2026 Boys - Madlax or DCE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Over-promising spots on the Capital teams is the MadLax business model. It has been profitable for the last 25 years, and will probably continue for another 50 if Cabell chooses to transition the business to his sons.

Here are the profiles of players who will have a good experience in MadLax:

(1) An exceptionally good player, due to his natural ability, size, and/or reclass status, who is in the top 7-10 players on the Capital roster and untouchable as new players come in, and whose family is able and willing to pay for private skills coaching, outside of MadLax, to teach fundamentals;

(2) A casual, fun player who is happy to be a permanent DMV player and play in mid-level tournaments and HoCo divisions, and wear the MadLax jersey.

There are plenty of players in both categories who are having a good experience in MadLax, including my son. But if your son falls anywhere between these two profiles, you are paying a ton of money for an experience that will be more bad than good, and in many cases will end in extreme disappointment and frustration.

Well said!!!! Plenty of other clubs for you to have a much better experience.

[Anonymous]

Stay clear of MadLax 2026 if you want a good experience for your son. Cliques and toxicity among the boys and the parents, and poor coaching. For example they began their HoCo playoff game man down because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for playing warmup music with profanity and racial language. Kids don't come to practice but still start games. Revolving doors of players and nobody's position is safe, except for the chosen few. Not a positive team culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Are the kids promised a chance to move up? Is it implied?

From what I hear, it is implied. Along the lines of "if you work hard enough". But somehow junior has neeeeeever quite worked hard enough. But keep trying, junior, keep trying!

Agree. But I don’t think this solely is a ML thing. All clubs need that B team for revenue purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Are the kids promised a chance to move up? Is it implied?

From what I hear, it is implied. Along the lines of "if you work hard enough". But somehow junior has neeeeeever quite worked hard enough. But keep trying, junior, keep trying!

Agree. But I don’t think this solely is a ML thing. All clubs need that B team for revenue purposes.

What about at the youngest ages? I'd assume there is more movement between the DMV team and the CAP team at those ages. As 7/8/9/10 year olds get older, don't some naturally plateau while others shoot up the depth chart? I have an athletic kid who has been playing less than a year and was surprised to hear about how long other kids have been playing (i.e. since they were 4) and am hoping that once he gets a season or two under his belt, he can be on the same level as these lifers.

Am I kidding myself?

[Anonymous]

No, you are not kidding yourself. If your son is relatively new and a natural athlete, of course he will surpass the average athletes who have been playing longer.

But here is the bigger issue that families need to understand about MadLax. Many kids go into the program in the early grades (5th grade and lower) because their families have the money and think is the cool place to be in the lacrosse world. The teams usually win and the boys feel like stars. The boys form friendships with their teammates, and the parents form bonds too. But in grades 6 to 8, new players come in from all over the region and all over the country (literally), plus kids reclass by repeating a year in school. The effect is that the bottom 1/3 to 1/2 of the Capital roster gets pushed off the team in those grades. There usually is not very good bedside manner when boys are cut. It is great business for MadLax and builds strong teams, but is absolutely gut wrenching for the boys. It hurts their self esteem not only in lacrosse, but in life generally, because for boys that age sports is a huge part of their self image. And they feel ashamed and rejected by their friends remaining on the Capital team. Once you have been on Capital for several years, being on DMV is a humiliation for the boys and a waste of money for parents. (MadLax level prices, for coaching and competition barely better than rec). So my advice to families in grades 5 or below is that before joining MadLax, you need to assess realistically how athletic your son is and whether he will hold onto his roster spot when the influx of stud players begins. if the answer is no, then don't get mixed up in MadLax, because it will end really badly for your son. Plenty of other good options in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Are the kids promised a chance to move up? Is it implied?

From what I hear, it is implied. Along the lines of "if you work hard enough". But somehow junior has neeeeeever quite worked hard enough. But keep trying, junior, keep trying!

Agree. But I don’t think this solely is a ML thing. All clubs need that B team for revenue purposes.

Not all. VLC has one team per grade, and one of its talking points is "we care about the players, not the profits." (Hmm, I wonder who that is directed at?) The VLC model assumes that second teams are a rip off and dilute the overall quality of the product in terms of coaching, field space, competition, etc. This is especially so in the fall, where MadLax has large groups of players shuttling between the Capital and DMV teams.

[Anonymous]

DCE is the place to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, you are not kidding yourself. If your son is relatively new and a natural athlete, of course he will surpass the average athletes who have been playing longer.

But here is the bigger issue that families need to understand about MadLax. Many kids go into the program in the early grades (5th grade and lower) because their families have the money and think is the cool place to be in the lacrosse world. The teams usually win and the boys feel like stars. The boys form friendships with their teammates, and the parents form bonds too. But in grades 6 to 8, new players come in from all over the region and all over the country (literally), plus kids reclass by repeating a year in school. The effect is that the bottom 1/3 to 1/2 of the Capital roster gets pushed off the team in those grades. There usually is not very good bedside manner when boys are cut. It is great business for MadLax and builds strong teams, but is absolutely gut wrenching for the boys. It hurts their self esteem not only in lacrosse, but in life generally, because for boys that age sports is a huge part of their self image. And they feel ashamed and rejected by their friends remaining on the Capital team. Once you have been on Capital for several years, being on DMV is a humiliation for the boys and a waste of money for parents. (MadLax level prices, for coaching and competition barely better than rec). So my advice to families in grades 5 or below is that before joining MadLax, you need to assess realistically how athletic your son is and whether he will hold onto his roster spot when the influx of stud players begins. if the answer is no, then don't get mixed up in MadLax, because it will end really badly for your son. Plenty of other good options in the area.

Makes sense. Any thoughts on whether these A vs. B team issues are handled better by other teams in the area (Cavalier, Next Level, BLC, etc)?

Also, generally, would it be better to barely make an "A" team, practice with them but not get a lot of playing time in games, or make a "B" team and be among the better players, getting lots of minutes (putting aside emotional issues about how low playing time might make a kid feel). Didn't know that the B team coaching isn't that great. Just thinking in terms of development, if my kid makes a B team at one club and an A team at another, what would generally be the better approach.

[Anonymous]

Generally speaking, (1) the other three programs you mention treat families more respectfully than MadLax when it comes to making A vs. B cuts, (2) neither of the trade off choices you mention are ideal, ie, being on an A team but getting no playing time, or being on a B team with poor coaching; (3) you should try to find a program where your son will be on the top team, AND get ample playing time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCE is the place to be.

Not anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Generally speaking, (1) the other three programs you mention treat families more respectfully than MadLax when it comes to making A vs. B cuts, (2) neither of the trade off choices you mention are ideal, ie, being on an A team but getting no playing time, or being on a B team with poor coaching; (3) you should try to find a program where your son will be on the top team, AND get ample playing time

More respectfully how? Do they give more weight to a kid who is already on the A team so they don't cut as many kids who have a history with the club? Or are ML coaches just more cold/a-holeish about cuts than coaches at other teams?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Generally speaking, (1) the other three programs you mention treat families more respectfully than MadLax when it comes to making A vs. B cuts, (2) neither of the trade off choices you mention are ideal, ie, being on an A team but getting no playing time, or being on a B team with poor coaching; (3) you should try to find a program where your son will be on the top team, AND get ample playing time

+1 play on the A team where you get playing time. Don’t play on B team, waste of money and time - you will always be second class citizen and “resume” is tainted.

[Anonymous]

Every scenario is different. Often the issue is that kids were strung along and misled prior to being cut. You tend to hear more complaints from Madlax families than the other three programs mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Generally speaking, (1) the other three programs you mention treat families more respectfully than MadLax when it comes to making A vs. B cuts, (2) neither of the trade off choices you mention are ideal, ie, being on an A team but getting no playing time, or being on a B team with poor coaching; (3) you should try to find a program where your son will be on the top team, AND get ample playing time

More respectfully how? Do they give more weight to a kid who is already on the A team so they don't cut as many kids who have a history with the club? Or are ML coaches just more cold/a-holeish about cuts than coaches at other teams?

In other programs the A team coaches make the decisions and do their best to be fair based on ability, but in MadLax the rosters are decided by the club management with the overall goal of maximizing the number of players in the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Are the kids promised a chance to move up? Is it implied?

From what I hear, it is implied. Along the lines of "if you work hard enough". But somehow junior has neeeeeever quite worked hard enough. But keep trying, junior, keep trying!

Agree. But I don’t think this solely is a ML thing. All clubs need that B team for revenue purposes.

Not all. VLC has one team per grade, and one of its talking points is "we care about the players, not the profits." (Hmm, I wonder who that is directed at?) The VLC model assumes that second teams are a rip off and dilute the overall quality of the product in terms of coaching, field space, competition, etc. This is especially so in the fall, where MadLax has large groups of players shuttling between the Capital and DMV teams.

VLC is the revenue-generating B team for the Crabs.