MadLax vs BLC club younger years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Madlax is not without its faults, but it has a good development model and a long track record of success. Some years are more successful than others but the floor for success with Madlax is still really high.

BLC on the other hand used to be a very well run organization especially at the younger levels. However, it appears that the organization has fallen on hard times and is nowhere near what it used to be.

As someone else mentioned above Next Level is probably the best club program in the area at this point, but it really comes down to convenience in my opinion. If you live in Maryland or DC go to Next Level as first choice if your kid can make it. If you live in Virginia, go the Madlax route.

I would agree with this up until a point. It is certainly grade by grade based and If you look at both programs, you can see where most of the kids started and where they ended up. The trajectory has always been one develops and the other reaps the rewards once individuals are fed up with their situation. If you look grade by grade, you can see the different crossover points from BLC to NL and NL to ML and so on. If you have the time and means, go where your kid enjoys it and where they’re getting the best coaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Between the two choices here, it’s a pretty obvious choice considering the history of the clubs. Is it not??

How old is the kid and where do you live?
Inside the beltway - Club Blue and NL
MD side of the beltway - BLC and Team MD
VA side of the beltway - ML and VLC
Under 12 years old - stick with the clinics and try all the clubs and camp specific orgs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO it's so much more nuanced than meaningful minutes or good coaching. Meaningful minutes all while playing bad lacrosse? Not meaningful. And, yes, coaches are definitely important but defining "good coaching" is akin to defining cereal as a soup or whether socks with sandals is acceptable.

I have no idea what you're trying to say here with cereal as soup. Do you just mean that it's hard to define good coaching? If so then you could just write that without weird, tortured analogies, but I think you'd still be wrong. A good coach is one who is organized, clear with expectations, and focused on long-term development.

Having had multiple kids go through the club scene with the oldest mow in the thick of college recruiting I can emphatically say it’s not that black and white, it never is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between the two choices here, it’s a pretty obvious choice considering the history of the clubs. Is it not??

How old is the kid and where do you live?
Inside the beltway - Club Blue and NL
MD side of the beltway - BLC and Team MD
VA side of the beltway - ML and VLC
Under 12 years old - stick with the clinics and try all the clubs and camp specific orgs

Would not recommend VLC at all. Ask parents who have been there. They will give you the honest truth on it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO it's so much more nuanced than meaningful minutes or good coaching. Meaningful minutes all while playing bad lacrosse? Not meaningful. And, yes, coaches are definitely important but defining "good coaching" is akin to defining cereal as a soup or whether socks with sandals is acceptable.

I have no idea what you're trying to say here with cereal as soup. Do you just mean that it's hard to define good coaching? If so then you could just write that without weird, tortured analogies, but I think you'd still be wrong. A good coach is one who is organized, clear with expectations, and focused on long-term development.

I think he's trying to cram in a joke he heard somewhere else that maybe was funny in its original context but isn't here, and doesn't really make sense in this context.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO it's so much more nuanced than meaningful minutes or good coaching. Meaningful minutes all while playing bad lacrosse? Not meaningful. And, yes, coaches are definitely important but defining "good coaching" is akin to defining cereal as a soup or whether socks with sandals is acceptable.

I have no idea what you're trying to say here with cereal as soup. Do you just mean that it's hard to define good coaching? If so then you could just write that without weird, tortured analogies, but I think you'd still be wrong. A good coach is one who is organized, clear with expectations, and focused on long-term development.

Having had multiple kids go through the club scene with the oldest mow in the thick of college recruiting I can emphatically say it’s not that black and white, it never is.

Or course it's not, no one ever said it was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IMO the experience will depend heavily on the coach/coaches and other parents/players on the team, probably more that than on what helmet they wear. You see this all the time where a program will have a great 2029 team and a terrible 2030 team or vice versa.

I would try to figure out who will be coaching each team and see if you vibe with them. (And accept that the entire team will probably move or fall apart at some point between now and 9th grade.)

+1

[Anonymous]

Why is the Virginia side of the river so light on clubs during the early years? Is it just that the sport is not as big there? You have Madlax, but they bring in kids from all over the DMV. VLC starts having clubs a year later but seems to draw more from deeper into Fairfax County and on into Loudon. True seems mostly super disorganized with the occasional solid team here or there from a parent that pulled a group from a bigger club. Why isn't Top Caliber more of a thing? Is TSJ even trying any more?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get them on the best team they can play meaningful minutes. That might be an elite team, it might not. Being on elite teams and not playing is not good and it happens a lot.

This is the best advice. Real development happens outside of club practice via private coaching and skill practice at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is the Virginia side of the river so light on clubs during the early years? Is it just that the sport is not as big there? You have Madlax, but they bring in kids from all over the DMV. VLC starts having clubs a year later but seems to draw more from deeper into Fairfax County and on into Loudon. True seems mostly super disorganized with the occasional solid team here or there from a parent that pulled a group from a bigger club. Why isn't Top Caliber more of a thing? Is TSJ even trying any more?

Lack of field space and players. Soccer is a spring sport for boys in Virginia, where it is normally a Fall sport elsewhere.
It’s also not as big in Virginia overall when compared with MD, NY etc.