Anonymous wrote:The WCAC is light years behind the IAC.

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Anonymous wrote:I think every team in the IAC has college commits, even the lower ranked schools like St Albans and EHS. Does the WCAC have the same success? Do college coaches even pay attention to what high school team conference your kid plays in?

There's much diversity in the strength of the teams in the WCAC than IAC. Obviously Gonzaga does well and St. John's and PVI have had people go to good programs in the last couple of years. Probably others as well. A strong high school program can lend some credibility to a player, especially the ones more on the margin, but lots of kids from public and private schools outside the IAC get recruited to D1 teams. There are any number of ways kids get noticed -- club tournaments, camps, showcases, occasionally high school games. But the conference itself doesn't matter so much. Program reputation is more important to the extent that high school teams matter at all. In general, if your kid is one of the top 40-70 kids in the area, they have a good chance at playing D1. If not, the school name isn't going to move the ball at all much.

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Anonymous wrote:How are the 2022 teams in the area?

From what I've seen, Annapolis Hawks are the best '22 team. After that DCE, Madlax, Team 91 MD, and Crabs are fairly comparable. Others mileage may vary. Tough to tell just based on fall and prior spring/summer who will be best this spring/summer.

Anonymous wrote:How are the 2022 teams in the area?

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Anonymous wrote:Did DC Express 2021 lose yesterday to West Coast Stars 2021 @ the B'More Fall Classic? The Tourney Machine app stopped updating with DCE down 4-1.

WCS lost its first 2 games.

DCE beat Crabs 8-2 and then immediately played WCS, DCE was up 6-5 and WCS scored with a few seconds left on a man up to end the game tied at 6-6.

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Anonymous wrote:Ok I just can't figure out how to ask any in real life parents this without if sounding offensive like I'm trying to say something about their kid: Do any kids play D2 lax in college? Boys/men I mean. I hear the parents talking about deciding between D1 and D3, and I see only D1 and D3 on this list, but I know there are D2 teams out there.

D2 schools tend to be very small and less heralded colleges -- think places like Limestone. D3 teams tend to be stronger because there are a lot of good academic schools in D3 -- think Amherst, Bowdoin, etc.

Another poster here with what may sound like a stupid question - but is D1 really more desirable than D3 for lacrosse? The boys I know who have gone off to D1 schools count there careers in a handful of minutes played, usually in blowout games, and the scholarship money covers a teeny tiny fraction of actual costs. The D3 commits I've known from this area end up at great SLACs, get a fair amount of playing time even as underclassmen, and can do things like a junior semester abroad. So for lacrosse, where the end game isn't the pros, why D1?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok I just can't figure out how to ask any in real life parents this without if sounding offensive like I'm trying to say something about their kid: Do any kids play D2 lax in college? Boys/men I mean. I hear the parents talking about deciding between D1 and D3, and I see only D1 and D3 on this list, but I know there are D2 teams out there.

D2 schools tend to be very small and less heralded colleges -- think places like Limestone. D3 teams tend to be stronger because there are a lot of good academic schools in D3 -- think Amherst, Bowdoin, etc.

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Anonymous wrote:DCE has become a feeder for Bullis which has scared off a few parents who might have otherwise looked at the program.

Agree Fake News. DCE has all starters back...some played fall sports and not at every fall game.

PP if your son can play with friends at a level he is comfortable with then that is always a great choice.

Not fake. Multiple starters left for other clubs. Not sure why DCE parents won't admit this. Maybe kids left because DCE charged $300 for a tryout.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCE has become a feeder for Bullis which has scared off a few parents who might have otherwise looked at the program.

Agree Fake News. DCE has all starters back...some played fall sports and not at every fall game.

PP if your son can play with friends at a level he is comfortable with then that is always a great choice.

Anonymous wrote:DCE has become a feeder for Bullis which has scared off a few parents who might have otherwise looked at the program.

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Anonymous wrote:If Madlax is such a "proven pipeline" then why wouldn't it be filled from the early years (especially in middle school) and on. Don't believe the hype, your claim is illogical. I think BLC is strong because people like the program and by middle school many are striving for DC Express.

I think this misunderstands the role clubs play with respect to college recruitment. People aren't really claiming that Madlax's coaching of younger players somehow transforms them into elite players. The claim is that kids that are likely in the pool to go to the better D1 programs tend to migrate there over time because Madlax has sent players D1 with consistency. Only BW/Madlax/VLC can really make that claim among the DC area teams. It's possible this migration pattern changes and more people stick with BLC/DCE for the long run in the future. It's all a channeling effect ultimtely. A very good player is going to be a very good player no matter what club they are at. It's just a question of what clubs the very good players choose in the later years.

The DC Express 2021 team is very good and, at least thus far, has been playing in what are generally considered to be the premier events -- along with Crabs, Team 91, West Coast Stars, Madlax, Big4 HHH, Mesa, Eclipse, and other top clubs. The kids should get good exposure to coaches and good opportunities for recruitment -- both because of their playing ability and because of the "in" to top events that comes with being a part of the Long Island Express organization. Madlax 2021 also is a very good team, probably not as good as DC Express, but the gulf between the two is not that wide. One team may end up having better recruiting results than the other, but that will depend on a variety of factors -- individual playing ability, grades, money, high school affiliations, etc. The club names on the kids' jerseys are not likely to be a big factor.

This is well-said.

Fake news. Madlax 2021 is not very good. DC Express 2021 is still good, but lost half of their starters and is not the force they once were.