Originally Posted by Anonymous
We are new (and somewhat latecomers) to the business of girls' club lax on LI. Our daughter played with a local town club team at the YJ showcase tournament this past summer at Mitchel Field, and it was our first exposure to the YJ. She has a couple of friends that play for YJ and Express, and she wants to try out for YJ. But as I read these posts, I'm not sure whether to be encouraged or upset. We want her to have fun and get better training than she's currently getting, and to begin prepping for a possible college lax career. I have heard both positive and negative experiences from her friends, and I must confess that I was not impressed by the attitude of some of the YJ parents at their tournament. I did not read this entire thread -- only the past two weeks. Would others please comment on the "business" of YJ and how the girls are treated if they come to the YJ program at an older age (8th-9th grade?)
P.S. I'm finding Back of the Cage to be a very valuable resource -- thanks so much for this forum and all the information you have on your website!


My best advice is try out for teams/clubs where she may have a friend or two playing already. Unless she is an elite player and will make the blue team, you may be just as well on any other club. Plus there does seem to be a major closing of the gap from other clubs anyway, so even elite players are finding happy homes on other clubs. But again, see what's in her mind. For many kids, they want the yellowjacket label even if means playing on the forth or fifth team, so long as she with friends or makes friends and is happy, that's most important. If you have her aiming for a college lax career as you say, then your hopes are to make one of the top teams, yj's or anywhere else. Then you may need to leave being on teams with friends out of the equation.