Feedback on VLC Club Lacrosse?
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Anonymous
| like pp has shared, things the vlc did and was known for, they dropped the ball, were told and didnt care enough to pick it up at their feet. dont assume ignorance and its not 2015. when vlc dir tell starting offensive players and their parents they don't a working offhand going into hs, they know there's a problem, team can only move the ball in 1 direction.. older players cant believe what goes on regularly w. young teams but their loyalty is to their hs, not a 4 week club circuit. some coaching changes but recycling some lower expectation staff too. it can get better - good that its worked out for you |
Anonymous
Unsure if you're referring to me, but my kid has played for VLC for three years, so I certainly have "present knowledge" of the program as far as one team is concerned. I also talk to parents on other teams, and none of them has reported an experience anywhere near as positive as what you describe.
My son never received any of that. The other parents on the team never mentioned anything like that, either. The only messages we got from the coaches throughout the season were directed to the entire team, on TeamApp, and they were of the generic "a few words about the game we just had" variety. The coaching was ineffective for the team as a whole, and the mentoring was non-existent. I am glad your sons had a different and better experience, but my son did not, and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way (eg, the PP who made the long post).
I don't even know of any "player/parent disturbances" on our team. I can't think of any players or parents who were disruptive. The kids and the parents are all very nice people. I know several players quit in disgust, which does not count as a "disturbance" in my book. I do know, however, that Z and Dico responded to parental concerns - and a lot of parents on the team had such concerns - extremely unprofessionally. Don't count on them to "assist" you.
The way my son's team was coached was so dramatically different from what you describe that I think your knowledge is team-specific and coach-specific. As in many other clubs, if you get lucky and have a great coach, that's great, but if you get a coach who's just phoning it in, that's not so great. I suspect that VLC is generating college players in spite of the coaching, not because of it. As the other PP said, they recruit talent, they don't develop it.
Yes, the players have to do a lot of work outside practice. But this does not absolve the coach of responsibility. It is not true that only your son controls his future, because the quality of coaching he receives very definitely affects his future. He will get better with lots of wall ball and just from being on the field with a stick in his hand, but there are limits to that, and he will improve even more significantly with proper coaching. In the future, he will compete against kids who have had proper coaching, and if he's had half-assed coaching then he is at a disadvantage. The overall attitude of the team coach this past season was to disclaim any responsibility for losses and failures to improve. This was disappointing to say the least. |
Anonymous
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I appreciate this respectfully PP and your personal experience. I agree there's a disconnect, but it's NOT because of historical or present knowledge of the program. The game film is the game film. The team record is the team record. National youth travel lacrosse rankings are the rankings. Coaches and players post for practice/games or they don't.
VLC may once may have had positive, consistent lacrosse coaching. At one point in time, the NY Yankees used to be a baseball dynasty in Major League Baseball. I'm glad and we should all be glad your sons are having a positive travel team experience. There is a big gap between how the VLC directors lead lacrosse teams and their other coaches run their teams. The VLC directors are disconnected from VLC teams they don't personally lead. That's likely the core problem. The coaches/directors may indeed have been responsive to parents, before their other coaching responsibilities (high school, world series) took priority. A VLC director showing up once or twice a year produces a noticeable better individual practice. This however does not move the needle any more than a substitute teacher in middle school. To respond your college player challenge, this analogy may help bridge the understanding gap. For a different sport, my child was invited to join a youth all-star team this summer. Prior, my child and the all-star coach had never met in person. The all-star recommendation was made because of some demonstrated talent, personal practice, recreational league coaches, and BOTH parents supporting athletic development. If my child plays in college in the distant future, it won't be because of a figure-head all-star coach. For the record, that coach wouldn't claim credit for this. The point here is that coerelation does NOT always mean causation. I believe that great coaching can unlock enormous individual potential and bad coaching can make kids quit the game. Youth lacrosse players play in college, because of their commitment, but also because of committed parents and coaches helping them along the way. I don't see any middle-school player capable of anticipating the elevated levels of play in high school and college (I've played both). Elite youth lacrosse coaches emulate this and AAA coaches should be at least making material strides towards this. Youth lacrosse players play in college, because of their commitment, but also because of committed parents and coaches helping them along the way. I'm happy to read your player and parental commitment. However, for other VLC families, the coaching element is way off and that's NOT AT ALL what they were promised. For these families, youth travel lacrosse is serious investment of time, money, and self-esteem. For them, coaching is really important and I believe that they would appreciate it if the VLC organization took this equally as serious. Some of these VLC coaches appear to be mailing it in. So, yes, people are upset. For the sake of the kids and the sport of lacrosse, I'd like to see VLC restore itself to its former positive influence. However, if VLC continues to decline, I don't want lacrosse families to say they weren't warned. Here's my question back to you: If VLC coaching wasn't the problem, the process model continues to succeed, and this was really "a player driven process" - why would VLC be making any coaching changes this year? It's not the practice location changes, is it? |
Anonymous
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PP - if you're unhappy, why don't you leave.
But it sounds like you are looking for someone to blame for your inability to teach your kid work ethic or his overall motivation. If your kid gets an F on a test, it's probably because the teacher is bad too, right? Either way, seek therapy or a new program because VLC will go on and kids will succeed without you. |
Anonymous
| chill. its the crabs b team. they eventually play better in older ages and lose with dignity in tournaments when they score more than 3 goals |
Anonymous
| Question to the dude writing the book- in your opinion which club is doing a good job? |
Anonymous
Hey at least this mom is not and ungrateful quitter. As as her long diatribe stated she played HS and college so she knows the game |
Anonymous
| So was there much movement between NL, DC Express and VLC after all in either 2026 or 2025? |
Anonymous
BLC to ML - zero NL to ML - 1 NL to DCE - 1 VLC to ML - zero VLC to DCE - 1 ML to DCE - 1 ML to NL - zero ML to VLC - 1 |
Anonymous
| Snore.... |
Anonymous
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VLC 2026 has a new head coach this season who stands to fill in the gaps created by the previous coach, which there are several. Namely, losing key games by 1 or 2 points.
While there were only a few additions to the 2021-2022 roster, this team remains one of the more skilled group of 13/14 year-olds in the DC area. Consider this: the top offensive producers for the #16-ranked Black Ops WSYL team are all from VLC 2026. Having a new head coach who is focused on being accountable/present, fostering player growth and who actually cares about winning games might be all these kids need to start drawing some serious attention. |
Anonymous
Wow, really? ALL from VLC 2026? I hope this isn’t one of the VLC BlackOps dads posting this. That would be disappointing. |
Anonymous
| Here come the MadLax and TRW people. |
Anonymous
This is incorrect. Don’t post this drivel when you don’t have a clue. |
Anonymous
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Losing by only 1 or 2 goals a problem most of this club's team would like to have. So this reads like this parent is needy for validation or they need to hang with the DCE crowd more often
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