Like many others have said, every club has it's pros and cons. The most important thing to consider is the coaching staff and the culture they provide for your daughter. Easiest way to find that out is sign up for tryouts and talk to current parents on the team. Hopefully most coaches at this age level aren't promoting playing in college- they are teaching their girls how to compete, be strong and love the sport. However, this is travel so there are usually expectations of commitment and working on stick skills at home.

Re: Directors not living in the area anymore (3d and Pride)- this doesn't necessarily matter if you have an organized structure and solid coaches who know how to manage their teams.

Correction on the "FACTS" above: 3D Mid-Atlantic is half Virginia (Loudoun), and half MD (Frederick)- and they did indeed go undefeated in NGLL B and won the Championship as well. For those in VA looking, map it out. Loudoun is huge, so many of them commute 20-30 minutes even while living in the area. Arlington could be a hike, but if coming from the Fairfax area it isn't bad. There is an open practice on June 16th- link can be found on insta.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion on this thread. He are the facts.

1) All the clubs in the US are ranked. For VA the list is as follows.
Stars 2033 - 41st in the country
Pride 2033 - 60th in the country
YJMA 2033 - 125 in the country

2) Someone said that 3D VA won the NGLL and went undefeated. That is incorrect. 3D Mid-Atlantic (Fredrick Maryland) won NGLL B division. 3D VA does not even play NGLL.

3) There was some back and forth about Stars and Pride games and I'm sure people will have opinions about the rankings. The fact is that Stars plays much higher ranked teams throughout the year in bigger tournaments gives them the higher ranking. Pride also plays stars with a win at all costs a style of play where 3 girls see the ball and everyone else basically stands around. Keep that in mind if you are hoping for a kid to go from Rec to Travel.

4) There is only 1 team with a field house (and a bar) and that's Stars. They practice year round. Not to mention it is Kathy Jenkins program, the head coach at SSSA and has 900 high school wins.

The 3D Mid-Atlantic team is a combined team consisting of the 3D MD (Frederick) and 3D VA (Loudoun-based) teams. They hold separate and combined practices in both locations. So yes, 3D VA played in the NGLL.

You can try to make it sound however you want, but having 2 teams combined for certain things is exactly that. That is not the 3DVA team playing in NGLL, its some combination of players from all over 3D. Pride, Stars, BLC, M&D DC do not pull girls from other teams to play. So telling people they need to drive to Fredick to pratice is not a Arlington 33 team.

For Stars vs Pride, there have been a lot of mid-season Pride departures. Only Loudon ‘30 Pride did well in NGLL. None of the Pride teams play in the A bracket. For older girls where Pride has 2 teams, even their top teams (Premier) play in the B brackets. Their lower teams (Select) really get screwed over bc the fees are the same but they don’t include winter practices or NGLL.

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion on this thread. He are the facts.

1) All the clubs in the US are ranked. For VA the list is as follows.
Stars 2033 - 41st in the country
Pride 2033 - 60th in the country
YJMA 2033 - 125 in the country

2) Someone said that 3D VA won the NGLL and went undefeated. That is incorrect. 3D Mid-Atlantic (Fredrick Maryland) won NGLL B division. 3D VA does not even play NGLL.

3) There was some back and forth about Stars and Pride games and I'm sure people will have opinions about the rankings. The fact is that Stars plays much higher ranked teams throughout the year in bigger tournaments gives them the higher ranking. Pride also plays stars with a win at all costs a style of play where 3 girls see the ball and everyone else basically stands around. Keep that in mind if you are hoping for a kid to go from Rec to Travel.

4) There is only 1 team with a field house (and a bar) and that's Stars. They practice year round. Not to mention it is Kathy Jenkins program, the head coach at SSSA and has 900 high school wins.

The 3D Mid-Atlantic team is a combined team consisting of the 3D MD (Frederick) and 3D VA (Loudoun-based) teams. They hold separate and combined practices in both locations. So yes, 3D VA played in the NGLL.

You also have to look at the older level teams (32, 31, 30). That's your glimpse into the future of the team. How are those teams coached? Are those parents happy? Are those players developing and competing at the level you would want for your DD?

You may think your year is unique, but you can clearly see the writing on the wall if you observe the teams a few years ahead.

There seems to be a lot of confusion on this thread. He are the facts.

1) All the clubs in the US are ranked. For VA the list is as follows.
Stars 2033 - 41st in the country
Pride 2033 - 60th in the country
YJMA 2033 - 125 in the country

2) Someone said that 3D VA won the NGLL and went undefeated. That is incorrect. 3D Mid-Atlantic (Fredrick Maryland) won NGLL B division. 3D VA does not even play NGLL.

3) There was some back and forth about Stars and Pride games and I'm sure people will have opinions about the rankings. The fact is that Stars plays much higher ranked teams throughout the year in bigger tournaments gives them the higher ranking. Pride also plays stars with a win at all costs a style of play where 3 girls see the ball and everyone else basically stands around. Keep that in mind if you are hoping for a kid to go from Rec to Travel.

4) There is only 1 team with a field house (and a bar) and that's Stars. They practice year round. Not to mention it is Kathy Jenkins program, the head coach at SSSA and has 900 high school wins.

Anonymous wrote:Not sure they were on anyone's radar, but the 3D 2033s just finished an undefeated season in NGLL with a commanding championship win. They must be doing something right with that group.

Pretty sure the OP mentioned 3D right from the start. But it's not a super convenient location to Arlington....

Not sure they were on anyone's radar, but the 3D 2033s just finished an undefeated season in NGLL with a commanding championship win. They must be doing something right with that group.

I would do Saint James Star’s! It’s a nice in-between program if your aspirations are not completely, D1 may be more leaning towards D3 or not college lacrosse at all.

Anonymous wrote:Fellow arlington family. - I have two daughters that are playing club lacrosse. One is currently committed to play in college and the other one is about your daughter‘s age. My daughters have played for both stars and pride. And we have friends and family with experience with Virginia one, YJMA and True. None of them are perfect and they all come with their problems and politics. I think the biggest factors at your daughter’s age should be where her friends are playing and what is the most convenient for practicing. The reality is that coaching quality is inconsistent year to year and team to team with all clubs. It’s basically impossible to predict. Finding a nice group of girls and parents to keeping her loving the game and then having her practice in the backyard.


FYI- There are a lot of Arlington girls that play both pride and stars and they are about the same drive time for practices. Have her try out
for all 3 and go from there. — If she makes the A team for one of them go with that one.

Another Arlington family here — I totally agree with this advice. FWIW, my DD has been with Stars for years. Each club has its pros and cons and families with all clubs sometimes get frustrated and switch clubs midstream. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t - you really never know.

The advice to find a “nice group of girls and parents” from the PP is spot on. By some stroke of luck my high school aged DD has had a very good club lax experience and her teammates, their parents, and her coaches have been so supportive. The club lax scene can be brutal, so we feel lucky. I do think that starting out playing club with friends can make the experience more positive. Good luck!

Fellow arlington family. - I have two daughters that are playing club lacrosse. One is currently committed to play in college and the other one is about your daughter‘s age. My daughters have played for both stars and pride. And we have friends and family with experience with Virginia one, YJMA and True. None of them are perfect and they all come with their problems and politics. I think the biggest factors at your daughter’s age should be where her friends are playing and what is the most convenient for practicing. The reality is that coaching quality is inconsistent year to year and team to team with all clubs. It’s basically impossible to predict. Finding a nice group of girls and parents to keeping her loving the game and then having her practice in the backyard.


FYI- There are a lot of Arlington girls that play both pride and stars and they are about the same drive time for practices. Have her try out
for all 3 and go from there. — If she makes the A team for one of them go with that one.

Some of the Stars parents take it too far with yelling at the refs. Most of the parents are nice, but those few are pretty insufferable to be around.

Anonymous wrote:Steel didn't have enough interest to field a team beyond a single 2032 team last year. They will hold tryouts again this year so maybe they can gain more interest for a 2033 team...

What about STARs at the St James. Depending on where you are in Arlington, Springfield is not that much harder to get to vs Great Falls. The program is pretty established and has a new director.

+1
I would say Steel could be a viable option if they can field more than just a ‘32. They have nice coaches and a fun approach. That said, I think their ‘32 team came in last in the B bracket of NGLL, so I can’t imagine people will be pounding down their doors for other years.

A couple of years ago I would have said Pride, but the director moved to NC, and the local leadership seems to be floundering. A number of players across various years have left mid season, which says a lot. I think their ‘33 team is decent, but again if people are leaving that year, too, it might be a bad experience next year. Your best bet is to find someone on that team you know through rec and see what it’s like.

Otherwise I’d really put St James/Stars at the top of your list. The long time director who burnt a lot of bridges is out. The new Director is wonderful, has had daughters go through club and seems to be getting that club on a good track. They also have the benefit of indoor facilities for winter and hot summer practices. When they’re not practicing at st James, it’s at Episcopal, which is close to Arlington. My daughter is very happy there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pride’s 33 Red team is pretty strong. The coaches are nice and the girls have fun.

Stars 33 LB > Pride 33 Red

Interesting. These teams have played three times this year, twice in a fall tournament and once in NGLL. Pride has won two of the three match ups, including handing Stars their only loss in the NGLL last weekend.

If you believe that, then please stick with Pride. Someone has to go down with the ship.

We're happily sticking with Pride. The directors are responsive, my girl loves her coaches and teammates, and the parents are wonderful. Would highly recommend OP come check it out for herself at tryouts!