Does club or team matter for the littler ones ('34s and '33s and upcoming '35s) and why/why not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:if you play rec in the area, its very clear that most of the top teams of rec leagues are dominated by kids who also play club.

This is not a prevalent thing in my county rec league but does occasionally occur. I think it's icky. There's a young girl from one of the top ranked NGLL teams playing on a rec team with (and surely against) girls who have never played lacrosse before. Like why.....???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you live in a town with a good rec program, playing in a travel program is a waste of money until 5-6 grade.

And, getting into a "good" travel program like Madlax at a young age means nothing. Starting in middle school they rebuild their teams with stud athletes and holdbacks, and don't think twice about cutting a kid with average ability who has been in the program since first grade.

Sure, they will cut the average kid, but the new kids aren't coming from a rec league. They are coming from other top club teams (often out of the area). A kid who does rec up until 6th grade has almost no chance of making a top club team. I'm sure it's happened, but it's exceedingly rare and would only be true for absolutely amazing natural athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your girl has been playing rec and then in the 8th grade decides to try out for an elite club, they have little chance unless they are some phenom of an athlete. Even then, they won't be playing a lot because they will be so far behind the other girls.

The advantage to doing club early is to develop the skills and get on these elite clubs at an early age. Getting in on an elite club when older is not easy unless your kid is so much better than the incumbent players.

Pretty big difference between a 35 and a 32 or 33. Most coaches will tell you that 6th and 7th grade are most critical years for development. You want to be on a top club by then. Other than that, play a bunch of sports and focus on athleticism before that.

There is some 'lighter' travel options out there as well. BLC has great instruction but much less commitment and cost than top clubs (at least at the 3rd-5th grade level)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your girl has been playing rec and then in the 8th grade decides to try out for an elite club, they have little chance unless they are some phenom of an athlete. Even then, they won't be playing a lot because they will be so far behind the other girls.

The advantage to doing club early is to develop the skills and get on these elite clubs at an early age. Getting in on an elite club when older is not easy unless your kid is so much better than the incumbent players.

Pretty big difference between a 35 and a 32 or 33. Most coaches will tell you that 6th and 7th grade are most critical years for development. You want to be on a top club by then. Other than that, play a bunch of sports and focus on athleticism before that.

There is some 'lighter' travel options out there as well. BLC has great instruction but much less commitment and cost than top clubs (at least at the 3rd-5th grade level)

You’re not getting on a top team at 6th grade if you haven’t been playing that level for a couple years before that. The girls who have been playing at that level will just be so far beyond you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your girl has been playing rec and then in the 8th grade decides to try out for an elite club, they have little chance unless they are some phenom of an athlete. Even then, they won't be playing a lot because they will be so far behind the other girls.

The advantage to doing club early is to develop the skills and get on these elite clubs at an early age. Getting in on an elite club when older is not easy unless your kid is so much better than the incumbent players.

Pretty big difference between a 35 and a 32 or 33. Most coaches will tell you that 6th and 7th grade are most critical years for development. You want to be on a top club by then. Other than that, play a bunch of sports and focus on athleticism before that.

There is some 'lighter' travel options out there as well. BLC has great instruction but much less commitment and cost than top clubs (at least at the 3rd-5th grade level)

You’re not getting on a top team at 6th grade if you haven’t been playing that level for a couple years before that. The girls who have been playing at that level will just be so far beyond you.

Disagree. Last year BLC took a girl who had only played rec before on their 6th grade team. Admittedly, a freaky athlete, but it can happen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your girl has been playing rec and then in the 8th grade decides to try out for an elite club, they have little chance unless they are some phenom of an athlete. Even then, they won't be playing a lot because they will be so far behind the other girls.

The advantage to doing club early is to develop the skills and get on these elite clubs at an early age. Getting in on an elite club when older is not easy unless your kid is so much better than the incumbent players.

What a crock. The incumbents go to the b team for the better athlete.

Pretty big difference between a 35 and a 32 or 33. Most coaches will tell you that 6th and 7th grade are most critical years for development. You want to be on a top club by then. Other than that, play a bunch of sports and focus on athleticism before that.

There is some 'lighter' travel options out there as well. BLC has great instruction but much less commitment and cost than top clubs (at least at the 3rd-5th grade level)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your girl has been playing rec and then in the 8th grade decides to try out for an elite club, they have little chance unless they are some phenom of an athlete. Even then, they won't be playing a lot because they will be so far behind the other girls.

The advantage to doing club early is to develop the skills and get on these elite clubs at an early age. Getting in on an elite club when older is not easy unless your kid is so much better than the incumbent players.

Pretty big difference between a 35 and a 32 or 33. Most coaches will tell you that 6th and 7th grade are most critical years for development. You want to be on a top club by then. Other than that, play a bunch of sports and focus on athleticism before that.

There is some 'lighter' travel options out there as well. BLC has great instruction but much less commitment and cost than top clubs (at least at the 3rd-5th grade level)

You’re not getting on a top team at 6th grade if you haven’t been playing that level for a couple years before that. The girls who have been playing at that level will just be so far beyond you.

Disagree. Last year BLC took a girl who had only played rec before on their 6th grade team. Admittedly, a freaky athlete, but it can happen

Everyone knows there’s the rare exception and it’s not literally impossible. Freaky athlete is gonna be an exception to the rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a booster or anything, but my daughter plays on a decently good 2034 club team, and I think tryouts this year will be a challenge for any newcomers unless they are real standouts. Point being -- always better to get on early.

This, whether it’s building relationship with a coach or getting good in person play from your kid, it’s very very hard to just show up to a good club tryout and get noticed and get taken. Remember, you are essentially taking someone else’s spot, coaches, esp at young ages would rather keep what they have.

[Anonymous]

My DD plays for an elite team in the 7th grade. There's probably a couple of girls that can be replaced on that team. But for a new player to come in there and carve out significant playing time, she is going to have to be something special. That player is certainly not coming from rec.

If your DD wants to make the jump to a club from rec in the 8th grade, it can be done. It just won't be for a top club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a booster or anything, but my daughter plays on a decently good 2034 club team, and I think tryouts this year will be a challenge for any newcomers unless they are real standouts. Point being -- always better to get on early.

This, whether it’s building relationship with a coach or getting good in person play from your kid, it’s very very hard to just show up to a good club tryout and get noticed and get taken. Remember, you are essentially taking someone else’s spot, coaches, esp at young ages would rather keep what they have.

Yes great point. For top clubs at these young ages, of late, there could be 90 girls at the tryout. Getting noticed is HARD, except for the truly exceptional kid who will stand out in the crowd. And if you can’t get noticed, they’ll go with the girls they know they are around as good. If you’re 10%-20% better, that’s not going to shine out in a big and chaotic tryout most likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD plays for an elite team in the 7th grade. There's probably a couple of girls that can be replaced on that team. But for a new player to come in there and carve out significant playing time, she is going to have to be something special. That player is certainly not coming from rec.

If your DD wants to make the jump to a club from rec in the 8th grade, it can be done. It just won't be for a top club.

My daughter's team had this exact thing happen. Plucked a girl they saw playing on a rec team. Good players/athletes are hard not to notice.

[Anonymous]

New boys are taken every year on the boys side. If a kid can run, they will play. Every club coach thinks they can coach up an athlete. Those players are then given good playing time so the coach can justify their expertise in spotting talent. More often than not, the coach is correct. Just bc a kid plays travel in 2nd grade doesn't mean they are any good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD plays for an elite team in the 7th grade. There's probably a couple of girls that can be replaced on that team. But for a new player to come in there and carve out significant playing time, she is going to have to be something special. That player is certainly not coming from rec.

If your DD wants to make the jump to a club from rec in the 8th grade, it can be done. It just won't be for a top club.

My daughter's team had this exact thing happen. Plucked a girl they saw playing on a rec team. Good players/athletes are hard not to notice.

especially true of goalies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD plays for an elite team in the 7th grade. There's probably a couple of girls that can be replaced on that team. But for a new player to come in there and carve out significant playing time, she is going to have to be something special. That player is certainly not coming from rec.

If your DD wants to make the jump to a club from rec in the 8th grade, it can be done. It just won't be for a top club.

My daughter's team had this exact thing happen. Plucked a girl they saw playing on a rec team. Good players/athletes are hard not to notice.

especially true of goalies.

Not sure any young goalie is going to look like all that unless they are getting privately trained. It takes time for young goalies to be competent in goal. Maybe 4th grade if they've had a couple of years of goalie-specific training. And then you start to see some pretty good (or at least markedly better) stuff from goalies come 5th/6th grade. I would think you'd only grab from rec if you actually needed a goalie or backup. Otherwise you go with what you have and try to help them improve, at the younger ages.

I'll be curious to see at tryouts this summer what goalies show up and if there's actual competition for the position. I think each team tries to hold 2, right? Have you all seen more than 2 goalies show up for a team tryout in elementary school years? I think the times they are a changing and we will start seeing more goalies at tryouts than slots. That said, there's a barrier to entry for younger kids to try it or come from rec because you have to show up to the tryout with all the goalie gear.