BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums PENNSYLVANIA LACROSSE PENNSYLVANIA FORUM Duke's Lacrosse

This is clearly somebody trolling because it's such a notIntelligent comment. BUT, with that being said, after seeing the pics from that minicamp is the end finally near? I legitimately saw in the realm of like 40 kids there.

That obvious, huh? Thank goodness we have your intellect here to help sort it all out. Yes the end is near. Move on.

Have all you Dukes haters heard all the changes this year for Duke's Nationals and do any of you know if Duke's elite is phasing out. DN is managing the 2023 HS team with Elite staff as "Advisers". New Director of DN - Did G Leave or get pushed out?
Anyone know what is really going on? How are other classes 24 and below?
Don't reply with "the end is almost here" Dukes has been a staple at the high school level for 20 years just looking for info.

It’s a pickup team of whoever is available, from anywhere they can find them, when they aren’t playing for other clubs. Basically everyone is a guest player, and they wear Dukes uniform to keep the dukes name current.

G still involved I'm sure

Revolving door of players.

There's nothing wrong with this if they are a aware of pros & cons and still participate. For the past 3-4 years, I've seen various DN teams play and seen play level anywhere from elite to good.. and never saw a non-competitive team.

Can anyone share what the annual cost is for Duke's Nationals and what all it includes?

Just continue to write checks they will let you know when you’ve paid enough

My son played for Dukes Nationals a few years ago and the cost at that time was about 3,500 to 4,000 per year. The cost included player registration, monthly mini camps, tournaments, uniforms-seemed to get multiply each year, hotels, gas and food. And yes, my son was above the line on the depth chart the entire time he played. We left due to management, not a well run club at the top level. Hope this helps.

Around $350/year "uniform" fee which includes the uniform and the general fee for the team. That does not include the helmet, etc. that new players need to purchase.

Mini camp package is around $900/year. You have to purchase the entire package.

Tournaments are around $200 per event.

Tournament was more than double that

That happens when only 11 kids attend

Does the price and the particulars of DN really matter? We all already know it's a program that had a great concept and poor execution from a few bad actors leading the thing. With the emergence of the many showcase events and clubs/players teams having access to them I fail to understand the need and continued chirping about DN. Between the team and individual showcase events I don't understand the need for DN other than to be stroked about how great your kid is. This experiment just stopped working because of bad human intervention.

Can we all agree to let this dying animal die a quiet death.

where are the dukes tryouts this weekend? Says philly but no details.

That’s because no one is going

Sounds like Duke's is Reloading with a new high profile coach (Marechek) being officially announced. Perhaps everybody needs to slow down with all the negative comments.

at 2027...those kids aren't even in Middle School does he have a son on that team?

Yes he does!

Of course he does, and he’ll last as long as the other high profile coaches they’ve had. Brotherly Love does the same garbage bait and switch. The coaches don’t even know the kids names.

Comical response from the typical as s hat that is on here. Stay at Freedom let an accountant coach your kid

Accountants seem to make good coaches then.

Odd response. Is that to imply someone who is an accountant can't be a good (or great) lacrosse coach? I'd argue that a former player that goes on to have a successful career in a meaningful profession AND finds time to give back to the game via coaching is exactly who'd I want coaching my son. A person like this actually has "perspective" on what the game is and what it is not.

To be brutally honest, I doubt any of our plans end up with our sons becoming the coach of a club lacrosse team (i.e., Marachek). Call me cynical, but I'm always a bit cautious with "Club Lacrosse Coach" Guy. More realistic, the dream would be a 4 year stop at Yale/Hopkins/Duke then straight into I-banking on Wall St. Then when he volunteer's his time to his son's lacrosse team, he'll get bashed randomly on an anonymous board for not being a "full time" coach.. I'll take that option every time.

There's truth in the statement, though. A lot of the high profile coaches disappeared after a few months. Not familiar with Brotherly Love but their web site lists a lot of heavy hitters.

None of them are accountants though.

Calling Marachek a "Club Lacrosse Coach" Guy is kinda crazy. He was one of the all time great players who actually had a pretty lengthy (and successful) professional career.

Doesn't mean he's necessarily a great coach (personally, I have a mixed opinion based on experiences with my son), but come on. The guy deserves a bit more respect.

Fair enough call out and appreciate that fact that you didn't just call me an stunad (happens a lot on here). I truthfully don't know much about what Marachek has done post SU career. Clearly the guy is a coach and has a bunch of success as a coach - so Marachek is great. it's a good hire for Duke's .

I really just wanted to comment (admittedly poorly) on the absurdity of calling out a coach because he (or she, its a new world) is an accountant when not coaching.

Hmm...do I want a former college player who happens to be a successful business man and Dad coaching my kid...
Or a club lacrosse guy who needs my money to pay the mortgage? Keep hating on Freedom. I'll keep counting my money that doesn't go to the business model clubs.

You are 100% missing the point on this. You are paying nearly the same amount to play Freedom as you would Fusion, BL, NXT etc...why is that and where is all that cash going????

To answer your question, I don't want a dad coaching my kid at the club level. I am fine with it at rec. Dad coaches always mean well and are always great guys for a beer but the only dad coaches that I know have a son on the team and therein lies the problem. The kid almost always plays attack, or first line midde, he offense always runs through them and little johhny dominates the playing time and he is never as good as the dad thinks he is.

This is why I left and no regrets. Professional coach now coaching my son and no he isn't an accountant.

I don't know what Fusion costs but I do know what Freedom, NXT and BL cost and believe me, they aren't "nearly the same amount". Freedom is over $1K cheaper than NXT. BL is a unique model because they are more a-la-carte in their costs but they line up more with Freedom than NXT. They also have some dad coaches at BL.

Not even close to the same amount of $

Mesa and HHH $1500 more for fewer events too.

I'm probably unique in that I care way more about the training and practice aspect of the team than the events. T-shirt titles don't really count for much in my book. That being said, my son isn't in high school so there is no college recruiting expectation right now. If I have to pay a little extra to ensure quality instruction and a focus on solid fundamentals, I'm willing to shell it out. However, I'm also not shelling out big bucks so my kid can go practice at JHU or Duke a few times a year (Can we call that what it is, a gimmick to lure in wide-eyed parents?)

Then honestly you should look at Brotherly Love Academy. Exceptional coaching and training.

It is interesting that you list what YOU care about. Quality instruction and solid fundamentals? That sounds really boring. when I was a kid and start playing lacrosse it was fun and different. I agree that today the over structure of the club system is not made for kids but games are still what kids enjoy. Save the "training and development" for later in HS and beyond. Kids just want to play games. Sure have some practices but I think training is very overused by clubs. They do not develop players, players develop themselves. when pushed to play tougher competition they rise to the level or they don't. However no kid wants to train and develop. They like games, the pool at a tournament, and gear.

I pay the bill, so I think I have that right to list what I'm looking for. Kids are still kids and aren't known to be the best decision makers. I agree with you that it CAN be really boring...if you don't have a good coaching staff. That job of the coaching staff is to make training and development fun for the kids while improving their skills each practice. Gamifying practice. I'm not interested in practice plans that were developed 25 years ago when we played, because you are right, it's boring and the kids quickly lose interest.

As for fundamentals being boring, i'm guessing you never played football. If you don't stress fundamentals there, necks get damaged and legs stop working. So yea, again as adults we have to try to stress why fundamentals are important. Left to his own devices, I'm sure my kid would eat ice cream and cookies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Chicken is boring. Should I sign him up for the Ben and Jerry's Meal plan?

Maybe we can all put aside our differences for a moment. Just got an email that one of the Brotherly Love Zeus 2023 boys is battling lymphoma. New to the team but seems like a great cause to rally around.

gf.me/u/vvzybh

+1 Checking it out now. Prayers for him.

Looks like the Dukes can't field a 2025 team for Battle of the Bay.

At philly inv showcase why were there two Dukes 2023 teams - what’s going on there?