Correct on the schools, wrong on the fields. There is a severe lack of year round fields in moco bc the libs think synthetic fields kill people. The grass fields that exist and are playable due to lack of care and dog feces are few and far between and shut down in November thru february. Then there is the cost being higher than other areas. The impediments to entry in and around the beltway are really large. It is also showing in the regions performance against others. The dmv is behind other areas on the field in lacrosse and has been on the decline for a number of years. Covid masked it for awhile but it's hard to deny now. |
Personally I am rooting for VLC to announce a good coach to show they are serious about this age group. My son is on one of the three "good" teams and our family thinks it is a sh$t show, as do many others, and we are talking about players on the top half of the roster. I have heard the same from one of the other good teams too. I don't care that VLC royally screwed up their 2028 team a year or two ago, and I get that those families are never coming back. But if VLC took a mulligan and announced a marquee 2028 head coach, they would get a lot of good players pretty fast. |
Absolutely agree. If true or VLC steps up we will take a good look at jumping. -Dad of starter on big three |
When you post X is in top 10 or whatever. You should put a link so we can see how said list is complied. Also how many more people live in MOCO than HOCO |
I am also going to agree and hope that someone from VLC or True does something. But I also hope the ML, NL, and DCE are hearing that families are getting frustrated. -Another Dad of Starter on big three |
Why would starters leave though? I could understand bottom half. |
VLC's biggest issue is their practice locations.
They try to appease their former Cavs / Loudoun county families by forcing their teams to have one of their weekly practices at VA Revolution, which has Leesburg as a address but might as well be in West Virginia. It's hard to find enough good players players who are able to do once a week at Mason and once a week all the way out there. They need to decide if their are a Loudoun County based program or not, because splitting between the two prevents them from excelling in either. |
That’s why they are a 2nd tier club. You can’t split the baby. |
Why would a starter leave to go to a lesser club? |
Three reasons: 1. Coaching at the majors is clearly lacking as as evidenced by HOCO performance. 2. Even for kids who are starting - the large numbers of players make the team and sidelines angry and uncomfortable. I am a dad of a starter and it’s no fun to stand next to a dad who hasn’t seen his son play a minute of time. Remember this is a major investment of time for both player and parent alike and it’s no fun to make conversation with a family that is clearly getting screwed. 3. No reasonable assurance of recruiting help - with a cast of thousands how likely is it that CM DM or who ever is coaching DCE is going to use his best efforts to get my son recuited? And before you say coaches don’t have anything to do with recruiting let me ask you a question- what am I paying for? |
Just eating the popcorn and hear for the comments as I have a kid currently playing in college. Here are some answers to your question 3 1. If your age group is still playing in the HOCO league you don't need to worry about recruiting yet. The rosters and skill levels will completely change between now and HS. While many of the same kids will get recruited how they did in HOCO will not matter one bit. Your son will be seen a club tournaments playing v teams from TX and CA where the teams were formed months before the event and some of those teams are capable of beating a "Elite" team. 2. Your son is the one who gets himself recruited not the club or the coach. It is the play on the field that counts. If the play is at a high D1 level and most important the grades are there, they will be calling. 3. What are you paying for? Access to the tournament. There are only a few events that matter. NHSLS (if a good HS), Crabfeast, NLF, Naptown ect. This year the 2026 brackets will have dozens of high level coaches on the sidelines with clip boards. They also have film. they want to see if your son can complete with players they are also looking to recruit and the competition is recruiting. I know you may ask why can't my son just attend a prospect day and train on his own. Every coach will ask you to send your summer schedule and if you are not on a team playing these events it is a red flag. Look at classes of 2024 and 2025 all the top players play in the NLF events. As far as worrying about the dad next to you and his "money spent." For many lax dads the cost of travel is less than the monthly bar tab at the club. If it is too expensive for any family do not do it. If you are judging the coaching at the club by HOCO performance then you will be really surprised when WCS shows up with 50 kids and a college kid coach who they met in the parking lot. Especially when 3/4 of those kids get recruited. Not to mention those families sometimes fly to practices. Good luck and do not over think it. |
“Because True can't find reliable and stable employees in the area given the high cost of living and doing business. “ What are you referring to? Clearly you have zero experience with the program. It’s not perfect but they have all paid coaches who have been with the teams for multiple seasons. You could argue they are stretched thin during spring bc most if not all coach at area high schools as well. I don’t think you’d be disappointed to move to the program at the 28 level however. |
National teams - not MadLax Nationals - are really where all of this is headed. The clubs are a scam. No other way to put it. |
The worst of the DC area clubs is DC Express. No recruiting support, and what little there is is skewed to Bullis and Prep. $5,000 per year so little Johnny can play lets pretend lax is just stupid but that's all DC Express does and their parent co-owner(s) are the worst. Full snow plow for their kids at the expense of the rest of the team. |
It's you who sounds like a newcomer. True tried and had teams in DC, Moco and VA near the beltway. They were trying to throw clinics and build something. Unfortunately, due to high turnover and lack of real organization, all of that went away. They are no longer in the immediate dmv area. Because they aren't in the immediate dmv area, there are fewer choices and kids are stuck on 25-30 pp rosters at DCE, NL and ML. Just go to their website and look at what they used to offer. They've never taken down the teams but have disabled the links. |