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Tight battle with Hawks pulling it with under a minute, Hawks score 4 unanswered in a really fun game to watch.

THe 23 team won, the kid with the mullet drove the team bus home

[quote=Anonymous]Dukes minicamp this weekend in Baltimore. Homewood field JHU. 5 DN teams sharing one field. The 2022's alone need a field by themselves. Gonzo is making lots of $$$$[/quotw. What a joke the mini camp was; one field for five teams, started late and ended early, Half of the players did not even practice due to a tournament played by Duked Nationals the same day and a bunch of them left early. My son said this was the worst run practice he has ever been to, he said he gets better coaching at his travel team practices that are only a hour and a half long. All I heard was complaints from parents of current players about cost and no equipment delivery helmets for the teams that had already been paid for and promised to the kids. What a great way to spend a Saturday night and waste $85 dollars. A complete waste of time and money.

welcome to the $hit show, bro...

In case you haven't heard already... Dukes 2023 won Battle of the Bay

Whooooooops--how'd that work out at 2023, guys? How was the destruction? And before anyone starts with the "Whaaaaaaa!! They brought in holdbacks!" and "Boohoo, this kid drove the bus" and "Come on! That kid has 3 kids of his own!" garbage--EVERY SINGLE KID ON THE TEAM IS AGE ELIGIBLE.

So are you staying or going? Don't answer that....see you next month!

It's funny how you can say they are all age eligible...for what high school.

whats funny they charged for a mini camp/tryout when all the coaches were at a tournament. Great gig ripping people off..

Plenty of coaches were there. Who do you think was missing?

Kids got a lot of reps and from what I saw, there was some pretty good instruction as well.

Check in and uniform distribution, on the other hand, was a disaster. If you are going to have parents involved in this stuff, at least recruit the ones who have some organizational skills!

You mean the tournament that ended 3 hours before the minicamp? Or the fact that every coach at every age level was there?

But let's ignore that part of your uninformed/purposefully mis-representative post and instead let's try thinking about it this way:

Would you pay $20/hr to have your son who is a goalie be trained by a goalie who is a 3 time GotY in the MLL?
Or if he's a defenseman be trained by two former all-american defensemen?
Or if he's an attackman to be trained by a coach who won 2 D2 NCAA championships and helped coach Team USA?
Or if he's a FOGO to be trained by a former Bayhawks/Machine faceoff specialist?

If your answer is "Yes--I'd pay that." then probably have to abandon that argument. If your answer is "No! They all had to crowd onto a single field and Gonzo is stealing money and stuff!!" then you're just being obstinate to be obstinate.

I was there. My 23's first time. It started on time and ended on time. Some of the best instruction I have seen on one field in a looooong time. The defensive drills were top notch. I also watched the shooting and goalie training. Again top notch. The older kids were on the side lines as I heard they had 3 games that day. A ton of coaches on the fields. There were professional coaches, players, pro players and all were engaged. Check in was long but oh well- forgivable given the quality of the coaching and clinic in general.

That is what I saw as well.

So are you staying or going? Don't answer that....see you next month!

Dukes National has become a joke and a money maker for G. Depth chart means Nothing. This past weekend battle of the bay kids playing not on the depth chart bumping kids out of playing above the travel line. Some kids don't even pay for tournaments while others pay. Minicamp 5 teams on one field. Watch the video 3rd hour work on transition game. How can you do that with 5 teams on one field. G will not get anymore money from me and others after this weekend.

Sorry to hear you got sucked in, welcome to the circus. Hope you feel the same way in 6 months but you probably won’t .. it takes a little while to see clearly through the bs of the nationals program. I wish you the best of luck. I will be saving my money and time.

Any feedback from the 2024 team.

The system is perfect because for every turned off family that leaves a mini-camp/tryout there is another family looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Parents want to see their kids on that famous depth chart. It means nothing come tournament time.

Doesn't anyone find it odd that Dukes was a Philly institution yet there National team had none of the local "elite" kids at 22/23 or 24?

If it was true you would not even have to mention it, so thanks for confirming that the team is all Holdbacks. Great way to win.. enjoy it..

Dukes are what's wrong with youth lacrosse. An organization in a lacrosse area can't find and train their own kids so they try and grab random star players to win tournaments. It is the exact reason they can not enter elite tournaments coaching is terrible with Dukes which is why they can not develop their own talent

That's really the issue people have with Dukes. It is supposed to be earning a spot above the travel line by showing up to mini-camps and performing. The reality is ringers are invited in who have attended zero mini-camps on the dime of the players they displace. At least be honest and say that you are trophy hunting and all players are expendable even if it means bringing a kid off the street and handing him a jersey on the sideline.

False. There are a couple local Philly-area "elite" 23 players. If you follow Philly-area 23 lax (not sure why you would focus on that other than your own kid/team) then you know who they are. You either have no clue who the elite 23's in the Philly area are or you are just trolling hoping someone mentions your kid.

Listen, like almost all other youth lacrosse clubs, Dukes Nationals has its pros and cons. I echo the concerns about using a "Depth Chart" to evaluate very young boys whose sell esteem should be lifted not beaten down by the opinion of one or two coaches in a three hour evaluation once a month. Agree that guest players are being invited to take spots and playing time which is a direct contradiction to the stated ethos of DN. Agree that it does look like a thought out money grab by putting kids on the roster (and sometimes the depth chart to ensure the parents will sign up), get their money and then push them off the depth chart once they have it. Agree that several boys on the depth chart continue to stay on it even if they miss mini camps (another contribution to the DN pitch from G ), in fact I have seen boys that have not shown up to camps or tournaments go up on the depth chart proving that ii is a meaningless barometer for evaluating a boys progress as a lacrosse player. My suggestion is accept it that G will decide who will be on the depth chart based on who he likes, who he is friends with, who's parents kiss his [lacrosse] or who lives close to his home. It is a joke. But because many of the games and tournaments conflict with club travel lacrosse, who cares if you are invited to play in a tournament that you have to pay another $175?

On the positive side, I have not seen a clinic that can compare to the DN mini camps. The energy, the positive energy the boys have by being part of something different, the gear making them all look like they are in the same organization, the coaching, the coaching, the coaching! So what that they are all on the same field and it is somewhat crowded sometimes. I don't send my kid so he can do full field scrimmages but to work with and listing to the coaches to take his game to the next level. Finally, the friendships formed by the boys should outweigh all the negativity parents are feeling.

I do believe the leadership is not worthy of the Dukes brand and would welcome a change at the top. In the meantime I will suck it up for my son

So you're they one that has the list of local "elite" kids? Please share, everyone has been waiting to see it.

So are you staying or going? Don't answer that....see you next month!

Yes, please share you "elite" Philly area 22,23,24 rankings. As a 2023 coach/owner of a Philly area club team - I must have been left off the distribution list. FYI - there are elite 23 Philly kids on the DN 23,24 team. Not many - but there are some and they don't play for me but routinely give my team fits. Good kids as well - which is more important.

GREAT! But chances are we will probably see you again next month! I am sure your son enjoys it even if you don't.

plenty of Philly area elite kids on the 2024 team! Freedom Red, Brotherly Love, NXT, Malvern Prep, Haverford School all represented.

There are Brotherly Love 2024 kids on the Dukes National Team?? I just heard from my buddy that sent me a brochure that Brotherly Love is forming their own National Team at 2024 to compete with Dukes. Looking at it right now. Not sure why anyone on Brotherly Love would play for Dukes if they have their own National Team.

After reading all these comments I find it funny that no matter what you adults think your kids probably love being affiliated with the Duke program and look forward to coming to the mini camps every month.

Brotherly love as is right now would destroy dukes 24. Problem with dukes 24 is , no consistent coach.

True

The Dukes Nationals 2024 is absolutely HORRIBLE. The 2024 team has NEVER had a consistent Coach or Coaches. Let alone two Offensive or Defensive coordinator coaches "which for the money they should." G had no choice but to try (and I repeat try) and coach the 2024 team this weekend, again because he had no choice. All the while G was running around trying to manage a two day tournament, hand out uniforms and helmets and run a Mini Camp for 5 age groups. So you can imagine how much attention the 2024 team got from G (not very much, but the 2024 team should be used to that by now). Why don't G you just pay a coaching staff for the 2024's? They need Offensive and Defensive coordinator coaches to run plays and defensive structure. Oh and maybe know the kids names. Until then Dukes Nationals 2024 will never be able to compete at the AA level. G won't get any more of my money. The 2024's are a joke.

"Run plays" hahahahaha ... enough said. Dukes deserves a medal for youth lacrosse ... get a group of talented and motivated kids together to simply play the sport the way it is intended to be played... and get better... amen.

Think about this. While I can't speak for the coaching situation do you really think its that important to run "plays"? I guess your son has never been on a team that runs so many plays that the kids stop playing the game and start worrying about getting screamed at by the coach for making the wrong play. You don't need a thousand yellows to get your offense or defense set up. That is the beauty of putting talented and motivated kids together, you don't need to do all that.

Under the current structure, without these "plays" the 2024s consistently either win the tournaments they play in or are always in the championship game. Not too many teams can say that. So are these "plays" really that important? I bet that is why the kids like playing with the Dukes. They can have fun again.

No a chance; we learned our lesson last year and will not be coming back to that money crab!

Where are the Dukes Nationals 2024 Coaches?

Better question is: Who are the Dukes Nationals 2024 Coaches?

Ron Klausner?

DN 2024 was a disgrace at BoB. They've got real problems on and off the field.