CR is more powerful and richer than 90% of college coaches. She controls the largest club and the biggest tournament circuit. At her peak I think she had her hands in on 8 tournaments a year. My problem is its a double tax. She charges to play YJ's and then she charges full price to her teams to play in her tournaments and nobody has a choice. The lacrosse model is and remains broken. US Lax is a joke. The clubs run the college coaches and the sport
not anymore, with the new recruiting rules the colleges are running camps/clinics all year round, raking in all sorts of cash and making the clubs much less relevant. If you want to get a good look that's the way to go, you can be the greatest player in the world and play on a team of ball hogs and never get noticed at a tournament, but that won't happen at a camp/clinic, for better or worse the college coaches get a real good look at you. Playing club ball before 7th-8th grade has now become nothing more than a reason for mom and dad to brag to friends and family, there is no value. Find Danowski or Starsia utube video where they say as much
The rule change should definitely help with parents/players not feeling like they have to play lacrosse year round in order to be recruited. My 2020 daughter actually did not play club lacrosse until summer before 7th grade, and verbally committed in 9th grade. Before our summers were filled with lacrosse (which she would have no other way at this point), they involved swim team, just being a kid, and some camps here and there that were rec type camps for different sports or not sports related. We don't live on Long Island so I'm not too familiar with how club lax works there, but if kids need to start playing for a club in elementary school in order to secure a spot, then I'd look for a different club.
For what it's worth, my daughter seemed to get the most exposure and college coach interest from playing in tournaments with her club team. Camps/clinics seem worthwhile at schools a player has a very strong interest in, and at schools where the player is already on the coachs' radar and will be in a group they are watching closely. That was our experience at least.
