Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I care about college placement and college coach connections - what is going to give my son the best opportunity to get a crack at the collegiate level.

While Mad Lax has a number of private school players too, they also seem to do a great job with the public school players as well. I am well aware of some of the previous tactics with the Mad Lax owner but has of now, we have had no issues with the owner or club. (started in MS and son is now in HS)

For all these reasons, our son has stuck with the Mad Lax program.

If you're willing to sacrifice personal growth and quality role models 'to get a crack at the collegiate level' and you have the funds/money to play in a dozen+ events/showcases plus give some to CM for 'consulting', then you are doing the right thing!

You can say what you like about CM, but the quality role modeling comes from the coaches, not the owners or directors. I have multiple sons who have been in multiple programs discussed often on this board, and there are both good and bad coaches (fortunately, more good) in every program. It is the parent's responsibility to research the coaches and talk to other families and make sure your son's coach is a good role model. I have one son in MadLax, not on the 2024 or 2028 teams, and his coach is a fantastic role model. As far as the cost, it is a valid observation that MadLax costs more, so if you are on a tight budget, there are plenty of excellent but less expensive options, and you should look at those.

Anonymous wrote:The three “c’s”. Coaching, competition, cost. NL wins 3-0

I question how many families in this marketplace actually care about the cost.

But for those who do, I looked at the Annapolis Hawks web page recently and the all-in price for one year is $2,195 for 2025 and $2,050 for 2026, 2027, and 2028. MadLax charges separately for each season which makes it difficult to compare, but by my count it is close to $5,000, including the quarterly fee.

What is the annual tuition for NextLevel?

Anonymous wrote:
I care about college placement and college coach connections - what is going to give my son the best opportunity to get a crack at the collegiate level.

While Mad Lax has a number of private school players too, they also seem to do a great job with the public school players as well. I am well aware of some of the previous tactics with the Mad Lax owner but has of now, we have had no issues with the owner or club. (started in MS and son is now in HS)

For all these reasons, our son has stuck with the Mad Lax program.

If you're willing to sacrifice personal growth and quality role models 'to get a crack at the collegiate level' and you have the funds/money to play in a dozen+ events/showcases plus give some to CM for 'consulting', then you are doing the right thing!

I don't care about who wins a little youth tournament or the middle school HOCO league. That is OK if you do, everyone has different priorities.

I care about college placement and college coach connections - what is going to give my son the best opportunity to get a crack at the collegiate level.

Mad Lax College placement dwarfs what Next Level has ever done - the numbers don't lie. And if you look at the college placement of the NL kids, its primarily the private school kids from Landon, Georgetown Prep and Gonzaga. While Mad Lax has a number of private school players too, they also seem to do a great job with the public school players as well. I am well aware of some of the previous tactics with the Mad Lax owner but has of now, we have had no issues with the owner or club. (started in MS and son is now in HS)

For all these reasons, our son has stuck with the Mad Lax program.

I hope it works out for your son and family too.

The three “c’s”. Coaching, competition, cost. NL wins 3-0

I wasn't supporting/defending either program. I was responding to the suggestion that 2025 players might change teams because of a 13-5 game in HoCo week 1. But if there good reasons for players to move between MadLax and NextLevel in 2025, let's hear them.

Anonymous wrote:I hope not. Chasing wins is not a valid reason to change programs.

A previous post mentioned the ML 2023 team. Was Madlax chasing wins when they kicked the existing Capital kids to the curb and acquired Club Blue to form Dc Dogs? Loyalty is a two way street. For 2025 now is the time to re-evaluate for the home stretch

I hope not. Chasing wins is not a valid reason to change programs.

Anonymous wrote:Madlax 26 beat Looneys 6-2. Same Looneys team that won the fall HOCO and went undefeated against Crabs, BLC, VLC, Zingos etc. Looneys definitely belong in Elite.

How about the 25s? Is Next Level beating them going to stir the ML exodus like we saw with the 24s, and in a way, the 23s?

Madlax 26 beat Looneys 6-2. Same Looneys team that won the fall HOCO and went undefeated against Crabs, BLC, VLC, Zingos etc. Looneys definitely belong in Elite.

Can we get some feedback on what happened this weekend with the MadLax Middle School Teams? Wasn’t the 25 team the second coming of JC, but they got smashed by Next Level and the 26 Elite team only scored 6 against what should be a AAA team? Was it new coaching, bad players, crazy rich parents, trolls, or ownership that caused this?

Anonymous wrote:In fairness, the murder was committed by an assistant coach, who has already departed or was close to leaving, and it did not involve any kids or families in the program. It is not fair to throw DCE/BLC in with MadLax or Blackwolf in terms of owner reputation. But they guys who run NextLevel are definitely a class act. The same is true for VLC. The Crabs owner has a sketchy reputation, but he has no involvement with VLC other than providing back office support, and the Virginia directors are a class act just like NextLevel.

All this aside, here is a dose of reality - families will choose a lacrosse team based on quality of coaching on their son/daughter's own team, quality of players, geography, cost, and other factors that directly affect their experience. Personally I don't approve of Jack Welch's morals but I still buy GE products.

I think this is a fair point. DCE organization is certainly not perfect, but it’s is nothing compared to the horrors of MadLax. The owner was also fired at Potomac after his team was caught with hookers. Not the best for one running a youth business.

Mitchell brothers @NextLevel are great guys, and have an extremely strong up and coming youth program. Unfortunately, their 2022&2021 teams are a joke compared to DCE/ML. 23’s are extremely good and 24’s.

In fairness, the murder was committed by an assistant coach, who has already departed or was close to leaving, and it did not involve any kids or families in the program. It is not fair to throw DCE/BLC in with MadLax or Blackwolf in terms of owner reputation. But they guys who run NextLevel are definitely a class act. The same is true for VLC. The Crabs owner has a sketchy reputation, but he has no involvement with VLC other than providing back office support, and the Virginia directors are a class act just like NextLevel.

All this aside, here is a dose of reality - families will choose a lacrosse team based on quality of coaching on their son/daughter's own team, quality of players, geography, cost, and other factors that directly affect their experience. Personally I don't approve of Jack Welch's morals but I still buy GE products.

Spread all the hate you want on NL, but their owner doesn’t bully and Assault players (MadLax). Their owner isn’t a registered pedophile (Blackwolf). None of their coaches have murdered anyone (DCE/BLC)... Need I go on?

Madlax forum. If you want to hate on NL, please start a thread.