True lacrosse Virginia

[Anonymous]

Lacrosse is still a niche sport but a small community. Not a DC thing but these local clubs are well known by those the matter. The True VA team will either play in Aloha and other local events like Leesburg and Williamsburg or play in top events like NAL and Crabfeast and lose by 20. Same happened to 3D. Of course unless they invest money?? However that does not work as the parents pay not the club. True will pass coaching costs to the parents like all clubs. However clubs do not get better by coaches. That is the myth. They get better by recruiting top players. Just like college teams. MadLax ‘23 was not good so they recruited an entire team. Was that player development? Not for the players of the former team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lacrosse is still a niche sport but a small community. Not a DC thing but these local clubs are well known by those the matter. The True VA team will either play in Aloha and other local events like Leesburg and Williamsburg or play in top events like NAL and Crabfeast and lose by 20. Same happened to 3D. Of course unless they invest money?? However that does not work as the parents pay not the club. True will pass coaching costs to the parents like all clubs. However clubs do not get better by coaches. That is the myth. They get better by recruiting top players. Just like college teams. MadLax ‘23 was not good so they recruited an entire team. Was that player development? Not for the players of the former team.

“Clubs do not get better by coaches.” LMFAO. That is as absurd a comment as it is stupid. Then why have coaches at all?

On the plus side, you may have a future as a players agent

[Anonymous]

It's great to see the sport growing in the area. Love that there's opportunity for youth to play rec, private/public HS, elite travel, more toned travel, etc., and that they can play whether the goal is DI, DIII, community college or just to enjoy where they are right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elite level travel lacrosse in the DC area is a bit like buying a boat. Same with hockey. If your family is worried about the cost, it is not for you. There are several local lacrosse programs that cater to families who are cost conscious and then others (one in particular) whose target customers are families who are not concerned with pricing, just want to be on the best team they possibly can and happy to pay a premium. True likely will competing for market share in the latter category.

Based on their pricing elsewhere you should have used "former".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shes a 2026. Have been in tournaments in STL and PHX this year. Cost is about $2500/year, irrespective of tournament travel. Practices have not stopped but have continually evolved (split into groups of 7, midday outdoor practices, etc.) Some tournaments shifted (sin city cancelled in Dec but moved to Mesa AZ in Jan). Good communication good teambuilding, in general.

Previous Poster here.
Thank you! Very helpful and constructive.
I hope your daughter continues to thrive!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's great to see the sport growing in the area. Love that there's opportunity for youth to play rec, private/public HS, elite travel, more toned travel, etc., and that they can play whether the goal is DI, DIII, community college or just to enjoy where they are right now.

This is kinda true, but my kid goes to a private school with a growing lacrosse program (HS) that can't seem to side step Covid.

He's been asked to quarantine 3 times due to exposures at school (and has missed team workouts. Also, like, math class) while sibling has not had to. He has antibodies, but to be fair, has to stay out and miss team building events.
I worry he won't be able to play this year at all, if this keeps up.

I respect the due diligence, but there are not a ton of opps. We'd switch to public, but they can't play either, can they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lacrosse is still a niche sport but a small community. Not a DC thing but these local clubs are well known by those the matter. The True VA team will either play in Aloha and other local events like Leesburg and Williamsburg or play in top events like NAL and Crabfeast and lose by 20. Same happened to 3D. Of course unless they invest money?? However that does not work as the parents pay not the club. True will pass coaching costs to the parents like all clubs. However clubs do not get better by coaches. That is the myth. They get better by recruiting top players. Just like college teams. MadLax ‘23 was not good so they recruited an entire team. Was that player development? Not for the players of the former team.

You make some valid points here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well said, but it is hard to tell if a franchise of a national program seeking profits in a saturated market is part of the solution, or the problem.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Wow I cannot believe a long established and top elite club in the area like. NOVA select would sell to a large national chain. I guess the are now the top team in the area.

I wouldn't describe NOVA as long standing or elite. The four local clubs that I would describe that way are VLC, NextLevel, BLC (becoming DCE in 8th grade) and MadLax. There is a steady stream of players leaving all four programs, but they tend to go to one of the other three. It is hard to envision the good players going to True.

What? Next Level isn’t elite. VLC is solid, but hardly elite. VLC means nothing outside of DMV. DCE is new and might end up elite of it lasts. Madlax is a nationally known elite club team but there owner is an ahole and hated by all except some Madlax parents. Is there an opening for True lacrosse in Va? Sure, if they commit time and money. The reality is if they hired they best coaches it could work, b/c parents and players will follow. A National name with bad coaches won’t work no matter how many cool uniforms and a fancy website they might have.

I am not sure I follow your point. You can quibble over the definition of elite and call CM names. But any boy in the DC area with aspirations to play on a private high school varsity, or a college varsity, should be in one of those programs. You are not disagreeing with that, are you?

Love how thin skinned the lax bro parents can be when others challenge their DMV world view. The points are simple. First point: Madlax is an elite club compared to the others because it’s a known name everywhere you play lax in America. The others? No. Sorry if it hurts your country club feelings. Second point: True Lacrosse could establish itself in Va, but only if it spent the $$ to hire the best coaches in the area. Talented lacrosse coaches are the most important limiting factor, not players - the sport is exploding, in establishing new clubs in every geography, including the DMV. True Lacrosse hired a person with zero name recognition to establish its club in Va, which means he has zero chance. If True lax hired the best 5-6 coaches in the area, they would compete for the best players immediately. Families have zero loyalty to brand. They want their player in the best position to be recruited and the only way that happens for True Lax is if it spends the $$ to hire the best coaches. Otherwise, no chance.

+1 Valid

No idea who these coaches are, and if they are better than the people at my kid's HS.
Even some of the lax dad coaches have a bit of a pedigree.

Time will tell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lacrosse is still a niche sport but a small community. Not a DC thing but these local clubs are well known by those the matter. The True VA team will either play in Aloha and other local events like Leesburg and Williamsburg or play in top events like NAL and Crabfeast and lose by 20. Same happened to 3D. Of course unless they invest money?? However that does not work as the parents pay not the club. True will pass coaching costs to the parents like all clubs. However clubs do not get better by coaches. That is the myth. They get better by recruiting top players. Just like college teams. MadLax ‘23 was not good so they recruited an entire team. Was that player development? Not for the players of the former team.

“Clubs do not get better by coaches.” LMFAO. That is as absurd a comment as it is stupid. Then why have coaches at all?

On the plus side, you may have a future as a players agent

Obviously a team needs a coach. However the coach is only as good as the players they have. Ask a NE Patriots fan. I will offer a theoretical wager. Give True VA a top coach and the random players that show up from Nova Select and similar clubs. They could have the best coach out there and give them a year. How would they do against a UA or Nike All star team that formed just hours before the game? I would bet the hours old team wins by a dozen or more. If you rank the local clubs at 2022-2024 will this team be top 5 locally in any age group?

[Anonymous]

Programs like True, 3D, etc really only tend to work in areas that are not hotspots - both boys and girls.

Occasionally there will be a stud team but that is more of an anomaly and often comes when an established program makes a deal and gets taken over.

[Anonymous]

I would bet the hours old team wins by a dozen or more. If you rank the local clubs at 2022-2024 will this team be top 5 locally in any age group?

I think your auto spell kicked in. Can you re-write this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elite level travel lacrosse in the DC area is a bit like buying a boat. Same with hockey. If your family is worried about the cost, it is not for you. There are several local lacrosse programs that cater to families who are cost conscious and then others (one in particular) whose target customers are families who are not concerned with pricing, just want to be on the best team they possibly can and happy to pay a premium. True likely will competing for market share in the latter category.

Based on their pricing elsewhere you should have used "former".

It is hard to really know the actual cost of a program until after you have been in it for a few years. If you doubt me just ask Madlax families. My guess is that True hopes to take market share from MadLax, more so than from bargain programs like Top Caliber or Cavs. True will have difficulty recruiting Capital players in grade 6 and above to leave MadLax. As a prior poster said, when good players leave Madlax in middle school or HS, they go to VLC , NL, or BLC. But if True plays it smart they can compete with MadLax at the entry level grades (2 to 5) and DMV players. But it is a saturated marketplace and CM is good at stomping out his competitors; we shall see if True catches hold or not. I hope for their sake they have a good business plan and are ok operating at a loss for the first couple of years.

[Anonymous]

Outside of IL and the borrowed Hawks Crabs players on True Atlantic does True have any decent teams?

[Anonymous]

I’m still confused where they think they’ll get 2025 and 2026 kids from mid year? So many clubs have full year commitments. I just saw VEL is also holding tryouts in February.