber teams of sufficient strength to enter those top brackets in those classes, even if we have two blend classes to get there. That said, again, teams will be named and assigned to their brackets once the tournament selection process has concluded, and in some instances we may even play some teams up an age bracket to ensure they’re adequately challenged. In short, we’re hoping to place both Clams Blue and Clams Orange teams at these events.