Field hockey clubs feedback

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the top teams to consider if you live in McLean VA. Seems like top teams are Warhawk’s and Freedom and we can’t commute that far for practices. Husel and Next Level?

If you read through this thread, you will find people bash pretty much every club. Find a fit for your kid based on your own experience with the team/coach.

My DD did not like her experience with Next Level’s coach. I’ve watched the Husel coach enough to stay away. However, I have friends at both these clubs and they are happy.

DD has had a good experience with Wolves as a guest and at some clinics. She likes Gloria and the other coaches.

I have friends at Freedom and Warhawks and while they are mostly happy they still have their complaints.

All these clubs have sent players to D1 schools. If you want that for your kid, most of them will be able to get her their if she puts in the time and effort. Don’t get hung up on how many times a teams wins, because as someone else said, coaches sent necessarily looking at that.

It really depends what your player is looking for and wants to accomplish. The opportunity for D1 recruitment from Next Level or Husel, or even Wolves, does not come close to that of Freedom or Warhawks. Freedoms is hands down the top team in the area--truly, it's not a question--and I do not have a Freedom player. But it is quite a commute and not worth it if your DD is not strong enough to play on the top outdoor team. Gloria at Wolves is a great coach. Unfortunately, it's true that they just aren't as strong as they once were. Currently Next Level seems to have a pretty strong U16 team, so if DD is a freshman or sophomore and has skills, she may want to look there. Welma is a very knowledgeable coach and excels at building players' skills. She makes some decisions that don't always make sense regarding who she plays on what teams, but she's nice, positive, and, as I said, extremely good. From McLean, that would be my suggestion. It's true that this NoVa Extreme club keeps popping up. But honestly, I have been in field hockey around here for many years and had never heard of them until very recently.

These last 2 sentences are a good example of someone gaslighting a successful club that is from the DMV (specifically Northern Virginia.) There are zero negative posts about Xtreme (unlike Husel, Metro, Next Level, Wolves, etc.) and they clearly are on the rise yet the poster who is from around here claims they haven’t heard of them until recently so they must not be worthy of your consideration. Obviously you are a Freedom parent and your entire post before this mention has now been completely negated.

Truly, not a Freedom parent. I did put three kids through two of the clubs in your parentheses over the years. Someone asked, so I offered experience. On virtually every other topic on this forum, that's what happens. Take it or leave it, but please stop bashing every person who comes on here providing an opinion and sharing their experiences. You should learn what gaslighting means and hopefully you're not using it so incorrectly IRL. What I was doing, was making a point of fact that in all my years as a parent with players in DMV field hockey, I had not heard of that team. I'm sorry if that's offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like Winter Escape wasn’t a good showing for the Wolves. Didn’t win one game. Warhawks, Shorebyrds, Alpha, Hymax did well or decent.

Don’t know what’s happening with the Wolves. Some say the intensity isn’t there anymore in practices and commitment is lacking from the players and some say the coaching is inconsistent. They use to be strong but these past couple of years they have been falling to a mid tier team. It’s disappointing to see this trend. Hope they can get back to being a strong team in the area once again.

Warhawks continue to be a strong team. Hear their coaching is stellar. Alpha seems to be hit or miss depending on team assigned.

To be fair, they (like most teams) probably sent those kids who are not committed. That's kind of the point of this event. There were not a ton of local teams even there. Even WC only sent 1 team (I think) and their top, top players were not on it.

This. It is not a competitive event. The strong teams all wait and go to Sunshine Showcase. It's usually for uncommitted players who just want another opportunity to play and get in front of a few coaches. Not a great recruiting opportunity. One that I think the top coaches use to get first looks at younger players, while Disney gets much more serious.

WAY more coaches go to WE than Disney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like Winter Escape wasn’t a good showing for the Wolves. Didn’t win one game. Warhawks, Shorebyrds, Alpha, Hymax did well or decent.

Don’t know what’s happening with the Wolves. Some say the intensity isn’t there anymore in practices and commitment is lacking from the players and some say the coaching is inconsistent. They use to be strong but these past couple of years they have been falling to a mid tier team. It’s disappointing to see this trend. Hope they can get back to being a strong team in the area once again.

Warhawks continue to be a strong team. Hear their coaching is stellar. Alpha seems to be hit or miss depending on team assigned.

To be fair, they (like most teams) probably sent those kids who are not committed. That's kind of the point of this event. There were not a ton of local teams even there. Even WC only sent 1 team (I think) and their top, top players were not on it.

This. It is not a competitive event. The strong teams all wait and go to Sunshine Showcase. It's usually for uncommitted players who just want another opportunity to play and get in front of a few coaches. Not a great recruiting opportunity. One that I think the top coaches use to get first looks at younger players, while Disney gets much more serious.

^^^ “Not a great recruiting opportunity.” WRONG. Over 175 coaches at Winter Escape. Do you think that many coaches go to Florida in January to get a tan?! They are there to recruit. Just because your DD’s club team didn’t go to Winter Escape doesn’t mean it’s not a legitimate recruiting event. Please keep your negative opinions to yourself in the future.

+2. It's timed with the NFHCA conference, as well. So coaches stay after to recruit. And more go there than schlep to Disney i a few weeks (we've done both).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like Winter Escape wasn’t a good showing for the Wolves. Didn’t win one game. Warhawks, Shorebyrds, Alpha, Hymax did well or decent.

Don’t know what’s happening with the Wolves. Some say the intensity isn’t there anymore in practices and commitment is lacking from the players and some say the coaching is inconsistent. They use to be strong but these past couple of years they have been falling to a mid tier team. It’s disappointing to see this trend. Hope they can get back to being a strong team in the area once again.

Warhawks continue to be a strong team. Hear their coaching is stellar. Alpha seems to be hit or miss depending on team assigned.

To be fair, they (like most teams) probably sent those kids who are not committed. That's kind of the point of this event. There were not a ton of local teams even there. Even WC only sent 1 team (I think) and their top, top players were not on it.

This. It is not a competitive event. The strong teams all wait and go to Sunshine Showcase. It's usually for uncommitted players who just want another opportunity to play and get in front of a few coaches. Not a great recruiting opportunity. One that I think the top coaches use to get first looks at younger players, while Disney gets much more serious.

WAY more coaches go to WE than Disney.

More desired FH collegiate programs come to the Sunshine showcase. Also, it’s the FH programs that have decent budgets comes to this event. The head coaches show up. Not just the assistants. This tournament is for 10th graders to shine. Coaches gravitate to u16 games. If you are a 10th grader that’s on u19 with a bad birth year, it’s challenging unless your team gets reseeded into a top pool. Last chance to truly make an impression if you are a junior that’s not committed especially for highly sought after D3 programs. Good luck to all the players.

[Anonymous]

Imagine being an outside parent coming to a thread that was about advice for their child to join a field hockey club, which a year later has devolved into parents commenting on players (who are children), making fun of each other for expressing opinions, and some clearly settling personal vendettas against certain clubs, all behind an anonymous keyboard. Meanwhile, coaches and players from all of these clubs continue to try and grow the sport, develop as people and players, and put their heart and soul into creating safe environments and maybe actually have some FUN playing a sport. It’s a sport, after all.

Shame on some of you. You are the reason parents need their own coaching about manners, perspective, and understanding. And if I were that parent coming to get advice about field hockey in the DMV, I’d look at this board and say “maybe I’ll have my kid play a more civilized sport, like kickboxing.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Imagine being an outside parent coming to a thread that was about advice for their child to join a field hockey club, which a year later has devolved into parents commenting on players (who are children), making fun of each other for expressing opinions, and some clearly settling personal vendettas against certain clubs, all behind an anonymous keyboard. Meanwhile, coaches and players from all of these clubs continue to try and grow the sport, develop as people and players, and put their heart and soul into creating safe environments and maybe actually have some FUN playing a sport. It’s a sport, after all.

Shame on some of you. You are the reason parents need their own coaching about manners, perspective, and understanding. And if I were that parent coming to get advice about field hockey in the DMV, I’d look at this board and say “maybe I’ll have my kid play a more civilized sport, like kickboxing.”

It’s a business foremost. Not just a sport. Also if you stick with this sport after a certain age, most want to use it to their advantage to get into a good college. Hence why the claws come out. Not enough recruiting spots at the desired colleges. The game has grown. Clubs have realized it’s a great business money maker and more clubs are propagating or clubs are getting bigger. As with any business, people will provide reviews. These clubs aren’t coaching just from the goodness of their hearts. The club owners are making good money, so are the collegiate coaches running clinics, the owners of the Lineup, the coaches showing up at the lineup, the coaches doing private lessons, USAFH with Nexus and ranking tournaments. Don’t fool yourself thinking it’s for the love of the sport. It’s mostly about the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine being an outside parent coming to a thread that was about advice for their child to join a field hockey club, which a year later has devolved into parents commenting on players (who are children), making fun of each other for expressing opinions, and some clearly settling personal vendettas against certain clubs, all behind an anonymous keyboard. Meanwhile, coaches and players from all of these clubs continue to try and grow the sport, develop as people and players, and put their heart and soul into creating safe environments and maybe actually have some FUN playing a sport. It’s a sport, after all.

Shame on some of you. You are the reason parents need their own coaching about manners, perspective, and understanding. And if I were that parent coming to get advice about field hockey in the DMV, I’d look at this board and say “maybe I’ll have my kid play a more civilized sport, like kickboxing.”

It’s a business foremost. Not just a sport. Also if you stick with this sport after a certain age, most want to use it to their advantage to get into a good college. Hence why the claws come out. Not enough recruiting spots at the desired colleges. The game has grown. Clubs have realized it’s a great business money maker and more clubs are propagating or clubs are getting bigger. As with any business, people will provide reviews. These clubs aren’t coaching just from the goodness of their hearts. The club owners are making good money, so are the collegiate coaches running clinics, the owners of the Lineup, the coaches showing up at the lineup, the coaches doing private lessons, USAFH with Nexus and ranking tournaments. Don’t fool yourself thinking it’s for the love of the sport. It’s mostly about the money.

This. And i do not see the problem with giving your POV on clubs and coaching based on your family’s experience. If it bothers you then feel free to ignore.

[Anonymous]

Looking forward to Disney and club results and how commitments come from that. So many people have said this is the key tournament to see because teams bring their best players. Looking forward to seeing the playing and coaching styles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking forward to Disney and club results and how commitments come from that. So many people have said this is the key tournament to see because teams bring their best players. Looking forward to seeing the playing and coaching styles.

I don’t think any one showcase is necessarily bigger/more important than others when it comes to recruiting. Some events may draw more coaches, but those same coaches are not making a decision based on one tournament. So while it’s good to be seen at a showcase, there are other factors going into it. At any given point, a team will already have some committed players and some not. Unless you are closely following a team, it’s hard to know if a club has its best team on the field. I don’t have time to track all the teams that closely, and I doubt many do. I think the only exception is RCC/NCC and NIT.

Some clubs don’t like the idea of mixing outdoor and indoor in the same season and won’t be at Sunshine Showcase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking forward to Disney and club results and how commitments come from that. So many people have said this is the key tournament to see because teams bring their best players. Looking forward to seeing the playing and coaching styles.

I don’t think any one showcase is necessarily bigger/more important than others when it comes to recruiting. Some events may draw more coaches, but those same coaches are not making a decision based on one tournament. So while it’s good to be seen at a showcase, there are other factors going into it. At any given point, a team will already have some committed players and some not. Unless you are closely following a team, it’s hard to know if a club has its best team on the field. I don’t have time to track all the teams that closely, and I doubt many do. I think the only exception is RCC/NCC and NIT.

Some clubs don’t like the idea of mixing outdoor and indoor in the same season and won’t be at Sunshine Showcase.

All the top teams will be there because it’s a ranking tournament. https://www.usafieldhockey.com/events/2024/january/26/sunshine-showcase/teams

From the DMV: Maryland Legacy, Wolves, Next Level, Warhawks, Empower, Husel, Freedom, Hammers, Koa, H20, Jackals.

Missing from DMV: Alpha, Hymax, Nova Xtreme (all went to Winter Escape)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Imagine being an outside parent coming to a thread that was about advice for their child to join a field hockey club, which a year later has devolved into parents commenting on players (who are children), making fun of each other for expressing opinions, and some clearly settling personal vendettas against certain clubs, all behind an anonymous keyboard. Meanwhile, coaches and players from all of these clubs continue to try and grow the sport, develop as people and players, and put their heart and soul into creating safe environments and maybe actually have some FUN playing a sport. It’s a sport, after all.

Shame on some of you. You are the reason parents need their own coaching about manners, perspective, and understanding. And if I were that parent coming to get advice about field hockey in the DMV, I’d look at this board and say “maybe I’ll have my kid play a more civilized sport, like kickboxing.”

You may want to visit the lacrosse and soccer forums for a dose of perspective. What I see are experienced parents and coaches sharing their opinions and experiences, and one super-sensitive mother getting angry when it doesn't fit her experience. It's okay to share negative experiences one has had with a club. Almost everybody who has done so has done so in a fairly objective manner (except the one who really dislikes Husel). There are informed opinions about showcases being shared that are not negative, but those providing it (I was one--but there are definitely others) have different opinions about them, and that's okay. There's nothing wrong with believing that Sunshine Showcase is a stronger recruiting event than Winter Escape. For the life of me, I cannot understand why people are so angry with that opinion. The opinions and experiences shared here have been fine, it's the disproportionate reactions to them that are making this thread so negative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking forward to Disney and club results and how commitments come from that. So many people have said this is the key tournament to see because teams bring their best players. Looking forward to seeing the playing and coaching styles.

I don’t think any one showcase is necessarily bigger/more important than others when it comes to recruiting. Some events may draw more coaches, but those same coaches are not making a decision based on one tournament. So while it’s good to be seen at a showcase, there are other factors going into it. At any given point, a team will already have some committed players and some not. Unless you are closely following a team, it’s hard to know if a club has its best team on the field. I don’t have time to track all the teams that closely, and I doubt many do. I think the only exception is RCC/NCC and NIT.

Some clubs don’t like the idea of mixing outdoor and indoor in the same season and won’t be at Sunshine Showcase.

All the top teams will be there because it’s a ranking tournament. https://www.usafieldhockey.com/events/2024/january/26/sunshine-showcase/teams

From the DMV: Maryland Legacy, Wolves, Next Level, Warhawks, Empower, Husel, Freedom, Hammers, Koa, H20, Jackals.

Missing from DMV: Alpha, Hymax, Nova Xtreme (all went to Winter Escape)

All the teams go because USAFH events count towards ranking. Furthermore, they're not all sending their "top teams." Some are sending mixed teams (combo of U16/U19) and I say that with personal knowledge, not guessing. Some teams' top players declined to go.

From a recruiting perspective, I have no doubt there is recruiting to be done and coaches in attendance. But, GMAB to those who say this is THE recruiting event of the winter. Lots of recruiting events and opportunities all winter, spring, and summer, via USAFH and other groups. And, having gone to just about all of them, I can say Disney was underwhelming in terms of coach attendance and recruiting. Maybe that will be different this year. But, how teams perform at Disney is not really conclusive to anything.

[Anonymous]

One person’s experience will not be everyone’s experience. This is why it is a good idea to meet the coach’s yourself, have your child attend practices or camps with the clubs you are interested in, watch how the team interacts, watch how the coach is on the sidelines.

I agree there are a few posters on here who seem to have a vandetta, but I just ignore what they say because it doesn’t come across as informative, just crazy.

I have shared my/my daughter’s experience and I have also encouraged people to look beyond this board and to find a fit for their own child. Each kid is different, even within families, and while one coach/club may work for one kid the may not work for another.

Before moving clubs, I had conversations with the clubs we were interested in and asked the questions important to me. You may have different concerns so you may ask different questions and come to a different conclusion about the club/coach. We did not like 2 clubs that overall people on here seem to think well of. So we didn’t pick them. We picked the one that was the best fit for my daughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One person’s experience will not be everyone’s experience. This is why it is a good idea to meet the coach’s yourself, have your child attend practices or camps with the clubs you are interested in, watch how the team interacts, watch how the coach is on the sidelines.

I agree there are a few posters on here who seem to have a vandetta, but I just ignore what they say because it doesn’t come across as informative, just crazy.

I have shared my/my daughter’s experience and I have also encouraged people to look beyond this board and to find a fit for their own child. Each kid is different, even within families, and while one coach/club may work for one kid the may not work for another.

Before moving clubs, I had conversations with the clubs we were interested in and asked the questions important to me. You may have different concerns so you may ask different questions and come to a different conclusion about the club/coach. We did not like 2 clubs that overall people on here seem to think well of. So we didn’t pick them. We picked the one that was the best fit for my daughter.

Yes, you have said all this already.

[Anonymous]

It also seems that posters like to promote the showcases their club may attend (i.e. Disney/Sunshine Showcase) over the one they may not have attended (i.e. Winter Escape) and vice versa. Putting one showcase down over another based on this criteria is silly. The bottom line is getting your DD seen and hopefully playing well in front of the D1, D2 and D3 college coaches in attendance.