lax culture from an insider

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting, and would love to see this be true, but it is not showing up at the U13, U11 or U9 level yet. Breakout has done very poorly in the Bethesda league the past few years and does not even have a team that is competitive enough to be in the NYPLL at any level. They have been at the bottom in that new Fall elite League that plays at Tilden, too. I hope you are right, and they are working on ball skills and game skills but, in my experience with a child who played for Breakout for several sesons, the coaches they hire do not know how to teach the whole game with skills and strategies. Heck, in the youngest age groups the coaches dont even always teach the kids the rules of the game.

You should try Club Blue or Next Level. Both are top notch programs. No disrespect intended for Breakout. I don't know anything about their program.

Avoid Next Level. They will take your money (lots of it) and in return you will get an incredibly disorganized organization, inexperienced coaches who come and go without warning, bloated rosters of well over 20 kids per team (which means a lot of competition for playing time because of course there are only 10 players on the field at a time), "tryouts" where mediocre players don't get cut because their dad knows someone, and nonexistent communication from the coaches.

[Anonymous]

There are tons of misguided posts on this thread, either from parents who do not know the game or simply have a myopic view based on their geographic location. It seems many parents on this thread are from Montgomery County, and their experience is limited to Bethesda, Breakout and/or Next Level.

Here are some insights.

Breakout is run by very good people. Contrary to an earlier posts, their coaches DO know what they are doing. Breakout's issue is that its talent pool is very shallow. It is squeezed by Montgomery County clubs like Next Level and Club Blue, and the Northern Virginia clubs like VLC and Madlax. So most of the kids come from DC and the Chevy Chase areas - not a great feeder area. So it is the small talent pool, not the coaches, that prevents Breakout from being competitive with the top teams. Their current U15 team, however, is good and competitive with many U15 teams in the area. If your son is new to the game or not a serious advanced player, Breakout is a very good option.

Club Blue is dominated by people affiliated with Mater Dei and Prep, and many of the kids in the program go to those schools. It is a non-profit and the costs are kept very low, so there is a lot of bang for your buck. But if your son is not going to MD or, eventually, Prep, you or your son may not feel part of the "crowd". Everyone knows here knows the stereotype of the "Catholic Mafia" when it comes to sports, and CB parents definitely uphold that stereotype. There is also no HS option for CB kids - they either play for different clubs or just for Prep's summer teams.

Next Level is a for profit business, so their costs are among the highest in the area. Some of their teams are good, some are terrible - it just depends on the year. The coaching can also be suspect. Their HS program is marginal.

VLC was started by people dissatisfied with Madlax's coaching and costs. All of their HS teams are excellent. Their current youth teams range from ok to very good. They were purchased by the Baltimore Crabs last year, and I have heard the integration has been paying big dividends in terms of visibility and entrance to certain recruiting camps. Expect VLC to get even more talent in their youth teams.

Madlax is the biggest club in the area in terms of numbers. They often have three teams per grade level. The coaching and talent is good. Some grades have very good teams, others are just ok. Most of their B and C teams are not very good. If your child is not on their A team, the experience is almost always underwhelming. It is also very expensive and has a different feel from the non-profit clubs like VLC and Club Blue.

Blackwolf is an invitation-only club that has become very popular. The talent of its now three HS teams is excellent, and they are starting a middle school team.

[Anonymous]

9:17, thanks for taking the time for posting!

This is what I don't get - do all the teams that you mentioned end at U-15? The 3 that you mention where my sons have played all do. So what happens after U-15? Is is all just focused on high school teams?

[Anonymous]

NP here. There are a number of clubs that have HS teams - Crabs, Breakers, Madlax, Zingos, Generals are just a few. From what I understand Blackwolf is in a league by itself because of the high caliber players they select.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9:17, thanks for taking the time for posting!

This is what I don't get - do all the teams that you mentioned end at U-15? The 3 that you mention where my sons have played all do. So what happens after U-15? Is is all just focused on high school teams?

+1 for the excellent description of all the lacrosse clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9:17, thanks for taking the time for posting!

This is what I don't get - do all the teams that you mentioned end at U-15? The 3 that you mention where my sons have played all do. So what happens after U-15? Is is all just focused on high school teams?

9:17 here. Of the clubs I mentioned, Next Level, VLC, Madlax and Blackwolf all have HS teams. Next Level really is about youth lacrosse. They have a combo 11-12th grade team, and a 9-10th grade team. Neither are very good, and NL definitely is focused on U11-U15. They have their own facility in Bethesda, so they do a lot of instructional clinics, etc.

VLC has three excellent HS teams for 9th, 10th and 11th. All are among the best in the country. The sophomore team already has 4 kids committed to Division 1 programs. They are also fielding one combined Select team per grade with the Baltimore Crabs for certain tournaments.

Madlax has teams multiple teams for 9th, 10th and 11th - at least two per grade, and sometimes three. They usually have a good list of college commitments. They also have a Select team that is the best of all their teams that is very good, but it is mostly comprised of juniors and seniors. Like other clubs, they have been on an acquisition path, acquiring the Generals and Chesapeake Rock most recently.

Blackwolf is the sexiest name right now. They won a big recruiting tournament a couple of years ago, and they aggressively poach players from other clubs. The head of the program is not for everyone, but they have had a lot of Division 1 commitments from their teams. Their team has a lot of players from Gonzaga, Prep, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes, as well as VA public school kids.

I forgot to mention Bethesda Lacrosse. Their travel teams are historically pretty bad. The program is comparable to Breakout in terms of being a good program for developing players. But they are a non-profit (I think) and their kids obviously come primarily from Bethesda. But as a travel club, they are not competitive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. There are a number of clubs that have HS teams - Crabs, Breakers, Madlax, Zingos, Generals are just a few. From what I understand Blackwolf is in a league by itself because of the high caliber players they select.

9:17 here again. Blackwolf has a lot of excellent players and is a hot name right now. But they are not in a league by themselves, though they are benefiting from a cycle right now (e.g. lots of kids think they will get recruited if they play for BW, so BW gets a lot of talent, which brings on-field success, which brings recruiting attention, which brings in more kids, etc.)

I did not include the Crabs, Breakers and Zingos because they draw kids from elsewhere in MD. Generals were acquired by Madlax last year.

[Anonymous]

How do kids have time to play for both their HS and clubs? How are time conflicts handled?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do kids have time to play for both their HS and clubs? How are time conflicts handled?

HS Club teams do not practice/play in the spring, so there is no conflict with their HS teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9:17, thanks for taking the time for posting!

This is what I don't get - do all the teams that you mentioned end at U-15? The 3 that you mention where my sons have played all do. So what happens after U-15? Is is all just focused on high school teams?

9:17 here. Of the clubs I mentioned, Next Level, VLC, Madlax and Blackwolf all have HS teams. Next Level really is about youth lacrosse. They have a combo 11-12th grade team, and a 9-10th grade team. Neither are very good, and NL definitely is focused on U11-U15. They have their own facility in Bethesda, so they do a lot of instructional clinics, etc.

VLC has three excellent HS teams for 9th, 10th and 11th. All are among the best in the country. The sophomore team already has 4 kids committed to Division 1 programs. They are also fielding one combined Select team per grade with the Baltimore Crabs for certain tournaments.

Madlax has teams multiple teams for 9th, 10th and 11th - at least two per grade, and sometimes three. They usually have a good list of college commitments. They also have a Select team that is the best of all their teams that is very good, but it is mostly comprised of juniors and seniors. Like other clubs, they have been on an acquisition path, acquiring the Generals and Chesapeake Rock most recently.

Blackwolf is the sexiest name right now. They won a big recruiting tournament a couple of years ago, and they aggressively poach players from other clubs. The head of the program is not for everyone, but they have had a lot of Division 1 commitments from their teams. Their team has a lot of players from Gonzaga, Prep, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes, as well as VA public school kids.

I forgot to mention Bethesda Lacrosse. Their travel teams are historically pretty bad. The program is comparable to Breakout in terms of being a good program for developing players. But they are a non-profit (I think) and their kids obviously come primarily from Bethesda. But as a travel club, they are not competitive.

Thanks for all of this helpful information. I'm a single mom who knows nothing about the sport, although my son is crazy about it, and apparently quite good. My son is at a private school, although still in middle school. For the high school club teams you mention, do some schools gravitate towards one team or another. In other words, if you go to Landon or STA, you'll more likely end up at x team, while if at Bullis or Prep, another team?

[Anonymous]

Being good on a rec teams vs being good a club team is a different level.

[Anonymous]

Below is a link to a nice piece written about two Landon Lacrosse brothers... check it out.

http://www.landon.net/page.cfm?p=279&newsid=1183

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9:17, thanks for taking the time for posting!

This is what I don't get - do all the teams that you mentioned end at U-15? The 3 that you mention where my sons have played all do. So what happens after U-15? Is is all just focused on high school teams?

9:17 here. Of the clubs I mentioned, Next Level, VLC, Madlax and Blackwolf all have HS teams. Next Level really is about youth lacrosse. They have a combo 11-12th grade team, and a 9-10th grade team. Neither are very good, and NL definitely is focused on U11-U15. They have their own facility in Bethesda, so they do a lot of instructional clinics, etc.

VLC has three excellent HS teams for 9th, 10th and 11th. All are among the best in the country. The sophomore team already has 4 kids committed to Division 1 programs. They are also fielding one combined Select team per grade with the Baltimore Crabs for certain tournaments.

Madlax has teams multiple teams for 9th, 10th and 11th - at least two per grade, and sometimes three. They usually have a good list of college commitments. They also have a Select team that is the best of all their teams that is very good, but it is mostly comprised of juniors and seniors. Like other clubs, they have been on an acquisition path, acquiring the Generals and Chesapeake Rock most recently.

Blackwolf is the sexiest name right now. They won a big recruiting tournament a couple of years ago, and they aggressively poach players from other clubs. The head of the program is not for everyone, but they have had a lot of Division 1 commitments from their teams. Their team has a lot of players from Gonzaga, Prep, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes, as well as VA public school kids.

I forgot to mention Bethesda Lacrosse. Their travel teams are historically pretty bad. The program is comparable to Breakout in terms of being a good program for developing players. But they are a non-profit (I think) and their kids obviously come primarily from Bethesda. But as a travel club, they are not competitive.

Thanks for all of this helpful information. I'm a single mom who knows nothing about the sport, although my son is crazy about it, and apparently quite good. My son is at a private school, although still in middle school. For the high school club teams you mention, do some schools gravitate towards one team or another. In other words, if you go to Landon or STA, you'll more likely end up at x team, while if at Bullis or Prep, another team?

9:17 here, the one who posted the write-ups of different clubs.

The answer is yes/no. For some clubs, they may (depending on the year) have a higher concentration of kids of a particular school, so they may get some younger kids who are going to attend that school. The biggest draw would be if a club has a COACH from a particular school associated with their club, which would obviously attract some kids who attend/will attend that school.

You asked about HS, but the closest situation would be at the youth level with Club Blue. Historically, nearly all of those kids would be attending Mater Dei and, eventually, Prep. But CB is getting more non-MD kids and obviously a lot of MD kids are now opting for Gonzaga.

But for the most part, there are not clubs with HS teams that draw almost exclusively from one HS. You may see bigger numbers in certain teams, but it varies from grade to grade.

[Anonymous]

At the youth level, most families who have aspirations to send their kids to Prep or Gonzaga or more affiliated with Club Blue. Club Blue was founded 6 years ago as a direct feeder for Georgetown Prep but things have certainly changed now.

Madlax is more affilated with NOVA public school kids from mainly Fairfax, Arlington and even Loundon counties.

Next Level is mainly affilated with MD public school kids, Landon, St. Albans and sometimes Bullis kids. Next Level has a weak high school program but its youth program can be very good depending on the year and coach.

[Anonymous]

Who cares? Why on Earth would people spend so much time and effort on youth lacrosse when there are few, if any, professional options post college. It's not even in the Olympics. Perhaps because they are not good enough athletes to compete in the major sports?