Travel Clubs | What to Know
Youth sports, lacrosse included, have become a big business. They’re all targeting players early in their sports experience and navigating through all the information can be a huge challenge for any parent. In lacrosse there are travel clubs that promise to get your player "exposure" to the most recruiters and colleges by taking them all over the country; so you as a parent think "Maybe my child can get their college paid for."
The truth is, only about 2% of high school athletes receive athletic scholarships every year at NCAA colleges and universities. |
In my family we’ve seen the good and the bad of the travel club experience. We’ve spent thousands on programs and we’ve been part of failing programs. Our experiences, combined with those of friends and family within the travel lacrosse circle, have taught us a few things along the way however the most important lesson we learned:
Playing for a travel club has to be a fun experience for your player. |
I have to admit I have made decisions early on about my players lacrosse experience and I lost sight of the "fun" factor. There is nothing worse than seeing your player pour their heart and sole into a team and realizing they are not having fun. Sports are supposed to build character, relationships, a sense of accomplishment, blah, blah, blah...
The most important factor in sports is they are supposed to be fun. |
Do your homework
- Know when tryouts are - Tryouts are earlier than people anticipate; tryouts for Summer usually occur in January, for Fall and Winter they usually happen in September. This being said missing a tryout doesn't mean your player can't join a club, there are often openings in clubs after tryouts to include practice teams. Don't be afraid to reach out to the club to ask if your player can join because your player may get the opportunity to join even after tryouts have taken place.
- Go to the club web page - Look up the coaches bio's to learn about their coaching history, what is the culture of those programs, are they liked by their players? A player-coach relationship is huge, if it is positive it can motivate your player, but if it is negative it could push your player away from the sport.
- Read social media - Social media should be about the players not only about the club success. Of course social media is supposed to sell your product and the best way to do this is by showing the players perform, laugh and have a good time. Beware of the clubs boasting how great they are and what colleges their players go to, their accolades shouldn't be about how many of their players go to a D1 college, they should recognize individual accomplishments.
- Meet the club manager - If you or other parents do not connect with the manager you should go to another club. The club manager is the person you will communicate with, who will deal with any issues you may have and having a positive relationship is crucial.
- Talk to a club parent - Learning about about their players experience can say so much about a club. Players who feel like a they have a role on the team are happy players, they feel included and part of a team.
- Does your player have friends in the club - Humans are a social bunch for the most part so having people around who your player knows will add to their enjoyment due to the shared experiences. Having someone your player can have as a wingman through the highs and lows of a tournament season will make the time between games enjoyable which is probably going to be the biggest memories your player will have when all is said and done.
Just remember, the travel club tryout season is a challenging time for many families of youth players. However, despite the hassle, this isn’t the most critical decision you will make – not even close. When all is said and done, it’s about providing more fun playing opportunities for your player to pursue in a sport that they love, so take the time to research the travel clubs before you commit your player to a tryout.
Choose the club that best fits your player, that will keep your player wanting to play the sport they love
Choose the club that best fits your player, that will keep your player wanting to play the sport they love