3-6 Boys Lacrosse NOVA (2032-2029)
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Anonymous
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Can anyone pass along and update the thread with info on current programs for Elementary School aged clubs in the NOVA area?
Specific questions: Does the club have a team designated for each age group, or are there combined age groups for some years? Is there more than 1 team per age group? What is the approximate roster size? Dates of summer tryouts (although that is probably the least important, because that is info that can be found on their website) Thank You. |
Anonymous
These are good questions but I think they are hard to answer except that last one as even the clubs do not know until they have a tryout what the final teams will look like. 1. Most try to keep one per grade or at least they typically have although when they do not have enough players they will combine grades. EX: 2030 player may have some 2031 players if they cannot get enough for a team at each age group. 2. VLC used to be the only club who really stuck with one team per age group but merging with Cav's they now have two at some ages. Madlax would always try to get as many teams as they could. Hammers may now have them beat as they have multiple along with True lacrosse expanding. If they can get enough credit card numbers they will add teams. 3. I think anything more than 20 for Elm school is stealing money but some teams have had up to 26. 18-20 is ideal. Best advice, take it one season at a time. Loyalty to a club is not returned. As they get to HS most of the roster will change over. At Elm school age look to where friends are playing and better commute. 7-8th grade is when you should consider a club change anyway unless you really fit with a coach and club. If looking to play in college go with a name brand and pick either of them as they will all get a player into the right events to be seen. In HS the team's winning % or US Club ranking is meaningless. Look at the recruiting for the 2023 and 2024 classes. NL-DCE-VLC-ML have all done really well. All the others are outliers with players that may have been able to be recruited by showcases and prospect days. I know that most Elm school parents say they are not worried about recruiting yet but all parents think about it if they are being honest. The same kids who are the best in Elm school do end up being the ones who are going to play D1 |
Anonymous
Most of the last post is probably right. You will see more combo ages at the younger ages - usually 31 and up. You will see the odd 29/30 team but you won't see the tournament set up like that - except at the younger ages where most teams are just at the early formation stage. But, you will see 31/32 or 32/33 divisions in many tournaments. Clubs do this because people are interested in having their kids play. Some clubs do not do this - ML, NL, BLC and others will only have age specific teams (though they might have a kid or two play up to fill out the roster). The issue is when you get clubs at older ages like a 28/29 or a club only offers a 28 and then a 30 and then 32 team - that club is hiding the fact, they don't have enough kids to fill out those teams. Some kids can absolutely play up a level but not all can. Yes, clubs will have as many teams as they can get players (and coaches) at ages. Most of the big clubs will have an A and B team. though that isn't a hard and fast rule - NL has A and B teams except has only 1 team at 2029 and 2032 levels. A team is for the premier players and depending on club will go to higher end competition. Most clubs have have all their A teams play in HOCO. Some clubs will also have their B team play in HOCO - Madlax, NL and VLC are teams like this. B teams are usually less talent players or players that are developing. Yes, programs will move kids around from A to B and the reverse as they age up and develop. Most teams will only do this over the summer when their big tryouts happen. Though dropping from A to B during the year has been known to happen. 18-20 is probably a good roster size. You probably need 20 to play in HOCO (with absences) and the length of the game lets you get everyone the field. But it becomes really difficult during tournament season with running 20 minute halfs to get 20 kids into a game. One of my son's teams lost a game this weekend specifically because they had to get some of the roster on the field at the end of a close game. There are some programs that won't do that regardless. If the game situation doesn't warrant it, if your kid is on the back end of the bench, he might not see the field. Other programs take a more open approach. For my son's age - just starting middles school - it can be a little frustrating but understandable when you look at the big picture for clubs and players. Summer tryout information has been released for most clubs over the last week. Most tryouts start mid-July right after Hogan in Hershey. That is about the end of the youth tournament season though there are some other lax tournaments (usually farther north) still going on. |
Anonymous
| Avoid any club where your son is not among the top 10 players on the roster. You will have a way better experience. Don’t worry about recruiting/club name/playing national competition until then. If your son is good enough to be recruited he will make the teams of the big clubs in 8/9 grade. |
Anonymous
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Most of the last post is probably right. You will see more combo ages at the younger ages - usually 31 and up. You will see the odd 29/30 team but you won't see the tournament set up like that - except at the younger ages where most teams are just at the early formation stage. But, you will see 31/32 or 32/33 divisions in many tournaments. Clubs do this because people are interested in having their kids play. Some clubs do not do this - ML, NL, BLC and others will only have age specific teams (though they might have a kid or two play up to fill out the roster). The issue is when you get clubs at older ages like a 28/29 or a club only offers a 28 and then a 30 and then 32 team - that club is hiding the fact, they don't have enough kids to fill out those teams. Some kids can absolutely play up a level but not all can. Yes, clubs will have as many teams as they can get players (and coaches) at ages. Most of the big clubs will have an A and B team. though that isn't a hard and fast rule - NL has A and B teams except has only 1 team at 2029 and 2032 levels. A team is for the premier players and depending on club will go to higher end competition. Most clubs have have all their A teams play in HOCO. Some clubs will also have their B team play in HOCO - Madlax, NL and VLC are teams like this. B teams are usually less talent players or players that are developing. Yes, programs will move kids around from A to B and the reverse as they age up and develop. Most teams will only do this over the summer when their big tryouts happen. Though dropping from A to B during the year has been known to happen. 18-20 is probably a good roster size. You probably need 20 to play in HOCO (with absences) and the length of the game lets you get everyone the field. But it becomes really difficult during tournament season with running 20 minute halfs to get 20 kids into a game. One of my son's teams lost a game this weekend specifically because they had to get some of the roster on the field at the end of a close game. There are some programs that won't do that regardless. If the game situation doesn't warrant it, if your kid is on the back end of the bench, he might not see the field. Other programs take a more open approach. For my son's age - just starting middles school - it can be a little frustrating but understandable when you look at the big picture for clubs and players. Summer tryout information has been released for most clubs over the last week. Most tryouts start mid-July right after Hogan in Hershey. That is about the end of the youth tournament season though there are some other lax tournaments (usually farther north) still going on. I agree that the roster size is very important at this age. Are most clubs honest/upfront about the numbers before you accept? I have heard there is a 31 team with a 30 player roster. That is obviously something you would want to be aware of before you tried out. So much about the elementary/middle school programs are about number of game and practice reps. |
Anonymous
I mean that is the age old question of how honest they are and you doing your research. A good club/coach will be open and honest about where you child stands with respect where they fit on the roster. I overheard one of those conversations at a tournament last weekend. Where a dad was talking about the team for next year, his son's playing time (much reduced from last year because other kids had gotten better) and how he'd like his son to drop to the B team next year to play more. The coach was very open about what the programs/teams goals were...to find upgrade talent at all positions and that was conveyed last year. (My take - his son just didn't grow physically this year and his stickwork didn't improve like other kids - that's travel). The coach also said he would work with him and his son to get to where he wanted. This wasn't any type of yelling situation about playing time where the dad was mad about it or anything like that. It was a pretty frank conversation with the dad wanting to get his son playing on the right team. I was talking with the club director and this father just came up and started talking about about it with club director. But, not all of them will be. Some will be more about the numbers. This is where I tell my kids what people tell you is important but what is just as important is what people don't tell. If a coach is being overly praiseworthy or obscure than that is an issue. This is where your research will come in. One other thing to do is go to the tryouts and talk to the parents of players that were already on the team. They will give you a sense of where the team stands from a parents perspective. My other son hopped programs last year and during the tryouts I had conversations with parents and all they talked about was getting more kids on the roster because they would lose games because their boys were exhausted from playing too much. One a team with 30 players, there will surely be parents that will talk about the prior season and that not happening. They will also talk about their strengths and weaknesses on the team (I know exactly what positions need to be improved on my son's teams), what players are coming back and what players aren't. Many of the parents that hang out at these tryouts will have inside knowledge on these types of things. They will also likely want to talk because there is only so many ground ball drills they'll want to watch. Most will also pretty open about it. If there isn't that type of openness or they seem like jerks, the question becomes - do I want to hang out with this people for 10-12 hours in a field in the middle of nowhere on a hot June/July weekend? |
Anonymous
| 30 Players on an elementary age team is never going to work. That is an unhappy situation waiting to happen. As a coach I would never want to deal with that. The same kids who do not play in club will be the same ones that ride the bench at SJC or Prep. Go where you can play. |
Anonymous
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Madlax (DMV and Capital)
VLC Hammers Top Caliber St. James True Va Are those the only NOVa elementary school clubs? |
Anonymous
| Thanks for this question, OP. Would also be really helpful to know where all these teams practice. |
Anonymous
This might be slightly off but Madlax practices at Landon and at Linway Terrace in McLean (I think younger at Landon and older at Linway but could be wrong) VLC - A park in Tysons and out in Fairfax and I think the old portion of the Cavs still practices way out in Leesburg Hammers - out in Loudoun county somewhere Top Caliber - used to be the St. James but now somewhere near Braddock Road St. James - you'd thin the St. James but not really - I think George Mason True VA - Meridan, Marshall, Marymount and Arlington locations. |
Anonymous
STJ practices at George Mason in the summer and indoors at St. James in the winter. |
Anonymous
Does VLC have multiple teams from 30 and younger? Do they have set practice locations? Looked like they were at a low level tourney this past weekend Hammers has lost a lot of their practice fields, including Revolution (evergreen) and Word of Grace is no more. They don't have teams below the 30 year and don't play in Hoco until the 28 year I believe. Top Caliber seems to be losing kids St James has a lot of upside with the facilities and access to resources. Tryouts this summer will tell how many teams they field. |
Anonymous
The hard reality for all of these clubs is that NVYLL is down in numbers, coaching, talent. Just not as many kids playing to feed these clubs. There have been lots of NOVA clubs that have come and gone over the years but new ones are added that do not seem to fill a need in the market. The clubs do not help NVYLL in any way and hurt in many ways which is not a smart business decision. |
Anonymous
I'm not sure I follow why Club teams would want to work/align with NVYLL? NVYLL thinks they are the only option to play Lax. They schedule over travel schedules, they have their own set of politics, poor rules, the whole Waiver system that is broken etc. NVYLL needs to fix themselves before trying to align with Clubs. Agree that less kids are playing and its becoming more and more a race to play Club at earlier years. Most of the rec teams either sandbag their division and are full of travel helmets. Rec is really no longer rec but everyone thinks their kid should play club. |
Anonymous
Field space seems to plague many Teams and is a huge advantage of the St. James. Especially when considering year round usage. They have winter leagues there too now. |