Can anyone explain the NLF to me? I understand that there are an original 6 and also a group of affiliates. Seems to be alot of BS associated with these tournaments/teams....For instance, let's say you were a club on LI and your team was called something like "Team 19" (this is hypothetical). Let's say there was a strong club also on LI and let's say their team name was "Door 2 Door". Did you know in the NLF book of secrets/bylaws that if you're one of these Original 6 you can block a club from playing in these NLF tournaments? I just find it funny that on the front page of the NLF website in big bold letters it says "IRON SHARPENS IRON". This blocking rule flies completely in the face of true competition and is chicken BLEEP. Does anyone from other areas know of similar situations??? In the end we are talking about clubs, grown men, supposed ambassador's of the sport denying kids from the opportunity to compete which in my opinion flies in the face of why we even play sports and compete.
First of all, you need understand, this is lacrosse. It’s a business first and a kids sport a distant second. It’s not fair, it’s all political and one huge money grab. It is what it is. However, if you choose to go this route, and you want to give your kid all of the tools and opportunities to take it as far as he possibly can, then the NLF is absolutely your best route to go. Absolutely not arguable. He will simply get opportunities that others will not get. I went this route with my son, and he’s committed to a premier D1 program and tier 1 institution. Did I mention it won’t be costing me a dime? Obviously I spent about 50k on travel lax over the years, but turned out to be money well spent. Had he not had the exposure from his NLF team, I have no doubt that it would have turned out differently. You have one shot at this. It will drive you nuts and empty your wallet in the process. But if you want what is truely the best opportunity for your son, I highly recommend that you go with a well known, well respected NLF brand. Good luck!
I call troll on this one. You gave yourself away when you said that your son's premier D1 college program won't cost you a dime. Division 1 teams spread 12.6 scholarships among 30-40 players with each player getting somewhere between 10% and 50%. Unless your son is named Gait or Powell he is not getting 100%.
Your comments represent the misconception in lacrosse. We all know there are 12.5 scholarships. However, there are a lot of very good D1 teams competing for top prospects. By top prospects, I’m referring to the top 150 players or so. If your kid is on a top team, he will automatically be on these teams radars. If he is a good player (not necessarily a great player) he will be a highly sought after recruit. There are more good D1 programs than ever before. An enormous amount of parody at the top. This means that there is more competition than ever for these players that have been pegged as top players in their class. These players have an enormous amount of leverage and power over these coaches that are recruiting them. They are in the drivers seat. Not the D1 coaches. My son was one of those kids. I have no doubt in my mind he was there because of the team that he played on. If he was on a less successful and less known team, he would not be in same position. My son got an 85% scholarship at a very prestigious school with a top lacrosse program. He will get between 10k and 20k in NIL money per year and will also get academic based incentives. Not only will everything be paid for, I expect to be in the black when college is over. Sounds impossible? It’s not. I know of several other kids who got similar deals and none of the are named Spallina, Gait or Thompson. That money is out there, and not just reserved for that one generational talent, due to the reasons mentioned above. That’s why what team your kid plays for is so extremely important. Obviously your kid has to be good. If you can objectively say that he might have what it takes, then do him and you a favor and get on the right team. Hugely important, as it insures premier exposure when the recruiting begins. It’s can literally be the difference between what we got and getting absolutely zero and going to some no name school. Yeah. It’s big.
D2 (top 20 team) dad here. Received about 50% aid, mostly merit aid for athletes with serious academic prospects.
If you're not trolling these poor people, you are accidentally leaving out a key caveat that the last post mentioned. "Get your kid on the right team WHERE HE GETS SIGNIFICANT PLAYING TIME." Starting in middle school in MD, rosters hit 25, 30+ on club teams. Last summer, the Team 91MD 2028 team was rocking 30+ rostered kids plus guest players (recruited from Kelly Post and FCA). Let's make the safe assumption that the roster "doesn't shrink" as years go on. How many of those 34+ kids have prospects to be elite, fully funded D1 athletes - or even want that for themselves....once they learn what "being a D1 athlete" is really about?
If "team fit" and "playing time" aren't on your mind by the end of 8th grade, they need to be, this poster is correct about that. But getting them on an NLF team "to be seen" is assuming a lot of things from kids, 1/3 of whom haven't hit puberty and probably 2/3 of whom have never kissed a girl and 100% of whom don't know what it takes to be the kind of lax recruit to get a full/near full ride to a premier D1 school.........3.9+, AP classes, other extracurriculars, and lax workouts allllll year long. They've never even attended a high school class!
If your 8th grader is yapping "Yeah I'm playing at Princeton all the way, for free!" and doesn't pick up a stick for 3 days at a time in the winter, is rocking a basic 3.4 GPA, and hasn't been in an honors or AP class yet, yeah, now is the time to help enlighten him about what the next 3.5 years are going to look like.
And "NLF dad" posting above is kind of right about that, without saying it....the best way for the boys to find "comfort in discomfort" through this process is to surround themselves with other winners who are driven. And don't assume you have that locked in as a father - easily 1/3 of prep school boys and 1/2 of public school boys plan to bounce through HS with minimum effort possible. Who your kid associates with all day is as important as his club's NLF membership, or more so.
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