As discussed in our previous post, the first hurdle to the question “Should I put my kid in Club Lacrosse?” is straightforward — your child loves lacrosse and wants more of it. That answer needs to be yes. If you haven’t read that post, the short version is this: your kid needs to genuinely love the game, and your family needs to be able to afford it. If both are yes, keep reading.
To this day, when it’s time to sign up for tryouts, we ask all three of our kids individually: “Tryouts are next Saturday and Sunday — do you want us to sign you up again?” When they are younger, it’s pretty easy to gauge their interest. As they get older, while we still have a good idea, we like giving them the decision. It becomes their choice and their commitment.
3 Reasons You Should Put Your Kid in Club Lacrosse
Club Lacrosse is going to exponentially improve your child’s skill, knowledge, and feel for the game. The good club programs train at a high level — not just teaching skills like stick handling and dodging, but how the game actually flows. Spacing, sliding, where to be and when to be there. I call this Lacrosse IQ.
I remember early on watching college lacrosse games with my son, having casual conversations about what we were seeing. Seven years in, watching a game with him now, he’s pointing out details I don’t even notice. That’s Lax IQ. That’s what Club Lax builds. The repetition of year-round training elevates their game to a different level. And starting young gives club kids a real leg up when school ball begins — the club kids stand out from day one.
The family experiences are something you can’t put a price tag on. The conversations we’ve had with the whole family locked in a car on a long drive to a tournament, or late at night in a hotel after a full tournament day, are some of my favorite moments. Don’t get me wrong — they are kids and they get plenty of screen time, running-around-the-hotel-with-teammates time, and sleep time — but almost every trip there’s been a 30-minute-plus conversation that the whole family enjoys and remembers.
The Club dynamic has created lifelong friends for all of our kids. They have met kids from outside their normal school circles that never would have happened without Club Lax. And going even further, we as parents have gained some great friendships, again only made possible through the club programs. Now, don’t get me wrong — there will be some “Parent Personalities” that will make you cringe, to say the least. That’s a whole separate post coming soon.
To summarize, three reasons you should put your kid in Club Lax:
- Skill and Lacrosse IQ development.
- Phenomenal family experiences and memories along the way.
- They — and you — will gain friendships and a network that lasts a lifetime.
3 Reasons NOT to Put Your Kid in Club Lacrosse
One of the worst reasons I have heard way too often — especially in the younger years, ages 7, 8, 9 — is the parent who says, “My child is going to get a college scholarship.”
Here is the reality: Club lacrosse is likely necessary if your child wants to play in college. Most recruiting is done at the club level, not the high school level, with some regional exceptions. So in the early teen years, if that is a goal, Club lacrosse is definitely helpful, if not required. However, the decision to put your kid in club lacrosse should not be made when they are 7. To me, a scholarship is a benefit if it happens — not the reason to start.
Because everyone else is doing it is not a reason to start Club Lax. Keeping up with the Joneses is not a strategy. It’s expensive, a significant time commitment, and you’re looking at a year-round obligation when you sign up. This needs to be your family’s decision, not the neighborhood’s decision. Your child needs to genuinely want it, and you need to be willing to commit not just your money, but your time.
If you are not ready for a life change, wait. That sounds extreme, but I don’t think I’m overstating it. This coming summer, nearly every weekend in June and July we will be in some town, in some hotel, for a lacrosse tournament. We will miss graduation parties, family birthday parties, barbecues, and summer weekends just sitting around the house. That’s our choice and we own it. But you need to understand going in — your life will be different.
The Bottom Line
For us, Club Lacrosse has taken over our lives for the last seven years and we have three or four more to go. We are good with it, can’t imagine it any differently, and to be honest, are somewhat scared that the end is not that far off.