BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) How to quantify (evaluate) the travel/club process

We all know that for girls, there seem to be numerous scholarship opportunities coming from lax.

Keeping the cost, time and sacrifice in mind, is it really worth all the effort?

Club teams practice at least once, maybe more times a week.
Tournaments involve travel and overnight stays very often.
Meals, tolls, gas etc.....
Time away from home.
There are many things that are affected by our commitment.

After it is all done and your child is graduatiing highschool on their way to college, was it all worth it?

The ammount of any scholarship a child gets seems to be a topic that is not openly discussed.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Is it

No. they should be playing for the enjoyment, if they plan to play in college or not. As a parent I personally enjoy the travel to the tournaments in the summer. We make plans around the destinations. If your not enjoying that aspect of it, and just going through the motions to try to get a college scholarship, it's not worth it at all. It is a lot of time and money spent over the years and the truth is much more money is spent on this sport (on the whole) than will ever get handed out in scholarships.

I agree, they should be playing for the enjoyment and the opportunity to improve their playing. For some school districts, this may not be an issue, since the middle school and high school coaches are good and the girls would be playing on team with other high level players.

In other districts, club will be the only way they will improve since the coaches are not very good and the team talent is all over the place. If you are in one of those districts and don't do club and your daughter does end up wanting to play on a d1 or d2 college team, i think it would be hard.

I also agree with the other poster that it shouldn't be about scholarships. Although it can get tiring and is a big financial and time commitment, we do enjoy the tournaments and will probably miss them when it's all over (not the summer Belt parkway traffic though). It's family time together.

I agree with the other posters. Do it for the enjoyment of the whole process. I enjoy the trips with my daughter, it's usually just the two of us and occasionally we will have a decent conversation on the ride -- in between the top 20 radio dreck she listens to. I kid, but I do enjoy our trips, I enjoy the other kids and parents, watching the games, all of it.

I think, and this is purely my feeling and not mathematic, that the cost of all the club expenses (factoring in travel) will exceed whatever scholarship my kid may get. Any money a school throws her way would be great, but in no way to I expect it to offset the money I will have spent on getting her to that playing level.

What I like about sports in college is that your kid has an automatic social network, their grades are closely watched so the likelihood of them going off the rails is lessened, the sport can get your child into the preferential pool of college applicants, and lastly the financial aspect. Any little bit helps.

I am also very satisfied with the entire process, my initial post is a look from the "other side of the coin".
Fortunately, we are able to provide this opportunity to our daughter, and now our son.
We are involved with a really great bunch of kids, parents and coaches.
It is my belief that between strong academics and athletics, my kids will be offered some the chance to attend more prominent schools after HS.
That being said, the original purpose of my strategy raising kids is to be able to provide them with opportunities that will assist them in positioning themselves for a solid career after HS and college.
Its all about being there for the kids, and sometimes sacrificing a bit for them also.....its a very difficult and competitive world out there. This whole experience certainly is making my kids stronger....

You notice that I have not mentioned what club's my daughter and son play for....lol....

Unspoken commitment, that seems like a smart move. If you don't belong to a certain club (xyz), parents will crucify you. It is amazing how brain washed the parents of some clubs are, its seriously a cult mentality. Sounds like you have your head on straight and have a realistic view of the whole thing. Good luck to you and your kids in lacrosse, enjoy the ride!