Overall, Stars pummels Pride.

Agree, Stars 2024 is strong.
Pride 2026 very strong, Stars 2026 a bit weak.

It varies year to year, like anything else.

Just check NGLL tourney site..........M&D clearly the best club at every age group and level, just a machine! The best local team seems to be Stars 2024 team, they went undefeated. After that, all the local teams were pretty mediocre. At the end of the day, no club in the DC area comes close to M&D!!

I believe the points being made were:

1. congratulate both programs for playing in the NGLL's top division (to get better you have to play the best and both teams are doing this)
2. remove the parent politics and parents from influencing team placement (let talent be the deciding factor, not an overbearing parent pressuring clubs)
3. focus on the girls who have the most potential (size, speed, stick skills, attitude, and those that play as a team) to build teams and close the gap, especially at the late MS and early HS age groups (at these age groups you start to see who fits this mold, especially with size and speed -- can't teach these things)
4. drop the flash-in-the-pan players who have been incorrectly taught and encouraged by toxic parents to value scoring goals and individual play over team play

Do steps 2-4 and the good news is the VA clubs will quickly close the gap against the best MD teams, the teams will eliminate the toxic parents who have tried to control their kids lacrosse since 1st grade, and we can let the inferior parents continue to play in MD if that's their wish.

Stars/Capital get absolutely destroyed by other teams. It’s a social thing I guess, but the teams suck

It must suck to be part of the Stars/Capital teams when you get trained by the Baltimore teams

Tell your little sweetie that Losing to Hero’s 17-1 is ok

Anonymous wrote:Best players in the DMV join Baltimore clubs, I make the drive 2x a week so we don’t have to practice with inferior talent

And we’re glad you make that drive so we don’t have to deal with inferior parents.

Best players in the DMV join Baltimore clubs, I make the drive 2x a week so we don’t have to practice with inferior talent

How about we simply applaud both programs for playing in the NGLL and competing against the best teams in the DMV. The experience will make all of the girls better players, which is a main reason for playing travel lacrosse at this level. To be the best you have to play the best. And it appears both clubs are committed to doing this.

Right now, Pride and Stars are the best VA has to offer for girls wanting to play lacrosse at the highest level. This said, both programs have a ways to go before catching up to the better MD teams. This will take time and more likely VA clubs changing their approach to fielding elite teams.

Having spoken to parents of the better MD programs it seems these teams have a philosophy of the best players play, period. And this seems to be an accepted culture. Contrast this with VA clubs who seem to be overly influenced and burdened by parents playing politics over playing talent.

When the VA clubs toss aside the politics and focus on identifying the best potential talent and developing this talent to its fullest we will begin to see the gap between MD and VA teams close. As the girls get into their MS years it becomes easier to tell who has the potential to play at the next level from a physical, skill, and personality makeup. These usually are not the flash-in-the-pan players scoring all the goals today, but rather the players who make those around them better players. These are the potential future team leaders and talent that will close the gap.

For now, let's applaud both programs for playing in the NGLL. And lets support both as they develop the talent and teams to compete with the best clubs. Good luck to both programs.

Unaffiliated observer here. Took a look at the standings of the various NGLL divisions to see how Stars is doing after all the talk on here, and noticed that they basically seem to be above/higher in the standings or equivalent to (not every team has played the same number of games) their pride counterparts in each division at this point. Based on some of the posts on here, you would have thought the sky is falling and pride was running away with things.

And it shows how uncompetitive Stars is playing against other clubs

Also try to figure out what spring league the clubs play in. More competitive clubs play in the NGLL — much better competition but you are driving to Baltimore for spring games. NGLL has a tourney machine page for the midatlantic division and you can check out specific grades.

OP, lots of great advice here. Also be sure the programs being offered by the clubs you consider match your desired level of commitment. Some clubs have more robust programs that are truly year-round, while others are more sporadic with only a few practices before fall/summer tournaments. Maybe you are looking for less of a commitment but I’ve found the second option to be not very helpful in terms of actual skill development and building team camaraderie.

The last few posters are spot on. Most Clubs have summer clinics. Check those out before making your decision. Whatever Club you choose, make sure the girls are nice, that she's working on her stick skills and most importantly, that she's having fun.