DN Parent here. The program is as advertised: National. Plenty of Philly representation to be proud of, however. Different kids from different teams from different geographies makes it unique. Drawbacks? Well, there's no loyalty or player development. Your kid can be at the top of the depth chart and show up to a tourney only to have a bunch of MD 14 year olds that have NEVER shown to a tryout or minicamp take all or much of the playing time (Don't deny this Duke's coach/daddy, you know it to be true)."We're trying out some new guys at this one". As a parent, I hate the "ringers" that get added to a team in order to win a tourney. You're on the team or you're not when the roster (or depth chart in this case) is published. They aren't really invested in your kid. Running a minicamp with 100 kids flying around hardly develops them. They will get a bunch of great reps, however. They play in some great events and have more uniform options that Oregon's football team. The kids do love that but it gets old paying for new uniforms every few months. The grade thing (A's and B's) is window dressing. If your kid can ball, he's gonna play no matter how many times he's repeated 7th grade. All said, a positive experience that gets kids out of their comfort zone and puts them with new and different kids.
Hello DN parent. After reading the super saccharine commercial, complete with link, from your fellow DN parent, it was refreshing to read something a bit more balanced. Those drawbacks would be deal breakers for my family, but I'm glad you've been able to turn it into a positive experience for yours. I wish my kids team, BL, didn't have to play your teams MD 14 year old kids (stole a nice cotton tee shirt from us!), but this is the youth lacrosse world we live in. Seriously though, best wishes and enjoy the summer.
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