Reply to Retired Club Parent Observations (Boys)

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[quote=Anonymous]My youngest kid ended his final club season last weekend. All of my kids will end up playing in college (last one being a 26). Fortunately or unfortunately, I have dealt directly with NL, ML, and DCE over the years. Here are my thoughts, mainly talking bout the HS years. Take'em or leave'em.

1. No club is perfect. They are run by average operators and thought leaders, so lower expectations when it comes to dealing with the club leadership.
2. Best result I saw was the Dad coach, who played in college and also knew how good or bad his own son was. Daddy ball is no good; but if they are clear eyed about their kid, this is the best chance. The Dad/coach is on the inside and can influence roster (poaching, recruiting, cuts), schedule, practice location, system and culture. Plus, the Dad cares and really wants for a positive experience for his son and his son's friends. When done right, they win a lot and get kids recruited.
3. Winning matters. The clubs that say it doesn't, don't win. Playoff Sunday games are better, and college coaches migrate to those.
4. Equal play time is only good if the rosters are 24 and under and everyone can play at a pretty high to high level. Anything above 24 is a drain on the team and takes away from winning.
5. Roster inflation is a major issue. In particular w DCE and NL (ML rosters are smaller generally cause the HS aged kid seems to move away from ML and all the CM stuff if they have better options). Clubs are taking the profits with the extra kids, but it hurts the elite player, both in exposure and development, and lowers your team's chance to win. The bottom 4-6 kids on an inflated roster are generally not quite on the level of the other kids, which drives the whole issue. 
6. Follow the goalie and the fogo. If you have elite in either or both, you have a shot. If you don't, you are screwed. If your son is one of those, you have major leverage.
7. If a club has a third middle line, a 6th attack or d-pole and more than 2 d mids and 2 lsm's, it is too many.
8. If your son is one of the above, you should find a club that he is not one of the above, and get more minutes to develop and have fun.
9. The better your son is, the more leverage you have. Get with the other better players and a really good goalie and you can dictate a lot to the club (roster size, schedule, coach)
10. Holding back your son works, or people wouldn't do it. The advantage is goes away once you get to college, but for the recruiting summer year, it is a definite advantage (for the record, none of my boys needed to do it, which I am thankful for). Be honest in evaluation whether your son needs it or not to get recruited. Most hold backs probably wouldn't be going to the schools they are w/o the extra year ie it works. I said most, not all, for all you over sensitive types.
11. Yes it is too expensive, but find me a better way to get mass exposure to college coaches in lacrosse. Sadly, the club owners know this hence they get away being average operators and charging whatever they want.[/quote]

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