Capital Tryouts

[Anonymous]

They are not playing NOT to win. They are playing all of their players on a rotation to be seen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So winning games and club raking don’t matter? Tell that to the other top clubs….

Also tell that to the parents who club hop. Players in the DMV do not have to go out of region to get better or be recruited.

That is from someone defending their club that continually loses to the better Maryland clubs. The DMV clubs, especially during the middle school years are failing at developing talent. Player growth isn't there and it shows. That's why the top DMV players continue to leave Pride and Stars and go to the better Maryland clubs.

It’s surprising how many kids commute from Virginia to play for the Baltimore teams.

Why? Better coaching, schedules and opportunities. If the families want to drive a little more, why the surprise?

MD clubs get the Nova kids who don’t make Capital.

The sport is growing. 180 DC kids tried out for Capital last year. Not all will make it.

Those who don’t will face the decision of going to Pride, Metro or MCE - or fighting rush hour to go to a MD club to try and match the recruiting strength of Capital.

I’ve been around this crazy sport for years and have never heard of a Nova kid who chose a MD club over Capital. I know plenty who didn’t make Capital and joined a MD club as a second choice.

It's not about choosing a Maryland club over Capital, it's more about choosing a Maryland club over the DMV clubs in the middle school years. That is the big issue. If a player moves in 6th or 7th grade, the choice to go to M&D, Heros, Skywalkers etc is more about choosing a new home for the long term, especially development in the MS years. The Capital teams will continue to get weaker with the weaker MS teams/clubs, that is an issue.

Is that why 180 kids tried out for Capital last year?

And of those 180, there's probably 50 worth looking at and maybe 20 that could make MD clubs and that's being nice. Do you really think Capital is better than Heros, M&D, Skywalkers etc for talent? Capital is good and has a strong track record for recent recruiting. However, as stated above, the middle school clubs feeding capital continue to get weaker and weaker.

Your math is off.

If winning was the goal, and Capital coached their teams the way other top teams play, the outcomes would be different. As it stands, 23s beat Hero’s two times last year and came within one last weekend on even rotations. They lost by two to NXT Black (ranked #2) last weekend on even rotations. Facts

Capital seeks to maximize recruits by giving players equal opportunity to showcase their talents. Guarantee your MD club doesn’t do this.

What about the 23 team's losses to M&D, Skywalkers and STEPS? What about those games? If you really think there are 180 girls in the DMV that can make the top Maryland clubs, you obviously don't know how to evaluate talent. You keep mistaking the point that it's all about winning, which is not the argument. The discussion topic is about the Maryland clubs having the top/better talent and developing that top talent. There are too many watered down teams in the DMV.

Man - tough to get thru that skull of yours.

You are the one basing your entire argument on winning-is-better.

Capital has the talent to beat those teams. They're just coached with a focus on maximizing recruits ... because of ... equal ... rotations.

Capital talent development is doing just fine ... Killed it with the 23s!

Newbie here, so please forgive the ignorance. Presumably some of you know who are the very best DMV HS girls players. Do most play for MD teams? Just trying to understand the landscape here.

Most of the top HS players in DMV will play at Capital or stay around DMV clubs. But a small number and growing, maybe 15%, are making the commute to Baltimore-area clubs. Skywalkers and Heros seem to be most popular.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:** And if you are a goalie, draw specialist or low defender, these games are almost entirely meaningless. You aren't getting a D1 offer unless you have played in front of the coach at a camp or his/her prospect days.

Assuming this to be the case and you had a goalie daughter who dreams of D1, what would you be looking for in a club and how would you rank the NoVA and MoCo options (putting aside commute and price)?

What age is she now?

For a goalie, you want to look for 2 things

1) good goalie specific coaching and
2) playing a tough schedule.

Reps matter for a goalie

In terms of NoVa clubs, Stars has good goalie coaching but plays in real weak schedules. Pride plays in the top tourneys.

If she is good enough to make Pride Red, then she should play there. If not, I'd play for Stars and get good private goalie coaching.

Also, it is more of a drive but both of the top AA clubs have very good goalie coaching. Worth a look at Integrity and MDU at the youth level.

Also you should be proactive about be willing to guest play for other teams. Lots of clubs, especially out of state, are often in need of a goalie for tourneys. (especially in november when hockey is going).

Focus needs to be skill development and reps. Like i mentioned, goalie scholarships are earned at showcases and prospect days. Club plays a very low role in recruiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make sure she has a realistic chance of making it. Has she had any exposure to Capital already? Gone to the pre tryout clinics? If you answer no to both, your DD has a slim to none chance. Coming from DDs that have been through this and got guided by the process.

I don't think this is true. The reason is that I know 5 Capital players from my neighorhood and none of them went to any pre tryout clinics or classes. I know their parents well. They all made it and it made sense because they were by far the best players I had ever seen. The kind that just dominated rec. leagues and box leagues. I did know one that did a season of indoor clinics stuff with Gussie, and she was pretty good, but not as good as the others. I think the lessons helped because she did get a lot better, especially after she focused on defense. But when she tried out for Capital, she didn't make it, but they did put her on a priority waitlist.

My sense is the clinics only matter in a few instances: if your kid is on the bubble (so a few kids). Truly stand out talent will make it whether they go to clinics or not. I also wonder if clinics could be detrimental - my guess is they eliminate girls who don’t play well at them.

Clinics only help in that they are a similar format to tryouts so you get a view for the type of drills they run. They also help some girls get honest assessments of where they stack up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So winning games and club raking don’t matter? Tell that to the other top clubs….

Also tell that to the parents who club hop. Players in the DMV do not have to go out of region to get better or be recruited.

That is from someone defending their club that continually loses to the better Maryland clubs. The DMV clubs, especially during the middle school years are failing at developing talent. Player growth isn't there and it shows. That's why the top DMV players continue to leave Pride and Stars and go to the better Maryland clubs.

It’s surprising how many kids commute from Virginia to play for the Baltimore teams.

Why? Better coaching, schedules and opportunities. If the families want to drive a little more, why the surprise?

MD clubs get the Nova kids who don’t make Capital.

The sport is growing. 180 DC kids tried out for Capital last year. Not all will make it.

Those who don’t will face the decision of going to Pride, Metro or MCE - or fighting rush hour to go to a MD club to try and match the recruiting strength of Capital.

I’ve been around this crazy sport for years and have never heard of a Nova kid who chose a MD club over Capital. I know plenty who didn’t make Capital and joined a MD club as a second choice.

It's not about choosing a Maryland club over Capital, it's more about choosing a Maryland club over the DMV clubs in the middle school years. That is the big issue. If a player moves in 6th or 7th grade, the choice to go to M&D, Heros, Skywalkers etc is more about choosing a new home for the long term, especially development in the MS years. The Capital teams will continue to get weaker with the weaker MS teams/clubs, that is an issue.

Is that why 180 kids tried out for Capital last year?

And of those 180, there's probably 50 worth looking at and maybe 20 that could make MD clubs and that's being nice. Do you really think Capital is better than Heros, M&D, Skywalkers etc for talent? Capital is good and has a strong track record for recent recruiting. However, as stated above, the middle school clubs feeding capital continue to get weaker and weaker.

Your math is off.

If winning was the goal, and Capital coached their teams the way other top teams play, the outcomes would be different. As it stands, 23s beat Hero’s two times last year and came within one last weekend on even rotations. They lost by two to NXT Black (ranked #2) last weekend on even rotations. Facts

Capital seeks to maximize recruits by giving players equal opportunity to showcase their talents. Guarantee your MD club doesn’t do this.

What about the 23 team's losses to M&D, Skywalkers and STEPS? What about those games? If you really think there are 180 girls in the DMV that can make the top Maryland clubs, you obviously don't know how to evaluate talent. You keep mistaking the point that it's all about winning, which is not the argument. The discussion topic is about the Maryland clubs having the top/better talent and developing that top talent. There are too many watered down teams in the DMV.

Man - tough to get thru that skull of yours.

You are the one basing your entire argument on winning-is-better.

Capital has the talent to beat those teams. They're just coached with a focus on maximizing recruits ... because of ... equal ... rotations.

Capital talent development is doing just fine ... Killed it with the 23s!

Newbie here, so please forgive the ignorance. Presumably some of you know who are the very best DMV HS girls players. Do most play for MD teams? Just trying to understand the landscape here.

Most of the top HS players in DMV will play at Capital or stay around DMV clubs. But a small number and growing, maybe 15%, are making the commute to Baltimore-area clubs. Skywalkers and Heros seem to be most popular.

That number is growing because more and more kids are playing the sport. It limits the number of open positions at the DMV clubs, which forces more DMV kids to look outside the region to play at a high level. Few DC area kids are going to MD clubs because they want to. They're going there because of the increasing competition at the DMV clubs.

[Anonymous]

The concept of fairly equal playing time during recruiting years absolutely makes sense. I would think that would be fairly standard since the clubs want to tout great recruiting success. And on any top club’s top team the difference in abilities would be minimal so more even playing time might result in a few losses or ties but no blow outs. One thing players and parents forget about are the other things college coaches look for and ask about—coach ability, what type of teammate (girls having sour attitudes for not playing the whole game), team play/lax IQ (not driving and dodging a million ways when you have two open teammates), commitment, resiliency, academics, parents, etc. The girls have to catch their attention but there’s a lot more to getting that offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So winning games and club raking don’t matter? Tell that to the other top clubs….

Also tell that to the parents who club hop. Players in the DMV do not have to go out of region to get better or be recruited.

That is from someone defending their club that continually loses to the better Maryland clubs. The DMV clubs, especially during the middle school years are failing at developing talent. Player growth isn't there and it shows. That's why the top DMV players continue to leave Pride and Stars and go to the better Maryland clubs.

It’s surprising how many kids commute from Virginia to play for the Baltimore teams.

Why? Better coaching, schedules and opportunities. If the families want to drive a little more, why the surprise?

MD clubs get the Nova kids who don’t make Capital.

The sport is growing. 180 DC kids tried out for Capital last year. Not all will make it.

Those who don’t will face the decision of going to Pride, Metro or MCE - or fighting rush hour to go to a MD club to try and match the recruiting strength of Capital.

I’ve been around this crazy sport for years and have never heard of a Nova kid who chose a MD club over Capital. I know plenty who didn’t make Capital and joined a MD club as a second choice.

It's not about choosing a Maryland club over Capital, it's more about choosing a Maryland club over the DMV clubs in the middle school years. That is the big issue. If a player moves in 6th or 7th grade, the choice to go to M&D, Heros, Skywalkers etc is more about choosing a new home for the long term, especially development in the MS years. The Capital teams will continue to get weaker with the weaker MS teams/clubs, that is an issue.

Is that why 180 kids tried out for Capital last year?

And of those 180, there's probably 50 worth looking at and maybe 20 that could make MD clubs and that's being nice. Do you really think Capital is better than Heros, M&D, Skywalkers etc for talent? Capital is good and has a strong track record for recent recruiting. However, as stated above, the middle school clubs feeding capital continue to get weaker and weaker.

Your math is off.

If winning was the goal, and Capital coached their teams the way other top teams play, the outcomes would be different. As it stands, 23s beat Hero’s two times last year and came within one last weekend on even rotations. They lost by two to NXT Black (ranked #2) last weekend on even rotations. Facts

Capital seeks to maximize recruits by giving players equal opportunity to showcase their talents. Guarantee your MD club doesn’t do this.

What about the 23 team's losses to M&D, Skywalkers and STEPS? What about those games? If you really think there are 180 girls in the DMV that can make the top Maryland clubs, you obviously don't know how to evaluate talent. You keep mistaking the point that it's all about winning, which is not the argument. The discussion topic is about the Maryland clubs having the top/better talent and developing that top talent. There are too many watered down teams in the DMV.

Man - tough to get thru that skull of yours.

You are the one basing your entire argument on winning-is-better.

Capital has the talent to beat those teams. They're just coached with a focus on maximizing recruits ... because of ... equal ... rotations.

Capital talent development is doing just fine ... Killed it with the 23s!

Newbie here, so please forgive the ignorance. Presumably some of you know who are the very best DMV HS girls players. Do most play for MD teams? Just trying to understand the landscape here.

Most of the top HS players in DMV will play at Capital or stay around DMV clubs. But a small number and growing, maybe 15%, are making the commute to Baltimore-area clubs. Skywalkers and Heros seem to be most popular.

That number is growing because more and more kids are playing the sport. It limits the number of open positions at the DMV clubs, which forces more DMV kids to look outside the region to play at a high level. Few DC area kids are going to MD clubs because they want to. They're going there because of the increasing competition at the DMV clubs.

NP - this is true but the number is also definitely growing because DMV clubs (MCE in particular) is run horribly. Looks at the Hero's 26 team... how many of those girls played for MCE? M&D, Skywalkers, etc they all have girls from MCE. Would their parents loved to have saved the commute and stayed here? Absolutely. They could not because the club was terrible and coaches refuse to show up or work for JR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The concept of fairly equal playing time during recruiting years absolutely makes sense. I would think that would be fairly standard since the clubs want to tout great recruiting success. And on any top club’s top team the difference in abilities would be minimal so more even playing time might result in a few losses or ties but no blow outs. One thing players and parents forget about are the other things college coaches look for and ask about—coach ability, what type of teammate (girls having sour attitudes for not playing the whole game), team play/lax IQ (not driving and dodging a million ways when you have two open teammates), commitment, resiliency, academics, parents, etc. The girls have to catch their attention but there’s a lot more to getting that offer.

All very true. More rational POV! Too much for the MD fan-dads to handle ... The Capital 23s did really well for all of these reasons. Not sure if this recruiting list is entirely up to date but it was the most recent one posted on a different thread:

Capital ‘23 Blue

- UVA (2)
- Michigan (2)
- Princeton
- Brown
- Harvard
- Columbia
- Northwestern
- Navy
- ECU
- Georgetown
- St. Jo’s (2)
- Colgate
- Hopkins
- VCU
- Richmond
- Pitt

Capital ‘23 Orange:

- Butler
- Elon
- Denison (2)
- Cinci
- Liberty
- Oregon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The concept of fairly equal playing time during recruiting years absolutely makes sense. I would think that would be fairly standard since the clubs want to tout great recruiting success. And on any top club’s top team the difference in abilities would be minimal so more even playing time might result in a few losses or ties but no blow outs. One thing players and parents forget about are the other things college coaches look for and ask about—coach ability, what type of teammate (girls having sour attitudes for not playing the whole game), team play/lax IQ (not driving and dodging a million ways when you have two open teammates), commitment, resiliency, academics, parents, etc. The girls have to catch their attention but there’s a lot more to getting that offer.

All very true. More rational POV! Too much for the MD fan-dads to handle ... The Capital 23s did really well for all of these reasons. Not sure if this recruiting list is entirely up to date but it was the most recent one posted on a different thread:

Capital ‘23 Blue

- UVA (2)
- Michigan (2)
- Princeton
- Brown
- Harvard
- Columbia
- Northwestern
- Navy
- ECU
- Georgetown
- St. Jo’s (2)
- Colgate
- Hopkins
- VCU
- Richmond
- Pitt

Capital ‘23 Orange:

- Butler
- Elon
- Denison (2)
- Cinci
- Liberty
- Oregon

This the list for VA METRO: It seems despite cliams the facts on this thread is that CAP Blue is strong then VA Metro then CAP Orange. The results dont lie

Nora Beck - University of Mary Washington (DIII)

Devon Cherry - University of Cincinnati (DI)

Brooke Frishman - Winthrop University (DI)

Emileigh Goodloe - University of Michigan (DI)

Bailey Gurley - Lafayette University (D1)

Caelan Jones - University of Oregon (DI)

Lizzie Israel - Denison University (DIII)

Sarah Karlinchak - Shenandoah University (DIII)

Emily Krajic - University at Albany (DI)

Katie Mahony - Bryant University (DI)

Kylie O'Donnell - Old Dominion University (D1)

Arianna Rizzo - Shenandoah University (DIII)

Jordan Salisbury - Old Dominion University (D1)

Maura Schroeder - University of Mary Washington (DIII)

Hailey Joy Simpson - University of Cincinnati (D1)

Kaitlyn Sobel - US Merchant Marine Academy (DIII)

Alyeska Yee-Jenkins - James Madison University (D1)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So winning games and club raking don’t matter? Tell that to the other top clubs….

Also tell that to the parents who club hop. Players in the DMV do not have to go out of region to get better or be recruited.

That is from someone defending their club that continually loses to the better Maryland clubs. The DMV clubs, especially during the middle school years are failing at developing talent. Player growth isn't there and it shows. That's why the top DMV players continue to leave Pride and Stars and go to the better Maryland clubs.

It’s surprising how many kids commute from Virginia to play for the Baltimore teams.

Why? Better coaching, schedules and opportunities. If the families want to drive a little more, why the surprise?

MD clubs get the Nova kids who don’t make Capital.

The sport is growing. 180 DC kids tried out for Capital last year. Not all will make it.

Those who don’t will face the decision of going to Pride, Metro or MCE - or fighting rush hour to go to a MD club to try and match the recruiting strength of Capital.

I’ve been around this crazy sport for years and have never heard of a Nova kid who chose a MD club over Capital. I know plenty who didn’t make Capital and joined a MD club as a second choice.

It's not about choosing a Maryland club over Capital, it's more about choosing a Maryland club over the DMV clubs in the middle school years. That is the big issue. If a player moves in 6th or 7th grade, the choice to go to M&D, Heros, Skywalkers etc is more about choosing a new home for the long term, especially development in the MS years. The Capital teams will continue to get weaker with the weaker MS teams/clubs, that is an issue.

Is that why 180 kids tried out for Capital last year?

And of those 180, there's probably 50 worth looking at and maybe 20 that could make MD clubs and that's being nice. Do you really think Capital is better than Heros, M&D, Skywalkers etc for talent? Capital is good and has a strong track record for recent recruiting. However, as stated above, the middle school clubs feeding capital continue to get weaker and weaker.

Your math is off.

If winning was the goal, and Capital coached their teams the way other top teams play, the outcomes would be different. As it stands, 23s beat Hero’s two times last year and came within one last weekend on even rotations. They lost by two to NXT Black (ranked #2) last weekend on even rotations. Facts

Capital seeks to maximize recruits by giving players equal opportunity to showcase their talents. Guarantee your MD club doesn’t do this.

What about the 23 team's losses to M&D, Skywalkers and STEPS? What about those games? If you really think there are 180 girls in the DMV that can make the top Maryland clubs, you obviously don't know how to evaluate talent. You keep mistaking the point that it's all about winning, which is not the argument. The discussion topic is about the Maryland clubs having the top/better talent and developing that top talent. There are too many watered down teams in the DMV.

Man - tough to get thru that skull of yours.

You are the one basing your entire argument on winning-is-better.

Capital has the talent to beat those teams. They're just coached with a focus on maximizing recruits ... because of ... equal ... rotations.

Capital talent development is doing just fine ... Killed it with the 23s!

Newbie here, so please forgive the ignorance. Presumably some of you know who are the very best DMV HS girls players. Do most play for MD teams? Just trying to understand the landscape here.

Most of the top HS players in DMV will play at Capital or stay around DMV clubs. But a small number and growing, maybe 15%, are making the commute to Baltimore-area clubs. Skywalkers and Heros seem to be most popular.

That number is growing because more and more kids are playing the sport. It limits the number of open positions at the DMV clubs, which forces more DMV kids to look outside the region to play at a high level. Few DC area kids are going to MD clubs because they want to. They're going there because of the increasing competition at the DMV clubs.

NP - this is true but the number is also definitely growing because DMV clubs (MCE in particular) is run horribly. Looks at the Hero's 26 team... how many of those girls played for MCE? M&D, Skywalkers, etc they all have girls from MCE. Would their parents loved to have saved the commute and stayed here? Absolutely. They could not because the club was terrible and coaches refuse to show up or work for JR.

There seems to be so much drama surrounding the 2026 year. Feel like girls have moved all over the place (not just from MCE but other teams as well). Very frustrating for parents who couldn’t pull off the long commute or wanted to stay out of drama. I think there is a knee jerk reaction to look for something better if your daughter has talent. But parents need to realize these are young girls who would have been better served if the girls could have stayed together and developed as a team. Hope you get age groups learn from older girls’ mistakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So winning games and club raking don’t matter? Tell that to the other top clubs….

Also tell that to the parents who club hop. Players in the DMV do not have to go out of region to get better or be recruited.

That is from someone defending their club that continually loses to the better Maryland clubs. The DMV clubs, especially during the middle school years are failing at developing talent. Player growth isn't there and it shows. That's why the top DMV players continue to leave Pride and Stars and go to the better Maryland clubs.

It’s surprising how many kids commute from Virginia to play for the Baltimore teams.

Why? Better coaching, schedules and opportunities. If the families want to drive a little more, why the surprise?

MD clubs get the Nova kids who don’t make Capital.

The sport is growing. 180 DC kids tried out for Capital last year. Not all will make it.

Those who don’t will face the decision of going to Pride, Metro or MCE - or fighting rush hour to go to a MD club to try and match the recruiting strength of Capital.

I’ve been around this crazy sport for years and have never heard of a Nova kid who chose a MD club over Capital. I know plenty who didn’t make Capital and joined a MD club as a second choice.

It's not about choosing a Maryland club over Capital, it's more about choosing a Maryland club over the DMV clubs in the middle school years. That is the big issue. If a player moves in 6th or 7th grade, the choice to go to M&D, Heros, Skywalkers etc is more about choosing a new home for the long term, especially development in the MS years. The Capital teams will continue to get weaker with the weaker MS teams/clubs, that is an issue.

Is that why 180 kids tried out for Capital last year?

And of those 180, there's probably 50 worth looking at and maybe 20 that could make MD clubs and that's being nice. Do you really think Capital is better than Heros, M&D, Skywalkers etc for talent? Capital is good and has a strong track record for recent recruiting. However, as stated above, the middle school clubs feeding capital continue to get weaker and weaker.

Your math is off.

If winning was the goal, and Capital coached their teams the way other top teams play, the outcomes would be different. As it stands, 23s beat Hero’s two times last year and came within one last weekend on even rotations. They lost by two to NXT Black (ranked #2) last weekend on even rotations. Facts

Capital seeks to maximize recruits by giving players equal opportunity to showcase their talents. Guarantee your MD club doesn’t do this.

What about the 23 team's losses to M&D, Skywalkers and STEPS? What about those games? If you really think there are 180 girls in the DMV that can make the top Maryland clubs, you obviously don't know how to evaluate talent. You keep mistaking the point that it's all about winning, which is not the argument. The discussion topic is about the Maryland clubs having the top/better talent and developing that top talent. There are too many watered down teams in the DMV.

Man - tough to get thru that skull of yours.

You are the one basing your entire argument on winning-is-better.

Capital has the talent to beat those teams. They're just coached with a focus on maximizing recruits ... because of ... equal ... rotations.

Capital talent development is doing just fine ... Killed it with the 23s!

Newbie here, so please forgive the ignorance. Presumably some of you know who are the very best DMV HS girls players. Do most play for MD teams? Just trying to understand the landscape here.

Most of the top HS players in DMV will play at Capital or stay around DMV clubs. But a small number and growing, maybe 15%, are making the commute to Baltimore-area clubs. Skywalkers and Heros seem to be most popular.

That number is growing because more and more kids are playing the sport. It limits the number of open positions at the DMV clubs, which forces more DMV kids to look outside the region to play at a high level. Few DC area kids are going to MD clubs because they want to. They're going there because of the increasing competition at the DMV clubs.

NP - this is true but the number is also definitely growing because DMV clubs (MCE in particular) is run horribly. Looks at the Hero's 26 team... how many of those girls played for MCE? M&D, Skywalkers, etc they all have girls from MCE. Would their parents loved to have saved the commute and stayed here? Absolutely. They could not because the club was terrible and coaches refuse to show up or work for JR.

There seems to be so much drama surrounding the 2026 year. Feel like girls have moved all over the place (not just from MCE but other teams as well). Very frustrating for parents who couldn’t pull off the long commute or wanted to stay out of drama. I think there is a knee jerk reaction to look for something better if your daughter has talent. But parents need to realize these are young girls who would have been better served if the girls could have stayed together and developed as a team. Hope you get age groups learn from older girls’ mistakes.

I am sure the girls at those top MD clubs think they made a mistake

[Anonymous]

I have a daughter in a Baltimore club. She loves it. She starts, so playing time is about 75/25 or 80/20. It has been a great experience and the level of play has been made for the charts. I’m sure Capitals would have been great too, but she wanted to go to bmore and see what that environment was all about.

The drive stinks, but that was the only downside. Once she started driving, it became her challenge, not ours!

I would recommend it if you can swallow the drive and if your daughter will be in the top 10 of any of those teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The concept of fairly equal playing time during recruiting years absolutely makes sense. I would think that would be fairly standard since the clubs want to tout great recruiting success. And on any top club’s top team the difference in abilities would be minimal so more even playing time might result in a few losses or ties but no blow outs. One thing players and parents forget about are the other things college coaches look for and ask about—coach ability, what type of teammate (girls having sour attitudes for not playing the whole game), team play/lax IQ (not driving and dodging a million ways when you have two open teammates), commitment, resiliency, academics, parents, etc. The girls have to catch their attention but there’s a lot more to getting that offer.

How about in Middle School? My daughter's team has this same policy and it seems to be stifling the better players because there is a large gap between the top and bottom players?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So winning games and club raking don’t matter? Tell that to the other top clubs….

Winning matters. It always matters. Those who don't win, only say it doesn't matter. Having said that, if you win enough to be a top 10 team in your age, that's all you need to do. if the team is 1-2, 2-2 or 0-3 every weekend, that isn't good.

Correct for high school. Incorrect for club / college recruiting.

My daughters Big10 coach would say otherwise. The best teams get the most eyeballs.

This!

[Anonymous]

i’m beginning to think this thread is just the local club directors responding to each other!