US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums PENNSYLVANIA LACROSSE PENNSYLVANIA FORUM Main Forum Philadelphia & Vicinity

Once a coach’s son is involved, all bets are off.
Almost every club deals with it; they focus more on that team/grad year, they position their kid (usually at X) for success with little regard for other kids, play their kid even if they lack talent…brutal daddyball
It ain’t just BM. Every local club mentioned on here experiences it

Feels like BM is just a Millon clone at this point. Millon is getting his kids into top tier programs at the collegiate level, so it's hard to fault BM for following the blue print already laid down. If you look at what he has done with those other youth programs its pretty clear he's checked out and out of touch with the families in his progrum.

I don't disagree. As a parent with kids at 3 age levels. My oldest has played for 1 team. Never played for multiple teams at once. The kids at the 31 age level put 3-4 teams on the their IG pages. Yes, they are already posting videos in 5th grade of their goals and training...the world is getting crazier every day.

I understand why younger club teams have Dad coaches (elementary age to middle school). But when you get to the High School level, dads need to remove themselves from the coaching sideline. Doing way more harm than good.

The issue is most, if not all, Dad’s put their children before other, more deserving kids. That is bull. Yes, having skin in the game provides more consistency and continuity, coaching-wise, but when their kid ain’t good enough, it becomes a problem. Unfortunately, that’s normally the case

I had to cut my own son from the travel team that I coached. He stunk and I could not hide it anymore. My wife was livid.

You are the one. Most play their kid more than they should. What’s sad is they end up exposing the kid, especially if the team is good and resentment builds on the sidelines. And coach loses all credibility

Let's Dive into the HHH Youth Situation.

2031:
The "normal" team is 0-3. Looks like they hung in there with Team MD, but took their lumps from Madlax DMV and Duke's Elite A.

The "Birddog" team is 1-1-1, with a two goal win over the Downingtown Dawgs, a tie verse an average Jersey Express team, and a 2 goal lose against a good Madlax DMV team.

2030:
No Games Played

2029:
No Games Played

2028:
No Games Played


I'll be honest. Was expecting to see some games played by the Non-2031 teams. Maybe they don't have teams at those age levels. Maybe they do but just decided to not play in any tournaments in the fall. Anybody know? Regardless, I'd say it's highly suspect.

What local programs are the biggest offenders of Daddyball?

Obsess much?

Consider it a PSA. I put up with this exact protocol for a few years. I just want to shine a light on how this program is run at the youth level so they have more information when they consider how to spend their money on youth lacrosse.

The issue w the HHH 2029 and 2030 teams is they didn’t have enough kids; think they ended up combining the two, having them play in the 29 bracket. You can check the scores to see how that went (hint: not good)

I have a son who will soon start high school. His first sport is lacrosse and we are torn between EA, Haverford, Malvern and LaSalle. Each seem like very good schools with good lacrosse. Academically our son is smart but not advanced. I would say normal kid. We are hearing that Haverford and EA are very challenging academically and getting harder. I am sure there are parents who could break the schools down on here on what is best for certain kids. How would you rank the schools academically? Does it help for college entrance going to a harder school and prepare your son better? Is it worth having to grind out hours of homework?

I think it all depends upon what you want out of school and lacrosse. 3 out of the 4 are single sex schools. Inter-Ac is the best league in the area. LaSalle plays some tough teams but when they get in league they walk through them. Does your son want to play as 9th/10th grader? Not sure his skill level but all the schools above unless you are top tier you won't see varsity until Junior year and risk getting recruited over. Academically I would agree EA and Haverford are the most challenging, then Malvern then LaSalle. Also, think about where you live. If you are closer to one it will be easier for friends and for getting to school. Some kids spend close to 1.5 hrs on a bus to get to school. Where are kids from his club going? That could factor. My son goes to another Inter-Ac school in the area and we love it. No complaints. In the end you can't go wrong with any on your list but it has to be the right fit for what your son wants. Don't go chasing trophies or bragging rights.

I don't know about LaSalle. I suspect it is in line with Malvern. EA is the best academically, followed by Haverford. The feedback is that students which leave Malvern for EA or Haverford find it challenging. Malvern seems to place sports above academics. EA academics above sport. Haverford in between.

EA parents were recently posting on this forum about the coaching change. May want to dig into that dynamic to understand if it's something you are willing to put up with (whatever side of the fence you fall on with that situation). Take tours of the school. See what the best fit is socially, academically, and athletically. At those schools, it's not a giving that your son will see significant playing time until deep into his high school career (as mentioned above). You have to be OK with that. The school is way more than the lacrosse team.

Thanks for feedback. Our #1 concern is our kid being happy and getting prepared for college. It seems all are good options for lacrosse (obviously the Interac is better competition) but we just do not want to throw him in the deep end academically then regret it. Playing time immediately not a concern we know at Malvern or Haverford will need to wait your turn but also know the practices are that much better when you have a deep team.

Each of these schools offers a great lacrosse experience. The colleges know the depth of the talent at these schools and there are kids getting recruited D1 off JV. Good luck.

So the almighty HHH has no 2028 team, a combined 29/30 team that is competing at the 29 level and struggling, and then they have two 2031 teams. Is there any other organization out there with as much disparity between their High School and Youth Programs?

I wonder if those 2029 families were informed that they would not have enough kids for a purely 2029 team? Or if they were told they were going to be grouped up with the 2030's. Probably not an ideal situation for a 2029 who is trying to improve his game.

I am just curious as to why public school is not an option? If you live in the suburban Philadelphia area there are some of the best schools in the state. Just wondering

While there certainly are good public school options in suburban Philly, none are as good as the schools he is contemplating

I assume you are saying this is relation to lacrosse. The academics at Lower Merion, Radnor, and Conestoga are superior to Malvern. Comparable to Haverford and EA. If your child is essentially on level but needs more individualized attention available through smaller class sizes, private schools is a great option. If your child needs significant services, public is a great option. If your child is on level or above, these schools are easily as good as most privates. Privates have higher scores because they don't have to have the lower end of the spectrum. Private may offer value in networking. Public probably offers the benefit of having a more diverse student body. Public has gone far into social indoctrination, which some will view as a plus and others a minus. Private will have some of that as well, but at religious affiliated schools you would anticipate and theoretically value that. EA and Malvern following trends in their dominations and are moving fairly far from their traditional roots. Don't know about Haverford.

From a lacrosse perspective all of the privates are vastly superior to the publics. Radnor has had a phenomenal recent run, but I suspect that is coming to an end. Conestoga had a great run a few years back, but that has ended.

In my humble opinion, this post is spot on. The only thing I would add is if you believe lacrosse is the vehicle to get your child into a top end college, I would lean toward the private schools. Kids will travel over an hour to get to a Haverford or Malvern knowing that it will get them to the next lax level.

If I were to rate the top area private schools for Academics (Boys only):

1) Devon Prep
2) Episcopal
3) Haverford
4) Penn Charter
5) Germantown Academy
6) St. Joe's
7) Shipley
8) Archmere
9) Salesianum
10) Bishop Shanahan
11) Wilmington Friends
12) Malvern Prep

You forgot to put SCH in there.

I am surprised by the ranking of Devon Prep. I have a few friends who have elected Devon Prep because their kids were under performing at their previous schools. The feedback has been overall very positive. I did not think it was on the more rigorous side. That is not saying it is not a great school. From all I hear they do a great job with their kids.

Agreed...also forgot Lasalle.

I' d say SCH is probably #4 or #5 and LaSalle is #9 or #10.

Devon Prep is 100% NOT the top private school for academics in the area. That’s borderline absurd.

Devon Prep not near as hard academically as EA or Haverford. That is a fact.

^^^^^^son did not get into Devon^^^^^^^

EA is the most exclusive because of their legacy policy but it is excellent. I think Holy Ghost prep could be up there.

The list seems solid. I would add Westtown but they are a boarding school so I understand putting that in a different bucket.

Sorry, new to the area. I’ve hear of everyone on this list, except Devon Prep. Can someone provide some additional information around this school?

Holy Ghost is giving out so much money, basically begging kids to attend…top-notch for sure
I’m happy your Devon Prep child found success in life but stay off the drugs, pal, you are clueless

https://www.devonprep.com/student-life/academics/

Excellent academic institution if your son is a strong student. If your son is a top level lacrosse player, he will not be matched up against difficult competition as Devon plays in the Catholic league which is not that strong in lacrosse (sans St Joe’s prep and LaSalle).

Well, that’s solves that…thanks!

How much influence do Interac politics/old boys club have over Club lacrosse in our area?

Agreed. Devon Prep is a great school. They do a good job with strong students and less strong students. Thier lacrosse situation is not good and I think about to get worse. They have been running a joint team with Delaware County Christian School. I recently saw that DCC is trying to establish their own team. Neither Devon Prep nor DCC is the right place if lacrosse is a priority.

This board is a total joke these days.

On one hand we have people bashing HHH (and there 20+ D1 recruits this year) and the other hand saying that Devon Prep is the number 1 school in the region. Let’s all take a break and come back fresh in the new year.

Sorry if the topic is not surrounded around your reclass son and his club lacrosse team. Academics and good academic/social communities for our sons mean something to reasonable parents.

Devon Prep is a good school, no one is suggesting otherwise. But to proclaim it as the #1 academic school in the area is BANANAS. Please stop, it’s not.
Also, Merry Christmas

More than they should