We are actually considering Dukes for our son
Are any current Duke's nationals parents (2023) aware if the players report cards are still needed as part of the program? my son joined last year but has not been asked to provide one all year, I am just wondering if this is a thing of the past, seems to be the team has changed since it first started a few years ago from what I have been hearing all year.
No, report cards have the weird way of telling you what grade someone is in. Creates a problem for the Dukes model.
We are actually considering Dukes for our son and I'm wondering if someone has a non-sarcastic response?
Not worth it. Best I can do. Save your money
No skin in the game, but I do know kids on the 2023 team and they are very unhappy with the current situation
I apologize if this has been answered somewhere else in this thread, but can I get a synopsis of what the "current situation" is and why the investment isn't worth it? Looking for honest, objective feedback from real experience with the club. Facts not opinions if you have them. I'll form my own opinion. I appreciate it.
Parent of a 2023 here. First of all, Duke's Nationals is designed as a supplement to your current club team. They meet once a month for a 3 hour mini-camp/tryout and often play in a local tournament during mini-camp weekend. They use a depth chart and only those above the travel line are invited to participate in the tournaments. Here's a secret - if your kid is an OK player, he will make the team, but he will be at the bottom of the depth chart.
What's good about Duke's? For the most part, the mini camps are pretty good. They are generally held at D1 schools (although you rarely get to play on their main field) and the coaching is pretty good. Your son will leave a mini camp feeling like he learned something and got better. And no matter what the haters on this forum say, there are some incredibly talented kids on Duke's. Being able to practice with them is pretty nice.
Many will say that the depth chart is a joke. It's hard to tell how they are evaluating players at the mini camp since rumor has it the positional coaches have no say in the depth chart. The feeling is that the depth chart is just a list of people the director likes, kids of the coaches, etc. If your kid is below the travel line, I'm not sure what he can do to move up so that has to be frustrating to the kids and parents alike.
Some of the tournaments the team participates in are pretty weak - the most recent one had a bunch of low A/B teams that Duke's could just beat up on all day long. Not very sporting if you ask me. At many of these tournaments, new kids will show up. Some will say those kids are ringers brought in by the coach, however I do know kids who could not make a tryout and were asked to come to a tournament and use that as a tryout. Still, those kids take time away from kids above the travel line which can again result in a lot of frustration. In exchange for this, you are asked to put Duke's ahead of your main club team and skip your local tournaments if they conflict with a Duke's event. That's a hard pill to swallow since you club team has a lot fewer players and is mainly responsible for your training.
Duke's has a hefty buy in - $600 for the uniform package (which will be given out in small increments) and another $600+ for the mini-camp package. For each tournament you participate in, you must also pay and that is usually around $200 - $300. It adds up.
The 2023 team has had a bit of a coaching crisis. The guy who coaches Freedom Red was also coaching Duke's and he has since left the program. Kids seemed to really like him. There was a little back and forth about coaches and the current one seems to be getting better since he now shows up to the mini camps and tournaments.
Management made some pretty horrific decisions this past winter. We had a mini camp in 4 or 5 inches of snow. With white balls. At night. Right next to an indoor facility. It felt like they didn't care about our kids and just cared about saving money with that camp. But I do think they have improved in that area - our last camp at UPenn was in the bubble (which was pretty cool) so nobody froze to death.
The Duke's team is actually pretty good, no matter what the haters say. And they are showing that a model where you take some really talented kids, give them some positional training and build their lacrosse IQ does work.
If you see value in the mini camps and that part of the experience, your son may well enjoy and benefit from being part of the organization. But if you can't deal with the depth chart BS as well as the constant invoices for events, you'll just become another jaded Duke's hater parent.
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