Looking for some advice. My son plays on an elite level club team at this age. He left one club team last season because they just didn't have the talent to develop the kids in a meaningful way. His old club has asked him to play for them at no cost this summer. There are no conflicts with his new club tournament schedule and it'll be 3 tournaments (his current coaches are aware and don't have any problems with it). He probably won't make any of the practices with his old team. He wants to do it because he still has friends on the old team. I want him to do it, because his new team has been running a lot of specialized D and O middies and he doesn't get to play much defense. His old team isn't there yet, so he'll get time out there on defense. Any reason to think it will hurt his development to be out there playing with his old team?
My son plays for his old club in a similar situation.
Outside of potential overuse injuries, there are only positives to be had from playing with his old club. I'm a big believer that at this age, the more "roles" you son can experience and having different coaches voices and observations provide great benefit.
That is, of course, assuming that your son WANTS to do this.
It's important that you keep this fun. It's 7th grade. There's plenty of time for development later. #1... make sure he is having fun.
Thanks for that. It's right in line with where my thinking was. I was actually surprised when I asked him if he wanted to and he didn't hesitate to say yes. As much as he wants to win and knowing that his old team is just not that good, he jumped at the idea. It's easy to forget that in spite of the fact that some of them are ultra competitive, they are still 7th graders who sometimes just want to play with their friends.
My son's old club is not very good either.... More of a AA or AAA level Hoco team.
However, he really enjoys playing for them after all of his games against elite competition. It's nice for him to play "stress-free" lacrosse and have easier success once in a while.
There's a reason why kids *who don't play lax anymore* walk around in Towson with Crabs and 91 shorts on. They were glory days, and they know it, but they were so miserable or bored that they quit the whole sport. It's also why you can consistently buy used Crabs, 91, and Madlax helmets. "Not so fond memories." Almost 100% guarantee their parents didn't do what you're talking about.
Any opportunity you can give your son to get reps and remember why he loves the game, will pay off in spades. Reps against quality players is also important, but if that's all you give him, and he's not a superstar, it tends to lead to the #1 and #2 reason kids quit......pressure from coaches and dads. There are a shocking number of decent players in 8th-10th grade private school programs who openly talk about when they'll be "allowed" to quit playing....injury...cut from varsity, etc. And I know that no parents here will admit that it's possible, but a whole lot of high level players from the DMV every year have the option to play college ball and choose not to, because they've had enough. Make it fun.
