Reply to 2026 Private School Boys Lacrosse Commentary, Scores, and Updates

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Club + social media [/quote]

Might as well blame capitalism if you’re blaming club. It’s less effort and more profitable to run a club program than a rec program. I actually agree that club is ruining the game, but I can’t really blame the club operators for doing what they’re doing. Everyone needs to make a living.

I do however take issue with the club operators who forbid their players from playing rec (or “recommend “ that they don’t). This notion that players are going to pick up bad habits playing rec is stupid. Everyone gets better with a stick in their hand more often. Blaming rec for developing bad habits is lazy coaching IMO. 
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Agree that it's a business for the club owners/coaches and they're trying to make money.  Part of the issue is that after they collect the fees, the clubs don't take a consistent approach that's good for the players and the game in the long term. For lots of these clubs the business model includes directors coaching 3 or 4 different age group teams in their program which allows them to save on coaching salaries and keeps more money in their pockets, but the teams that they coach suffer.  Coaches running from place to place don't have the time to invest in any single team.  If you go to a practice in the area there's not a lot of work on the fundamentals or helping the kids understand the game, especially at a young age.  It's warm-up and go straight into 6v6 or 7v7 w/ minimal instruction.  How does a player understand the importance of off ball movement if coaches don't focus on it. If you go to a club's social media (agreed this is part of the issue) and watch a highlight of a goal - most of the time the other players on offense are standing still watching the kid with the ball dodge and score (in part b/c they know he isn't go to pass and in part b/c no one has taught them about moving around w/out the ball).

Lots of these clubs focus so much on winning, including at the 8U 9U, 10U, 11U because they think it's critical for marketing their club which makes them more $$$. In the process, they're failing a portion of their roster / stunting the growth of some players.  It's easy to lean on the 4 or 5 kids who get it and are strong to the detriment of the kids who would benefit from more coaching and game reps. To see 3 - 5 kids on the "A" team for a club not getting on the field for a 9 year old regular season Greater HoCo game is hard to watch.  I don't care if a kid is paying $100 or $3,000 in club fees - coaches, especially for 8 to 11 year olds, have a responsibility to every kid on their team to help them grow their skills and love of the game. Let them play every position to develop their stick skills, field awareness and lacrosse IQ. It's crazy to see a 9-year old FOGO.

To be fair, there's a lot for these clubs/coaches to balance and they're dealing with an interesting customer base.  In this area, people have money to spend, and a good number have high expectations and high opinions of themselves and their kids. Some aren't shy about voicing their opinions and they'll move their kid to a different team at the drop of a hat.  But it seems the players and the game would be better off if these programs/coaches prioritized teaching the game and coaching ALL the players on things that make them better.  There's so much talent at the HS level in this area but so many of the teams play inconsistent lacrosse lacking in fundamentals and to be fair to the HS coaches, it's tough to inherit some of these players are taletned but have been taught/ developed bad habits from years of club ball. [/quote]

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