2026 Boys - Madlax or DCE?
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Anonymous
From being excellent/great. Based on the OP i think ML has it but DCE is a few kids away as well and nice players could swing either way. Remember the number of clubs at this age have diluted the pool and have spread the talent out across all top clubs in the DMV (ML, DCE, VLC, - Hardlax, True, TC) so you need a group of players from each club to be "Elite" and challenge the likes of the Hawks or some of the northeast NYC teams. |
Anonymous
Your question seems rhetorical, but I will give you an answer anyway. DCE and MadLax Capital are two elite national teams, whose rosters are stocked with talent, and are in heavy competition with each other (and with VLC and NL) for players. Anybody with a chance of making either of those teams is either on one of the teams, or is being recruited by one or both both, so he would be having discussions with families and coaches from both programs. So the original post was a bit like saying "my son enjoys football, should he try out for Notre Dame or for Clemson?" Either the poster is uninformed, or trying to stir up some dialogue. Plus, lacrosse parents are generally a snarky and insecure bunch, especially in the 2026 class, and particularly this time of year. So that is why this post drew some mean replies. |
Anonymous
| I am the OP. I wasn’t trying to stir things up. My kid is on one of these teams currently, but like many families, we are considering options for next year. It seems like the two teams are actually quite close in skill (at least the spring HoCo game indicated that). For those in the “know” (and I am not one of those people), I was hoping to get some feedback about the perceived future of each of the teams. For example, are the coaching staffs set for next year and if so, which team has better coaching? Does anyone think it matters that Madlax invests a lot more time and effort into its recruiting website than DCE? (Take a look at the ML 2023 DC Dogs recruiting page v the DCE 2023 page - the photos of the DCE guys are two years old when they were a lot smaller). If your kid is currently an impact player on one of these teams does it seem likely they would have a good chance to be an impact player on the other? |
Anonymous
| Only people who care about recruiting websites are parents. You will not have a leg up because of it. Coaches care about seeing the kids live. Film does not move the needle. Recruiting coordinators help with your kids message, especially if they trust them. Being in front of the coaches against top notch opponents trumps all. DCE has been better at this the last few years and their college placement shows. But leaving NLF could change that. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn’t judge a club by their website. The good ones don’t need all the fancy marketing, their reputation and the talent they help develops speaks for itself. Cabell’s own car is an advertisement on wheels. I would also not compare most teams to DC Dogs, if you’re not familiar with their inception then you probably don’t know how unique their situation is. There will be no more DC Dogs after the coaches son graduates. If your son is already playing with Madlax or BLC I would say, let him play with his friends. If he’s good enough to be recruited, it will happen. |
Anonymous
| If the ultimate goal is get recruited then your best bet is to go to a private HS with a top lax program (and get mostly As). Pick the club that feeds that school. Problem solved. Your welcome. |
Anonymous
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The PP's advice is not bad. Definitely the part about getting good grades. Here are the loose feeder affiliations. But there are a zillion exceptions, of course.
VLC - PVI MadLax - Landon DCE - not sure; but they would probably tell you "every good lacrosse school except Landon and PVI" |
Anonymous
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DCE has Landon kids, as well as Bullis, Gonzaga, Prep.
VLC has Paul VI kids but also plenty of public school kids. |
Anonymous
Staying or going? Better yet will you accept the invite or decline or better yet will you get one. At this point it is hard to switch and in the end for what IG fame or you kid having fun with kids he knows. |
Anonymous
VLV also St Johns and St Albans |
Anonymous
| Should Next Level really be overlooked at this age band? |
Anonymous
Should not if it fits your kid, family and he has a strong opportunity to contribute in other words "play." At this age you should be playing not watching. Oh and developing and having fun at the same time. |
Anonymous
| Agree with this advice. Be on whatever team your kid can get the most playing time. |
Anonymous
Definitely not. They are well coached and a classy program. If your son wants to play at an elite level there are four teams worth considering (VLC, DCE, MadLax and NextLevel). The right fit depends on factors that are unique to each player and family. |
Anonymous
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+1
And Top Caliber and TRW Wolfpack are on the rise and worth considering too. Those two teams played one another in the HoCo AAA championship game, so at least one of them will be moving up to Elite next spring. If these six teams (TRW, TC, DCE/BLC, ML, VLC, NL) all played each other, the gap among any of them would not be more than 4-5 goals. None of them are perfect. Do your homework, which includes looking at the quality of the coaching, the depth chart at your son's position, how many friends he has on the team, and geography, and then pick whichever is the right fit. Do not chase wins, because all six will look different after August tryouts than they do today, so you would be chasing a moving target. |