There is something taking place this season that you rarely see in the shore. There are few Freshman making contributions to there high school teams. In the past the Shore has always had a number of impact freshman. Kids we all knew were going to stars at some point. But this year is different. It is a cautionary tale for all parents and kids.
Ashley Kreiger of RANNEY is clearly the best freshman in the Shore Conference. She is 6’2” highly skilled and talented. She is also a year or two older than every other freshman in the class. Meaning if Ashley Kreiger did not tear her ACL. She would be part of the insanely deep and talented 2026 class. Leaving the 2027 class without a D1 player impact player in the class. Something you cannot even picture and this certainly would be a first in the Shore Conference. But the real question is how did this happen. How did we get here and what does the future look like.
First how did we get to the point where a Shore class could possibly be so weak in terms of D1 talent. Well it’s not as surprising as you think. Most of the players in the 2027 class trained in low level competitive environments. Most did not involve themselves in competitive training. Few shot daily or made it to the gym consistently. Instead they were locked into personal trainers and games. A true recipe for disaster, unless you are a mega talented player. The 2027 class did have a talented group entering the winter of 2023. But what happened? They used that time for meaningless games and they did not make in gym sacrifices. In other words the most important time of the year for a player getting ready to enter high school and to start the recruiting process. The 2027 class did not use wisely and walked away from personal development. Their inner circles were weak and offered bad guidance.
This summer most of the 2027 class spent the all important summer traveling the country playing AAU. Not at camp, not training for hours, not shooting or preparing for high school. Many believed the summer and fall games with high schools would earn them time. Some got caught in playing politics hoping it would give them an edge. I personally ranted and raved about the mistakes of such decisions. I warned there was a price to be paid coming. But despite my background and track record few in this class listened. AAU directors need money and parents like watching their kids play. Finally kids thought college coaches would be watching their games. So a class off players and parents found out the hard way. Because no college coaches were watching their games as they roamed the country. These days the parents are now watching their talented kids ride the bench or live the JV life. That’s because those two months of training in the summer and lack of training in the winter, got us to where we are now. Only one impact D1 freshman playing. It’s this quickly how a promising class can find themselves in full blown scramble mode and make no mistake that’s where the 2027 class sits.
I believe there are just three D1 players in the Shore 2027 class right now. Ashley Keriger of RANNEY, Tatum Sharpe and Lissy Lyons of SJV. All three have something in common. They worked very hard during the winter before there freshman year began. Lissy Lyons and Tatum Sharpe spent the summer traveling playing AAU, losing valuable training and development. Both are getting little if any time with SJV this season. But both are gym rats and talented. They also are in highly competitive high school environments and train in high competitive out of season environments. This certainly will help them in the long run. All three are D1 locks. But after these three, you cannot say any player in the 2027 is even a scholarship player in the future at the D2 or high D3 level. This is shocking to say the least.
The 2027 class is a great example for the next generation of players behind them. That’s because every kid in the class with the exception of Ashley Kreiger right now is fighting an uphill battle. Most are sitting behind Sophomores and Juniors. While transferring may sound like an option look around almost every team in the Shore not named Manasquan and RFH are young. Ocean will be in a massive rebuild. So if those in the 2027 class want to play in high school or for that matter college. They better get real serious about their development while there is still time. They need to stop focusing on drilling, politics and inconsistence shooting sessions and shoot everyday. The clock is ticking for this group and most are not telling them or advising them correctly. Mostly out of fear of offending the parent or the kid. But what’s worst? A little truth now or watching kids dreams go up in smoke.
Now the 2028 class is rolling in next year. None of the top players will be attending a top schools like RBC, SJV, TRINITY or MANASQUAN. Their reasons, may range from fear of not playing (never a good reason) or simply just wanting to stay home. Regardless make no mistake there are only 4 players in this class that could play at RBC or SJV anyway. But that doesn’t mean the class is not talented and deep. That’s because it is and there will be several impact freshman next year. But what’s the problem? This class lacks gym rats and kids who are constantly in the gym. It makes for a difficult culture for a kid to develop. It worries me these young ladies will not develop and remember they all are going to low visible high schools. They must do what Ocean kids did, elevate the profile of their schools or the recruiting will not happen, the rankings will not happen and the big showcases won’t happen. The only way to do this, is to get in the gym. Get to programs like CORE SKILLS, go the gym and shoot daily. In other words work on your game in competitive environments and GET OUT OF YOUR LITTLE ITTY BITTY WORLD. This group has a real chance but it’s a wait and see type deal. There are lots of folks trying to make it easy for this group. Folks excuses and easy is a recipe for disappointment.
Finally the 2029 class will rival the 2026 class in terms of talent. Now throw in the fact that this class is loaded with gym rats and mega stars. This class will get the Shore conference back on its feet. This group is special. But it’s very important that they don’t fall into the habits of the 2027 class for example and just focus on games and non competitive environments. They need to train with older kids. Kids with high expectations and big futures, so they understand what it takes.
A college coach last week asked me why “your 2027 is lacking in talent” my response was that class had as much talent as most classes. Their mistake was their lack of understanding of what is important. They’re paying for that right now. But it doesn’t mean it can’t change. It just won’t be easy!
