Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm new to the boys lax scene. Son just started playing on a club team in the HoCo league this year. It seems like for boys lax, there are only 4 clubs in the DC-area (Madlax, NL, BLC and VLC) and each has about about two teams (sometimes just one) at each grade from elementary through 8th grade, so that's roughly 180-200 boys per grade in the whole DMV playing club-level lax. There are of course other clubs in HoCo, Baltimore, Annapolis, etc., but I assume not many boys go that far to play. But every private and public school around here has a team, so are lots of the players on these teams boys who only played rec or just started lax in HS? I never played, but lax seems like a really hard sport to pick up when you're 14-15. Or are there a bunch of clubs around here I don't know about?
Great question. It depends on where your son goes to school and what his aspirations are.
At top privates (GP, Landon, Gonzaga, St. John’s, PVI etc) being on a top level club team is a must just to make varsity.
At the lower level privates (O’Connell, Irerton etc.) most of the starters have significant club experience but not all. You can definitely be on the team with out prior lax experience but playing time might be a problem unless you’re pretty athletic.
At top public (Robinson, Madison Churchill etc) starters will be on club teams but not necessarily the best clubs. Athletic boys will make varsity but struggle for field time.
Lower level publics (Chantilly, Westfield, Magruder) no club experience is needed- in fact if you played a couple of seasons of rec you’re way ahead of the game.
If you want to play in college a top club is a must.
In terms of clubs - top tier is in the DMV is madlax, next level and BLC/DCE. After that the teams get pretty bad. VLC is a particularly terrible club - poor management, poor communications, and fairly expensive. It’s often described as a dumpster fire on a sinking ship.
True NOVA is a great option. Great coaching, fields and organization. The beat on that club is that its teams are not very competitive but there is a chance to make their national team- which is usually highly ranked.
Good luck