Did anyone go to any of the winter PLL camps in Florida? Were they fun?
If by fun you mean expensive- then Yes!
I heard from parent of kid that attended that coaching was excellent but talent/competition was so-so.
Until these kids get older, these are the highest degree example of Money Grab in youth sports, preying on gullible parents who think Little Johnny might get more playing time on his AAA team if he gets mentioned on Instagram. “Apex is excited to have so and so from some unheard of team in Alabama.”
You know, my kids love to play and we have done all kinds of camps, national teams, etc. Some bring the kids lots of value, others, not so much (aka how are you "providing detailed player evaluations" when nobody has an iPad or a clipboard all week). The two things we have not fallen for (yet) are the Apex middle school events ("coached by the only PLL players we can afford!") and the PLL Junior scam. My bar for "lax training value" is pretty low but those two events are the two I can't seem to get behind. Seriously I haven't heard a good enough argument for the $800 price tag for each.
Numerous kids and parents getting pulled into the snake oil salesmen selling “invite only” camps and national club teams when in reality they will take anyone with a pulse and a credit card.
“Yeah we are going down to Florida next week, Tad got picked up by this national team. After that we go to California. Lots of exposure for him.”
To be fair, this is just a logical extension of the insane club lax scene from DC to MA. "We develop players." "Nobody places more elite players in elite HS programs." "We're basically an unofficial recruiting hammerhead for all the D1 programs in this state."
When, at most, what your son will get is a solid training program focused on this spring's HoCo season and tournaments leading up to Naptown.
Where do you think the majority of the elite HS players in the area come from?
You're mixing up cause and association. The elite clubs are not grabbing average kids from birth and turning them into lax all stars. Especially because you can't create speed and height in Tuesday practices. The elite reps they get in 6th grade...or 2nd grade.. are not why they make varsity in 10th. It's also worth considering the burnout rate of elite clubs.. .how many kids leave elite and then leave lacrosse entirely. Stop trying to make it something it's not.
I get your point. Not mixing up anything - you are just wrong.
Look at the rosters of hawks, Madlax, crabs etc.
The core of most of those teams have been on the roster since they were little kids.
Which proves my point....the reps they get in club practice have not MADE them elite athletes. If you want to cringe, go watch the 2032 "elite" kids play this spring. The best kids are much faster, slightly more aggressive than the "not best" kids. But you'd struggle to call any 8 year old "elite."
Where we probably agree is that ML, NL, FCA and especially Hawks orgs are seriously talented at identifying at a young age:
1) The fastest kids they can get on roster (I mean, that's easy to see) 2) Kids who are above-average aggressive (some would say "dominance over talent") but are still coachable (little harder to evaluate) 3) Kids who come from D1 athlete families (hits all kinds of data points, from growth potential to work ethic) 4) To a lesser extent, kids who are above average in height, though most elite teams have a few small, extremely scrappy kids
These are all real things that drive- not just impact - lax performance through 9th grade or so. And they are not built at Hawks or 91 or ML practice. They are biological and then secondarily, are built culturally at home.
The elite club teams should get all the credit in the world for finding these kids at a young age, and (where it's true) providing a roster and a culture that the kids love and don't want to leave, and embrace hard work. Really at that point, the stage is set for the actual benefit of elite club lax, which is giving the players space to grow to their talent potential. And in cases where that happens (probably about 50% of kids on elite teams throughout the 3rd - 8th grade level), the clubs get some real credit for that too. And those are your biggest HS stars, absolutely. Especially if they have an extra year.
But you don't have to be an elite club to provide that key benefit of "an environment to grow"....and we all know certain elite clubs do *not* provide that environment for most players.
Reply
Quote