BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) What age to make the commitment

I'm looking for input as to what age to make the financial and time commitment to one of these elite lacrosse clubs. I have been effectively scared into thinking that if my daughter does not join by about the 7th grade that she will have a difficult time making the top team. I'm also told that paying these outrageous fees are the gateway to scholarships. That these clubs are very well connected and the tournaments are the only way to be seen by the right college coaches.

Thats what they are banking on. They club teams want you to believe that. Thats why they charge such outrages fees!!!

We took the plunge when my daughter was going into 8th grade but i know someone personally who didn't join a club until 11th grade and received a nice scholarship. I think it also depends on the strength and reputation of the high school team. Our town is not known for lax and the club team is a much more enjoyable experience for my daughter as she gets to play with others who are as dedicated to the sport as she is. She has really been able to grow as a player. There are quite a few clubs around now to choose from. You also have to really understand how much your daughter wants it, as traveling and practices (and the expenses)can be a lot. But the tournaments do give the high school age girls exposure, which I think is especially important for those girls who are not from LI's top lax towns.

This is one of the reasons that BOTC Industries wants to hear what the LAX community is saying about what is happening in our own backyeard. Using words like "scared" is a sign that not enough information is available to our LAX community. Fear comes from a lack of information being available.

Back of the Cage is trying to "open the kimono" on the college scholarship world in lacrosse. Providing visibility to costs, college scholarships, and local programs is one of the missions for BOTC. Offering clear and well documented choice based on facts is what BOTC is committed to delivering.

Your inputs, Hammer and everyone, is critical to this process. Please continue letting us hear what you have to say!

That is one thing that is missing in lacrosse at the upper age groups. there is really know way to find out information except by word of mouth or being in the right place at the right time. Hopefully this site will go a long way to filling this void

But isn't keeping the information private one way to keep parents captive clients? Seriously, the posts and ideas on this site are the first steps forward in providing much needed information to lax families. My family for one will be following this site going forward. More people need to start adding their thoughts about what is happening to their kids and their wallets.

I personally feel the Summer entering High School is the best time. This means you should be looking for the Travel Team that best suites your child in the Fall of 8th grade-this is generally when they hold try outs. In chosing a Travel team you should be looking at location of practices, cost, number of tournaments etc. Playing over the summer at a higher level of play will prepare your child for the next step--playing in High School. The training they recieve over the summer will also prepare them for the HS try outs. If you have a talented player they will find their way, you don't always have to be on the top team to secure a great College Scholarship!!

If you wait this long hopefully your child is very good and will stand out. By 8th grade fall/winter most teams are pretty much decided. I had a friend who is a very good player and she tried out for yellow jackets, fall 8th grade. She had an o.k. tryout but nothing spectacular. The people who evaluated her did not know her and she was stuck on the "D" team. Now if she proves herself she can be moved up through the ranks but if you are not on the first two teams "A" or "B" you are not going to get a lot of college looks/ Thats just the way it is. On Long Island it is super competetive. Most good clubs have 3 or 4 teams IN EACH AGE GROUP with 22 or more players on each team. There are not enough scholarships to go around.

Waiting until 8th grade and moving into high school seems late when thinking about taking the next step in lacrosse. If the training and technique of the elite programs provides a solid foundation, taking advantage of those programs at younger ages seems like the right approach.

Rather than just playing with the "A" or "B" team, you could showcase as an individual player, right - or is that just too hard?

Showcasing with a full team is much easier, particularly with some of the top clubs on Long Island. You develop a trusted relationship with the other players and coaches.

Signing up as an individual is like being a guest player in soccer without the paperwork with one major exception : lax showcase events charge extra fee$ to have individual players.

I coach the Middle Country 4th grade girls team and we're facing the same problem/question of when is the right time to have the girls take the next step and move on to the club programs. My older daughter plays for the Top Gun 2014 Black team and started out with Southbay three years ago in the sixth grade so I have limited experience with the club environment. I have two thoughts on the subject.

I honestly don’t believe joining a club team until the sixth or seventh grade is all that important to the development of a player. There are an abundant amount of clinics and skills development programs that your child can go to to attain the same skill sets. The problem is, as an earlier writer mentioned, if you don’t align yourself with one of the better teams early, it gets increasingly more difficult to get onto one of the upper tier teams unless the coach of one of those teams has an opportunity to see your child play elsewhere. We were asked to have our girls tryout for several teams this fall for next year’s team, but felt the time, money and commitment was unnecessary at this age.

I guess we’ll be asking and answering this question again next August. Good luck to all this year!

I think 7th and 8th grade is a good time to start entering the club world. If your player is talented they will find their way onto a good team. It has been my experience that if you do your homework and make contact with the coach from your school of interest they will come to a tournament you are in and see your son or daughter play. So you don't necessarily have to be on the best or most expensive travel team to get a look......YOU NEED TO BE PROACTIVE!!!! Good Luck

Interesting points about starting with club lacrosse just before the high school years. When you think about it, so many youth players are burned out on the soccer side before high school that this approach makes a great deal of sense. The proactive comment is absolutely true whether you are talking about lacrosse or any other sport.

Well said.

You mean burned out on the lacrosse side. These manaics have 5th and 6th grade girls doing 4 or 5 summer tournaments. Soccer ends in June and picks up end August, lax robs your kids of childhood summers.

gimme a break my kid is in the 6th grade plays soccer on a div 1 team and plays lax for the yellow jackets: she plays soccer in fall then her coach had them play in winter league with practice once a week and then spring soccer with 2 tourneys oh and then a summer league. Which sport is burning out kids: soccer. You find it hard to let your kids play any other sport because soccer is year round now