Tell me about Bethesda Lacrosse and Next Level club team programs

[Anonymous]

Would love to know about each, and what differences people think exist

[Anonymous]

There are likely others with more insight, but my impression for the younger teams (e.g., 2/3/4 grade) is that the BLC and NL boys club teams are pretty similar. Both teams have similar practice schedules and play in roughly similar leagues and tournaments. They also play against each other often. I would say that the BLC teams are, on average, somewhat better than the NL teams. However, there is variation year-to-year in that there are individual grade years where one or the other is stronger, so it's hard to make a generalization that would be true for all grade years. NL practices at Landon and WES fields, so it's probably more convenient for someone who lives closer in Bethesda and Chevy Chase or is in DC. I think BLC practices tend to be slightly further out in Bethesda and in Potomac, but not sure. Coaching is fairly comparable though that also depends year-to-year since a specific NL or BLC team might have a particularly good coach. The brothers that run NL are both very nice guys and I think especially good with the younger kids. Overall, my sense is that for the younger levels, people default to the club team with the rec league they started. So if you start in the Bethesda rec league you're more likely to play BLC and if you start in the NL rec league you're more likely to play for an NL club team. BLC probably has more kids from private and public schools slightly further out in MoCo. NL tends to draw from some of the DC privates and the close-in Bethesda public and private schools, at least for the youngest teams.

There are different considerations for the older teams, but others would probably be able to better speak to those.

[Anonymous]

Competitiveness for a given grade level depends on grade level.

NL is all professionally coached. BLC is dad coached, though coaches are very good.

NL more private school and inside beltway Bethesda and Chevy Chase focused. BLC more public school and outside beltway and Potomac/Rockville focused.

NL has indoor facility off River Road near the McDonalds.
Bethesda uses a facility in Gaithersburg.

[Anonymous]

BLC does not have a high school level. The boys must try out for other clubs after 8th grade. DC Express was formed to address that shortcoming but it is much more competitive than NL and has recruitment coordinators on staff and a performance facility in Rockville. It is run by the Bullis lacrosse coaches.

[Anonymous]

Is it the sense of others that BLC is getting much stronger over the last couple of years compared with the traditionally strong clubs, e.g., Madlax,etc. If so, what is driving the change? Also is the perception that NL is getting better over the last couple years, but less so than BLC also accurate?

[Anonymous]

BLC has tons of kids trying out each year - like double the amount that they can take. Very popular program. Some dads coach, but certainly not all and some teams have professional coaches. BLC has now partnered with DC Express and the 7th grade Bethesda club team feeds into DC Express in 8th grade. Tryouts every year, so you have to prove yourself and nothing is guaranteed. Great program and adding the 8th-high school teams with DC Express has changed the game for them.

[Anonymous]

"Professionally coached" does not mean "coached well". I agree with poster saying at the younger levels (and I'm talking 5th grade and under), it's not really a decision to fret over. But I've plenty of personal experience with both clubs, directly and watched a number of families over time, and I think you're in far better hands being in the BLC-to-DCE pipeline than NL. Too many people with talented kids getting the rug pulled out from them in middle school. Wouldn't trust them for a second.
Frankly, the best thing to do is to not think about this in terms of what is conveniently located near you and rather what organizations have caring and competent and reliable staffing at your grade level. That and the costs, as there can be over $1k annual differences between the DC teams and those that might take you an extra 30 min to drive to. I'd make the effort to drive out and find good coaches and that don't have a history of negativity before I blindly went into something near my home.

[Anonymous]

Did you know you were responding to a post from 2017?

[Anonymous]

Still, good advice, so thanks to whoever...

[Anonymous]

I also have a lot of experience with both Clubs. My advice is that each boy is different and all recruiting experiences are unique. I know families that have had great results from both organizations. The bottom line is grades and how well your kid plays summer before junior year. Also important to get a level of transparency about how much playing time your son will receive on the team at his position in that crucial summer.