Feedback on VLC Club Lacrosse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know a single family that is expecting a scholarship. Everyone I speak to acknowledges that if you put the money we invest in Club Lacrosse into a 529 we would have paid for college 2 times over. The issue of leaving a poor team mid season is about getting value for the tremendous investment the family of these players are making.

What “value” do you think you are supposed to be getting? At this point a “good” club is only as good as how many Ws they can post, and that is dependent on how many good athletes the club can attract with their promises of whatever you want to hear. Nobody is developing players. If your kid hasn’t progressed your kid is either: not an excellent athlete or doesn’t grid hard enough ON HIS OWN TIME. It’s that simple.

If the club doesn’t develop its players, the club has no value.

The value in the club is how many people are willing to pay to play with other athletes they believe are good enough to collect Ws. It’s pretty common knowledge that clubs don’t develop players. They are extremely direct that they expect kids to come with lacrosse skills. This isn’t even a hidden fact. Parents who don’t have self motivated kids or have kids who are very specialized (fogo, goalie) hire expensive private “tutors” basically.

I have 4 kids who play lacrosse and one at one of the academies playing lacrosse in college. We’ve been at all of the clubs. Literally all of them. High school is where they got the best coaching and that was at private prep schools. But even at those schools it was all about gathering a mass of very talented athletes. Not club coaching that got them there. The concept is so goofy I have to laugh at your statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know a single family that is expecting a scholarship. Everyone I speak to acknowledges that if you put the money we invest in Club Lacrosse into a 529 we would have paid for college 2 times over. The issue of leaving a poor team mid season is about getting value for the tremendous investment the family of these players are making.

What “value” do you think you are supposed to be getting? At this point a “good” club is only as good as how many Ws they can post, and that is dependent on how many good athletes the club can attract with their promises of whatever you want to hear. Nobody is developing players. If your kid hasn’t progressed your kid is either: not an excellent athlete or doesn’t grid hard enough ON HIS OWN TIME. It’s that simple.

If the club doesn’t develop its players, the club has no value.

The value in the club is how many people are willing to pay to play with other athletes they believe are good enough to collect Ws. It’s pretty common knowledge that clubs don’t develop players. They are extremely direct that they expect kids to come with lacrosse skills. This isn’t even a hidden fact. Parents who don’t have self motivated kids or have kids who are very specialized (fogo, goalie) hire expensive private “tutors” basically.

I have 4 kids who play lacrosse and one at one of the academies playing lacrosse in college. We’ve been at all of the clubs. Literally all of them. High school is where they got the best coaching and that was at private prep schools. But even at those schools it was all about gathering a mass of very talented athletes. Not club coaching that got them there. The concept is so goofy I have to laugh at your statement.

Not true at all with my experience. Yes, kids have to be self motivated and typically need skills to make a top club team, however they do develop these skills through the club experience. VLC does have some great coaches and they also develop by playing with other skilled kids. The majority of HS teams public and private do not have great coaching or development. Look at the several D1 VLC players playing for public HS programs in NOVA and I bet all will say they were getting great development at VLC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know a single family that is expecting a scholarship. Everyone I speak to acknowledges that if you put the money we invest in Club Lacrosse into a 529 we would have paid for college 2 times over. The issue of leaving a poor team mid season is about getting value for the tremendous investment the family of these players are making.

What “value” do you think you are supposed to be getting? At this point a “good” club is only as good as how many Ws they can post, and that is dependent on how many good athletes the club can attract with their promises of whatever you want to hear. Nobody is developing players. If your kid hasn’t progressed your kid is either: not an excellent athlete or doesn’t grid hard enough ON HIS OWN TIME. It’s that simple.

If the club doesn’t develop its players, the club has no value.

The value in the club is how many people are willing to pay to play with other athletes they believe are good enough to collect Ws. It’s pretty common knowledge that clubs don’t develop players. They are extremely direct that they expect kids to come with lacrosse skills. This isn’t even a hidden fact. Parents who don’t have self motivated kids or have kids who are very specialized (fogo, goalie) hire expensive private “tutors” basically.

I have 4 kids who play lacrosse and one at one of the academies playing lacrosse in college. We’ve been at all of the clubs. Literally all of them. High school is where they got the best coaching and that was at private prep schools. But even at those schools it was all about gathering a mass of very talented athletes. Not club coaching that got them there. The concept is so goofy I have to laugh at your statement.

Not true at all with my experience. Yes, kids have to be self motivated and typically need skills to make a top club team, however they do develop these skills through the club experience. VLC does have some great coaches and they also develop by playing with other skilled kids. The majority of HS teams public and private do not have great coaching or development. Look at the several D1 VLC players playing for public HS programs in NOVA and I bet all will say they were getting great development at VLC.

Yea and one of kid plays(ed) for that exact team you are speaking of. I stand by my assessment. This team is actually a perfect example of a mass gathering of great athletes. It’s not that complicated.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by "development"?
Clubs aren't going to develop the required stick skills. Ground balls, passing, shooting, catching, dodging, etc., are all things that the kids need to do on their own. Two practices a week with a club won't develop those skills. Or are you talking about lacrosse IQ? Concepts of a two man game, off ball movement, when to push and when to slow the tempo are all things that come with time. A club will provide development in those areas, and you learn both in practices and games. But none of that happens if the boys aren't committed to handling the basics on their own. It doesn't matter if you are at VLC, MadLax, Hammers, Top Caliber, True, or BLC. If the boys don't develop lacrosse skills on their own, they won't be successful at any club, and in turn, the club team for that age group won't be successful and will end up on DCUM, where parents will blame the club for failing to develop their boys.

[Anonymous]

This discussion is getting so tiresome. enough, please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by "development"?
Clubs aren't going to develop the required stick skills. Ground balls, passing, shooting, catching, dodging, etc., are all things that the kids need to do on their own. Two practices a week with a club won't develop those skills. Or are you talking about lacrosse IQ? Concepts of a two man game, off ball movement, when to push and when to slow the tempo are all things that come with time. A club will provide development in those areas, and you learn both in practices and games. But none of that happens if the boys aren't committed to handling the basics on their own. It doesn't matter if you are at VLC, MadLax, Hammers, Top Caliber, True, or BLC. If the boys don't develop lacrosse skills on their own, they won't be successful at any club, and in turn, the club team for that age group won't be successful and will end up on DCUM, where parents will blame the club for failing to develop their boys.

Yes! Exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is getting so tiresome. enough, please.

What is tiresome? No one is forcing you to be hear and read the comments. Go hit the wall!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is getting so tiresome. enough, please.

While some of the posts are repetitive some are good for people to hear. I’m assuming parents of younger players are reading these posts and they need to know what they are getting into with club lacrosse. The pp is absolutely right. Club will help you with overall lacrosse IQ and the more competitive the club the more you will work on those things at a high level. Club lacrosse will not help you with fundamentals like ground balls passing and catching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is getting so tiresome. enough, please.

While some of the posts are repetitive some are good for people to hear. I’m assuming parents of younger players are reading these posts and they need to know what they are getting into with club lacrosse. The pp is absolutely right. Club will help you with overall lacrosse IQ and the more competitive the club the more you will work on those things at a high level. Club lacrosse will not help you with fundamentals like ground balls passing and catching.

I tend to disagree- you can not exclusively rely on club lacrosse for basic lax skills- but club lax (particularly if you also do rec lax) will definitely make your throwing, catching a ground balls better. I saw it on all of the rec teams I coached. The extra reps, the travel, kids got plus the higher level of competition really improve their basic skills

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is getting so tiresome. enough, please.

While some of the posts are repetitive some are good for people to hear. I’m assuming parents of younger players are reading these posts and they need to know what they are getting into with club lacrosse. The pp is absolutely right. Club will help you with overall lacrosse IQ and the more competitive the club the more you will work on those things at a high level. Club lacrosse will not help you with fundamentals like ground balls passing and catching.

I tend to disagree- you can not exclusively rely on club lacrosse for basic lax skills- but club lax (particularly if you also do rec lax) will definitely make your throwing, catching a ground balls better. I saw it on all of the rec teams I coached. The extra reps, the travel, kids got plus the higher level of competition really improve their basic skills

As a parent who has a kid who hits the wall each day for at least 15 min soild at a minimum and then practices his shooting corners on the net for another 15 min, to the point where we have to have flood lights in the backyard, how in the world would you assume that club or rec is what is helping him get better?

I’m sorry to tell you, but he puts in way more time alone than with his teams. Club and rec are for game items and team work. Good coaches know how to run the box, play the right players at the right times in the right position and know how to motivate the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is getting so tiresome. enough, please.

While some of the posts are repetitive some are good for people to hear. I’m assuming parents of younger players are reading these posts and they need to know what they are getting into with club lacrosse. The pp is absolutely right. Club will help you with overall lacrosse IQ and the more competitive the club the more you will work on those things at a high level. Club lacrosse will not help you with fundamentals like ground balls passing and catching.

I tend to disagree- you can not exclusively rely on club lacrosse for basic lax skills- but club lax (particularly if you also do rec lax) will definitely make your throwing, catching a ground balls better. I saw it on all of the rec teams I coached. The extra reps, the travel, kids got plus the higher level of competition really improve their basic skills

As a parent who has a kid who hits the wall each day for at least 15 min soild at a minimum and then practices his shooting corners on the net for another 15 min, to the point where we have to have flood lights in the backyard, how in the world would you assume that club or rec is what is helping him get better?

I’m sorry to tell you, but he puts in way more time alone than with his teams. Club and rec are for game items and team work. Good coaches know how to run the box, play the right players at the right times in the right position and know how to motivate the kids.

A whole 30 minutes of work? Holy hell, this kid will be a D1 All-American for sure!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is getting so tiresome. enough, please.

While some of the posts are repetitive some are good for people to hear. I’m assuming parents of younger players are reading these posts and they need to know what they are getting into with club lacrosse. The pp is absolutely right. Club will help you with overall lacrosse IQ and the more competitive the club the more you will work on those things at a high level. Club lacrosse will not help you with fundamentals like ground balls passing and catching.

I tend to disagree- you can not exclusively rely on club lacrosse for basic lax skills- but club lax (particularly if you also do rec lax) will definitely make your throwing, catching a ground balls better. I saw it on all of the rec teams I coached. The extra reps, the travel, kids got plus the higher level of competition really improve their basic skills

As a parent who has a kid who hits the wall each day for at least 15 min soild at a minimum and then practices his shooting corners on the net for another 15 min, to the point where we have to have flood lights in the backyard, how in the world would you assume that club or rec is what is helping him get better?

I’m sorry to tell you, but he puts in way more time alone than with his teams. Club and rec are for game items and team work. Good coaches know how to run the box, play the right players at the right times in the right position and know how to motivate the kids.

A whole 30 minutes of work? Holy hell, this kid will be a D1 All-American for sure!

As the PP who called this discussion tiresome, let me renew my plea that you all grow up. This thread has devolved into Dads lecturing each other about hard work and other platitudes, and bragging about how their kid is great, and then other Dads sharing their own equally useless opinion. The thread stopped telling the readers anything useful about VLC many pages ago. VLC is a great program but for some reason it draws the most self absorbed and ridiculous commentators to DCUM. If you keep it up you will coax the nutty 2025 Dad out of DCUM retirement and we will start getting his posts that are longer than war and peace.
And yes, nobody is forcing me to read this, but it is like watching a train go off the tracks, there is a morbid part of my brain that can’t look away.
But please trust me D1 Dad and backyard practice Dad, you are being laughed at and please think about how silly you sound!

[Anonymous]

Hate to break it to you, but every kid (boy or girl) who is playing on a top level club is working on their stick skills on their own a MINIMUM or 30 minutes per day. Most of them, much more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hate to break it to you, but every kid (boy or girl) who is playing on a top level club is working on their stick skills on their own a MINIMUM or 30 minutes per day. Most of them, much more.

I hate to break it to you, but if your son plays for VLC he’s not on a top club.

[Anonymous]

My kid played a VLC ‘31 squad in a tourney today that that calls itself “VLC Poon” willingly. That’s all I needed to know about the club to know they don’t even take themselves seriously.