lax culture from an insider

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting to wonder why it seems like too much to hope for that these lacrosse prep and club guys could be decent people, mentors and role models.

There are many great mentors and role models for kids in lacrosse.

Breslin from Breakout and now Bethesda is one. Of course maybe his niceness is the reason why he's never been able to put together super competitive teams and his best players routinely got plucked away by VLC and Madlax. Hope be fares better with Bethesda.

Agreed. Breslin's a super nice guy, but he's at the mercy of too many outside forces. Winners is his pet project but it is a charity thing. A couple of talented kids have found a path into places like Madlax. The rest are learning fabulous skills and getting a great experience. Breakout, on the other hand, served a special spot that was high level, but recreational. It's hard to come by around here. But that franchise just fell apart by spring of this year due to neglect. I have a bitter aftertaste because of the disastrous decisions made for some of the teams regarding leagues and the fielding of the teams.
I hope Bethesda has enough quality momentum to keep going, but things are so lop-sided with politics and favoritism in the older teams that Breslin has his work cut out for him. I hope he isn't too nice to cut through that BS. Especially in the higher grades, it's just not possible to make legitimate teams when everyone is there because they are buddies in school or they've played together since they were 7. It's like hiring only friends and family members to work for your company. It's cute for a little while, and then it is nothing but a nightmare. In this case the nightmare is the entrenchment of bad skills in the form of crony-style play. No one gets better but 5 or 10 kids on each team get to feel a false sense of awesomeness.

Then again, I hear this exact scenario is happening across a bunch of leagues in the middle school age group right now. It's a bit of a plague.

This was exactly our experience with Bethesda in going through their tryout process. It was so obvious they had already picked the team. The coaches were really rude during tryouts. Not our experience with other clubs. Bethesda's tryout was to "say" they had a tryout a make money. Nothing more.

+ 1000 on Bethesda and we have seen different years both genders

[Anonymous]

why dont VLC and Mad LAX play one another in a game instead of bashing the other on this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting to wonder why it seems like too much to hope for that these lacrosse prep and club guys could be decent people, mentors and role models.

There are many great mentors and role models for kids in lacrosse.

Breslin from Breakout and now Bethesda is one. Of course maybe his niceness is the reason why he's never been able to put together super competitive teams and his best players routinely got plucked away by VLC and Madlax. Hope be fares better with Bethesda.

Agreed. Breslin's a super nice guy, but he's at the mercy of too many outside forces. Winners is his pet project but it is a charity thing. A couple of talented kids have found a path into places like Madlax. The rest are learning fabulous skills and getting a great experience. Breakout, on the other hand, served a special spot that was high level, but recreational. It's hard to come by around here. But that franchise just fell apart by spring of this year due to neglect. I have a bitter aftertaste because of the disastrous decisions made for some of the teams regarding leagues and the fielding of the teams.
I hope Bethesda has enough quality momentum to keep going, but things are so lop-sided with politics and favoritism in the older teams that Breslin has his work cut out for him. I hope he isn't too nice to cut through that BS. Especially in the higher grades, it's just not possible to make legitimate teams when everyone is there because they are buddies in school or they've played together since they were 7. It's like hiring only friends and family members to work for your company. It's cute for a little while, and then it is nothing but a nightmare. In this case the nightmare is the entrenchment of bad skills in the form of crony-style play. No one gets better but 5 or 10 kids on each team get to feel a false sense of awesomeness.

Then again, I hear this exact scenario is happening across a bunch of leagues in the middle school age group right now. It's a bit of a plague.

This was exactly our experience with Bethesda in going through their tryout process. It was so obvious they had already picked the team. The coaches were really rude during tryouts. Not our experience with other clubs. Bethesda's tryout was to "say" they had a tryout a make money. Nothing more.

+ 1000 on Bethesda and we have seen different years both genders

The tryouts were ridiculous. About 40 kids showed up and then we got the email that over 70 kids tried out. Needless to say, the math means that 30+ of the 40 spots for the A and B teams were already assigned without tryout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This goes a long way toward explaining how Cabell Maddox became even more successful after the PR debacle a few years ago. All he cares about is getting the best players and getting paid. The great moral hazard that binds us.

He is casting as wide a net as ever, but also losing players as fast as ever as well. His club depends on getting the youngest kids as early as possible and keeping the families hostage until they finally get tired of his BS and overpriced offerings. But that strength is diminishing as more youth kids go to Crabs, BW and VLC.

Is there someone on VLC's payroll who keeps posting this? Quite honestly I am revolted by Cabell Maddox, but his youth teams are running other clubs over. I don't admire anything Madlax stands for to celebrate 8th graders picking a college, but that result does seem to be happening at Madlax. If you have a list of "elite" local clubs like Crabs/VLC or Blackwolf who are run by saints doing the lord's work, be sure and let us know.

Your definition of youth teams and running other clubs over must be completely different from mine. Last I checked, Madlax is struggling with their youth programs. They've got some absolute studs on their HS level teams - youth, not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why dont VLC and Mad LAX play one another in a game instead of bashing the other on this forum.

Agreed, and they will this spring in the NPYLL

[Anonymous]

I'd rather see a VLC versus Madlax mommy fight, no holds barred. I haven't seen an attractive middle aged woman at a lacrosse game since St. Ignatius left town...so humor us ladies.

[Anonymous]

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This goes a long way toward explaining how Cabell Maddox became even more successful after the PR debacle a few years ago. All he cares about is getting the best players and getting paid. The great moral hazard that binds us.

He is casting as wide a net as ever, but also losing players as fast as ever as well. His club depends on getting the youngest kids as early as possible and keeping the families hostage until they finally get tired of his BS and overpriced offerings. But that strength is diminishing as more youth kids go to Crabs, BW and VLC.

Is there someone on VLC's payroll who keeps posting this? Quite honestly I am revolted by Cabell Maddox, but his youth teams are running other clubs over. I don't admire anything Madlax stands for to celebrate 8th graders picking a college, but that result does seem to be happening at Madlax. If you have a list of "elite" local clubs like Crabs/VLC or Blackwolf who are run by saints doing the lord's work, be sure and let us know.

Your definition of youth teams and running other clubs over must be completely different from mine. Last I checked, Madlax is struggling with their youth programs. They've got some absolute studs on their HS level teams - youth, not so much.

Vestiges from a possible time gone by. Beginning with 2020s, VLC, Blackwolf, Bethesda and now even Next Level are drawing and keeping strong kids in the youth program who would otherwise have defaulted to Madlax. That is part of the explanation for Madlax's march across the river and creating a Madlax MD. He already decimated one of the up and coming MoCo club teams, literally sucking all of the talent out of one class so that it no longer even exists. Like a Black Hole. I am hoping that Bethesda can regroup and even expand, and I know NL is trying to do same. Nothing against Madlax, my kid went through the program and he was happy, but competition is always good.

[Anonymous]

Cabell Maddox runs it like a business. Like a PP noted, cronyism is the enemy of excellence. One would have thought what happened a few years ago would just end Madlax. My kid played on the team the kid defected to, and we sure thought so. That was ugly and awful. I can't believe Madlax pulled through, but they did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're a bit confused. VLC is run by Ryan McClernan who is not employed outside of the Crabs franchise who is counting club cash flow to pay his mortgage. The coaches and service providers to Crabs are a conduit to placing players with colleges to keep the cash flow moving. Pretty sure you're not getting a charitable donation voucher for the club fees. Hard to believe you'd come back with that topper comment. Wait, no. Easy to believe.

You are actually the one who is confused. He owns VLC, but it is run separately by two people with impeccable reputations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cabell Maddox runs it like a business. Like a PP noted, cronyism is the enemy of excellence. One would have thought what happened a few years ago would just end Madlax. My kid played on the team the kid defected to, and we sure thought so. That was ugly and awful. I can't believe Madlax pulled through, but they did.

Because some parents will swallow their integrity and hold their noses if they think it's the best place for their kid lacrosse wise. BW and VLC have the best HS programs partly because Madlax HS kids get tired of Madlax when they get to HS.

But Madlax is losing traction in the youth market it seems. Other people are saying their VA/MD teams are terrible.

[Anonymous]

Just rent a field and have a mommy fight for all the bragging rights already. Please.

Just. End. The. Whining. About. Which. Slimy. Local. HS. Club. Team. Is. Better. Managed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just rent a field and have a mommy fight for all the bragging rights already. Please.

Just. End. The. Whining. About. Which. Slimy. Local. HS. Club. Team. Is. Better. Managed.

Couldn't agree more. They are all slimy and could give 2 s***s about the kids or what is really in their best interest. It is all about the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just rent a field and have a mommy fight for all the bragging rights already. Please.

Just. End. The. Whining. About. Which. Slimy. Local. HS. Club. Team. Is. Better. Managed.

Couldn't agree more. They are all slimy and could give 2 s***s about the kids or what is really in their best interest. It is all about the money.

Yeah, every single one. Not a gross exaggeration at all. Nobody in club lacrosse is a good person. Not one. All are scum. Every single one. You aren't exaggerating at all. At all.

[Anonymous]

Believe it or not, I am a first time reader and poster on DCUM. A fellow lacrosse parent sent me the link to this thread and I read the first 10 pages and the last 10. Pretty hilarious writing. My son is a junior in high school, he plays club lacrosse and has done some prospect days at mostly D3 programs. I think my take on this is the youth lacrosse game is a lot like porn. Looking at Playboy isn't something I'd be embarrassed about getting busted on. Some on-line stuff you then look at is definitely less appropriate, and would be more embarrassing. Then you click into something really freaky and worry that the FBI may flag your computer. I don't know where the point of no return was for freaky in lacrosse, but this sport is officially way past the type of behaviour any of us could be proud of. To an outsider it's just like the porn tipping point. Am I really someone who wants to see a woman absorb 3 inputs? Jesus, that's where you realize you have a daughter and some self respect. I don't really see what has happened in lacrosse as an epidemic, but I do see it as a sport I'd rather steer my younger kids away from because it isn't a healthy way to go.