Originally Posted by Anonymous
To the earlier poster who asked if the grass is any greener someplace else, I say probably not. Every club has its challenges but the best thing is to keep your eyes wide open, not get sucked into big promises and be realistic about your child's ability. No matter what club, school or town team for that matter there's always someone bitching about something.
I also think it also gets worse as they get older.


You are right. There is a huge problem with the number of clubs that have popped up, as well as the young age they are starting. The Club model started for advanced players to play together in the summer and fall to help with college recruiting. What actually happened was people took it as a way to make money at the expense of the rec lacrosse programs. There is no reason to be paying $2000+ for your child to play lacrosse in 2nd,3rd, 4th grade. And because of the willingness of parents to pay this, clubs are popping up all over with no plan to make your child better. Look at the scores in the MD Spring league. There are a few good teams in the A bracket, but the rest are just fodder. Not to mention the load of teams in the B divisions. What is the end result parents are looking for here? If it really is apparent to them that they are paying for their child to play lacrosse year round, but understanding that the likelihood of their child getting recruited is very small, then I guess that's fine. But the clubs are selling parents on the fact that they need to play club for colleges to see them.

Once the girls get to about 7th grade, you should have a pretty firm grasp on where they stand. When you play M&D, Heros, YJ, etc and lose by 15+ goals, what are you and your child getting out of the money you spend and the time you put in? Who is coaching your child? Are they improving? Do they even want to play in college?

It's a harsh reality for the girls, but it is the truth. Selling them false promises isn't helping them either.