Anonymous wrote:I saw that VLC is having tryouts for 2028 in July. Any idea who the coach is

No clue on the coach. But I will say that having a tryout at Indy and another at GMU is not a horrible idea.

The question would be where would they practice?

I saw that VLC is having tryouts for 2028 in July. Any idea who the coach is

Are ml, no and dce at any of the same tournaments this summer

Anonymous wrote:I think people someone mistake the true advantage Crabs and Hawks have over the DC teams. At the Crabs and Hawks tryouts, they take size and speed over stick skills all day long and that is what wins games - better athletes. Some of that is because of age, but a lot is just they better focus on what wins games. CM at Madlax is good lacrosse coach, but throughout his career has always favored the smaller slicker player. DM at Next Level is better at focusing on athletes and that is why NL has eclipsed ML at most age levels.

DCE Black is filled to the brim with good athletes with pretty high skill level. But it is the handful of great athletes that win games and DCE has very few of those. NL has more so they will likely continue to be the best DC team. Madlax has been forced to import athletes from outside the immediate by the DCE defections, but that might end up being the best thing that happens to Madlax 2028.

I’d look to NL continuing to get stronger through the recruiting years. Madlax will continue to reload with outsiders which will prompt some local players to go back. DCE probably in the hardest position going forward.

Just my two cents.

I agree completely agree with this assessment, but would also add that, in my experience, Crabs/Hawks/MIAA-A players tend to put in a lot more work outside of practice. Once in middle school, basic skills and athleticism become the purview of the player, not a club team/coach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My bet is the teams are pretty much locked for the 28 class. Dce NL and to a lesser extent ml are all over subscribed. If VLC does restart a team it will be filled with bench players from those teams. I predict that DMV recruitming season will be filled with a lot of dissatisfaction.

You would probably lose that bet. you are right that the NL, ML, and DCE A teams are over-subscribed in terms of numbers, and each program has a B team too too, but all three teams would gladly add players who are more athletic than the incumbents at each position. they all could use at least one more good fogo, and all could use a dominant attackman and O-middie who can consistently score points. DCE could use help at the defensive end. Plus, on all three teams (NL less so than the other two) there is a revolving door of players on the bottom third of the roster, chasing playing time. Teams are happy to let these players go, especially if they are complaining about playing time, but at the same time, other programs are happy ($$) to pick them up. If VLC restarts, there will definitely be movement, and it won't necessarily be bench players. but bench players or not, each time a team loses a player, it will want to backfill its rosters with good players. given the discontent in this class, I envision a good amount of movement at tryouts this summer, and in the future.

I am not disagreeing with this.... I wish I could though...

Anonymous wrote:My bet is the teams are pretty much locked for the 28 class. Dce NL and to a lesser extent ml are all over subscribed. If VLC does restart a team it will be filled with bench players from those teams. I predict that DMV recruitming season will be filled with a lot of dissatisfaction.

You would probably lose that bet. you are right that the NL, ML, and DCE A teams are over-subscribed in terms of numbers, and each program has a B team too too, but all three teams would gladly add players who are more athletic than the incumbents at each position. they all could use at least one more good fogo, and all could use a dominant attackman and O-middie who can consistently score points. DCE could use help at the defensive end. Plus, on all three teams (NL less so than the other two) there is a revolving door of players on the bottom third of the roster, chasing playing time. Teams are happy to let these players go, especially if they are complaining about playing time, but at the same time, other programs are happy ($$) to pick them up. If VLC restarts, there will definitely be movement, and it won't necessarily be bench players. but bench players or not, each time a team loses a player, it will want to backfill its rosters with good players. given the discontent in this class, I envision a good amount of movement at tryouts this summer, and in the future.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people someone mistake the true advantage Crabs and Hawks have over the DC teams. At the Crabs and Hawks tryouts, they take size and speed over stick skills all day long and that is what wins games - better athletes. Some of that is because of age, but a lot is just they better focus on what wins games. CM at Madlax is good lacrosse coach, but throughout his career has always favored the smaller slicker player. DM at Next Level is better at focusing on athletes and that is why NL has eclipsed ML at most age levels.

DCE Black is filled to the brim with good athletes with pretty high skill level. But it is the handful of great athletes that win games and DCE has very few of those. NL has more so they will likely continue to be the best DC team. Madlax has been forced to import athletes from outside the immediate by the DCE defections, but that might end up being the best thing that happens to Madlax 2028.

I’d look to NL continuing to get stronger through the recruiting years. Madlax will continue to reload with outsiders which will prompt some local players to go back. DCE probably in the hardest position going forward.

Just my two cents.

these are very good observations.

I am very curious if VLC will try to make a comeback or if people will look at True. But I agree with the above post also.

My bet is the teams are pretty much locked for the 28 class. Dce NL and to a lesser extent ml are all over subscribed. If VLC does restart a team it will be filled with bench players from those teams. I predict that DMV recruitming season will be filled with a lot of dissatisfaction.

Anonymous wrote:I think people someone mistake the true advantage Crabs and Hawks have over the DC teams. At the Crabs and Hawks tryouts, they take size and speed over stick skills all day long and that is what wins games - better athletes. Some of that is because of age, but a lot is just they better focus on what wins games. CM at Madlax is good lacrosse coach, but throughout his career has always favored the smaller slicker player. DM at Next Level is better at focusing on athletes and that is why NL has eclipsed ML at most age levels.

DCE Black is filled to the brim with good athletes with pretty high skill level. But it is the handful of great athletes that win games and DCE has very few of those. NL has more so they will likely continue to be the best DC team. Madlax has been forced to import athletes from outside the immediate by the DCE defections, but that might end up being the best thing that happens to Madlax 2028.

I’d look to NL continuing to get stronger through the recruiting years. Madlax will continue to reload with outsiders which will prompt some local players to go back. DCE probably in the hardest position going forward.

Just my two cents.

these are very good observations.

I think people someone mistake the true advantage Crabs and Hawks have over the DC teams. At the Crabs and Hawks tryouts, they take size and speed over stick skills all day long and that is what wins games - better athletes. Some of that is because of age, but a lot is just they better focus on what wins games. CM at Madlax is good lacrosse coach, but throughout his career has always favored the smaller slicker player. DM at Next Level is better at focusing on athletes and that is why NL has eclipsed ML at most age levels.

DCE Black is filled to the brim with good athletes with pretty high skill level. But it is the handful of great athletes that win games and DCE has very few of those. NL has more so they will likely continue to be the best DC team. Madlax has been forced to import athletes from outside the immediate by the DCE defections, but that might end up being the best thing that happens to Madlax 2028.

I’d look to NL continuing to get stronger through the recruiting years. Madlax will continue to reload with outsiders which will prompt some local players to go back. DCE probably in the hardest position going forward.

Just my two cents.

Anonymous wrote:With the close game between DCE and ML and the fact that NL made the 4 seed in the HOCO playoff I think we can conclude that the DMV club lacrosse scene is average at best. Which is strange as these clubs were highly competitive throughout. I s this a function of holdbacks on the part of other clubs

I think the problem with DCE, ML, and NL is that the kids hop around too much and do not connect as well as Crabs and Hawks. You can also blame the coaching, since a lot of the coaches are from HS and should know how to make their teams work. When the kids get into HS, hold backs will not matter.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Crabs were #1 HOC0 team and have many 2027s who stayed down for a better shot of playing varsity in MIAA before their junior year. Hawks and FCA are in same boat. DCE, Madlax, and NextLevel all have holdbacks too, but not nearly same extent. The 28 HOCO class is not considered strong. Not a single HOCO Elite player is tabbed to start for an MIAA team, even with the holdbacks.

Crabs families deny that they have holdbacks. Over on BOTC there is a post this morning saying that Crabs 2028 have only two holdbacks, who are both 14 year olds who will turn 15 this summer. I have no idea whether that is true, and I have no way to verify because I am from the DMV and don't know any of the kids or families. But I do know a lot of ML, NL, and DCE players well enough to know their birthdays, and I know that those teams have a large number of 14 year olds who will be turning 15 either this spring or summer. A conservative estimate is that 25% of the NL/ML/DCE players fall into that category, and I would not be surprised if it is closer to 50%.
My point? I don't think that the lack of holdbacks is the reason for the disappointing performance of the three DC teams relative to Crabs, FCA, and Hawks, and relative to the strong national teams. The good Long Island teams are well known to have no holdbacks, and would blow the doors off NL, ML, and DCE right now. Part of the problem with the three local teams is coaching. all three teams have experienced coaches who are very good in some respects, but all three of their coaches have glaring flaws are very well known, and were reflected in their teams performance this spring. The other issue is that there is simply not enough elite talent in the 2028 class to stock three teams. and if VLC does get a team off the ground and siphons the VA players, the talent will be diluted even further. that's my take, FWIW.

Yes. Crabs were #1 HOC0 team and have many 2027s who stayed down for a better shot of playing varsity in MIAA before their junior year. Hawks and FCA are in same boat. DCE, Madlax, and NextLevel all have holdbacks too, but not nearly same extent. The 28 HOCO class is not considered strong. Not a single HOCO Elite player is tabbed to start for an MIAA team, even with the holdbacks.

With the close game between DCE and ML and the fact that NL made the 4 seed in the HOCO playoff I think we can conclude that the DMV club lacrosse scene is average at best. Which is strange as these clubs were highly competitive throughout. I s this a function of holdbacks on the part of other clubs

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I get what you’re saying, but we’re not making these huge investments in time and money for pure enjoyment. Of course you want your kids to be happy but to waste the huge amount of time that goes into travel lacrosse There needs to be more of an upside than just fun.

No, you're investing for your kid to develop and compete to the best of his ability. If that happens to mean D1, great. If not, he'll hopefully be more functional as an adult having learned lessons of the lacrosse fields. Good grief, just because you didn't get into Harvard, it doesn't mean your life is over.

As for OP, find the best club that will take him. If he has the stuff, they will find him. Some kids (like Connor Shellenberger) have the stuff at fifth grade. Others are "late bloomers," so he should stick with it. Indeed, one of the best lacrosse players in the past 20 years was a late bloomer, and judging by his brother's college basketball career, I am starting to think it runs in the family.

I cannot emphasize enough how much the athleticism (read: speed) matters. You can't coach speed, so don't worry about that part for your boy. In the interim, let him enjoy competing and support him by cheering him on.

That’s not my understanding of club lacrosse. I don’t think club lax - especially in hs - develops the player. Some more games might help but development really comes from practice in HS and private work outs. IMHO clubs in HS are for one thing - exposure