Most Frequently asked questions….

What is MassElite and what are the benefits of playing club lacrosse?

MassElite is an organization dedicated to helping youth and high school lacrosse players achieve the next level of lacrosse, and to prepare high school athletes to play lacrosse in college. MassElite is for those youth athletes that want additional practice and play all year and for high school athletes that want to develop and play competitively in the off season towards the goal of playing college lacrosse.

The philosophy of MassElite is to provide a wide range of opportunities for all players to develop; to reach that goal we hire outstanding coaches, are committed to high level training and development, enter challenging regional and national tournaments, reward work ethic, sportsmanship and academic achievement, and above all have fun while learning!

Playing club lacrosse is essential for those high school lacrosse players serious about playing lacrosse in college.  College coaches from every program in the country look at club lacrosse programs to recruit players. MassElite will provide exposure to college coaches at tournaments, skill development necessary to play at the college level and competition that will challenge and improve the athlete’s skill level.

What is the team practice and tournament commitment?

MassElite encourages players to participate in all practices and attend as many tournaments as possible. We recognize that most of our athletes play several sports, participate in a myriad of extracurricular activities, are honor role students and have family commitments; and while there is no attendance taken or tournaments required, those athletes that are committed and that can give one hundred percent in all that they do, will be chosen for the top teams.

MassElite athletes that have been successful on their town, high school, and ultimately their college teams are those who have worked hard at every practice, scrimmage, and tournament and have taken advantage of as many opportunities to practice and play as possible.

How many practices and tournaments are scheduled?

There is no set number of practices or tournaments, it changes based on player availability and on the tournament schedule. In general there are 1-2 practices a month from September to February. Youth teams have spring practices and tournaments; there are typically six spring youth practices on Saturday evenings in April and May. Summer practices in June and July are weekly for both High School and Youth teams.

There are generally 4-5 tournaments per season; fall, winter, spring (youth only), and summer. Players choose what tournaments to attend. Tournament fees are NON-Refundable, as the fees are paid to the events in advance. Sign ups for tournaments are first come, first serve; players are encouraged to get their tournament registrations in as soon as possible to get a spot on tournament rosters.

How many players for each graduation year are chosen?

There is no set number of players in each year of graduation. Players are chosen based on skill level and athleticism. There are typically 2-3 full teams at each year of graduation. Players are often rostered for tournaments based on their rank within the club. Team one is typically Mass Elite RED, team two is Mass Elite WHITE, and the third level team is Mass Elite Blue.

The try out process is extremely difficult; our coaches come from many different backgrounds and have different selection criteria. We make every effort to give every candidate a fair evaluation, and feel that with multiple skill stations, small sided games, and full field game opportunities we allow all players an opportunity to demonstrate their skills. We encourage players to participate in as many try outs as possible, it will only help our evaluators to recognize your talent. Only one try out is required, but if legitimate conflicts arise and a player cannot make any of the scheduled try outs, our staff may schedule a try out by invitation. Similarly, a player may be invited to join MassElite, without a formal try out if one of our coaches has recruited the athlete to join our club after the try outs have been completed.

MassElite players must try out every year. As new players try out the competition changes and each advancing grade year requires that players have reach the next skill level. Players must challenge themselves to improve each year.

How are teams chosen for the tournaments?

Teams are generally chosen by the athlete’s year of graduation, as most tournaments use this format in scheduling. Depending on the number of athletes in a grade year and the size of the roster necessary to enter a particular tournament (7v7, 12v12), there may be multiple teams entered for each grade level.

You may play on different teams for different tournaments and have many different coaches. MassElite has found that players benefit from playing with different players and for different coaches. Our most successful lacrosse alumni will often reflect on how much they have learned from their MassElite teammates and their MassElite coaches. When there are opportunities to play for an older or more advanced team, players with appropriate skill level will generally be chosen because they demonstrate willingness to play any position, positive attitude, work ethic, team play and field vision.

Can players play for more than one club team?

No. MassElite coaches feel that when you make a commitment to play for this club it should be to this lacrosse club only. If it is your choice to play for another program; we would rather offer the spot to another talented lacrosse player.

What does the MassElite team fee cover? Are the Tournament fees additional?

The MassElite team fee covers uniforms, designated equipment, additional player insurance, and all practices. Tournament fees are additional, generally between $50.00 and $175.00 per tournament, depending on the team fee to participate in a given tournament and the travel expenses of coaches. There can be no refunds of tournament fees, even in the event of a last minute injury or conflict as the fees are paid months in advance and tournament directors do not give refunds.  Their costs are fixed and unchanged by a team or player dropping out. We try to add a few additional players to each roster, but it is a delicate balance between keeping the roster light so that all of our players benefit from playing time and preventing a forfeit. MassElite will lose the opportunity to participate if we have to withdraw from a tournament, please take tournament commitments seriously.

Who will be coaching my son or daughter’s team?

MassElite is a successful lacrosse club program, our success is not only measured by the accomplishments of our athletes but also by the individual experiences of our players; they have fun, they work hard, they make mistakes, they are challenged, and they grow. Our coaches are one of the reasons they learn and why they have fun. MassElite directors recruit the best coaches in Eastern Massachusetts for our players; our staff must share the Mass Elite coaching philosophy: to teach lacrosse and drive athlete’s to excel with energy, passion, fairness, and dedication while respecting each if these athlete’s personality and contribution to the team. Simply, our coaches are the best; they are talented lacrosse players, great athletes themselves, and great role models for our players.

MassElite values consistency in coaching, and we will often try to have the same coach with the same team in as many events as possible; however just as your lives are busy, so are the schedules of our coaches. We cannot require that they are available at every practice and tournament. We find that players benefit from many different coaching styles are often better prepared for their next lacrosse experience having learned from a variety of coaches.

Are the MassElite goals different for middle school athletes than for high school athletes?

MassElite emphasizes skill development for youth and middle school players. While maintaining high expectations for all of our athletes, we recognize the developmental and ageappropriate needs of our younger players.

High School athletes are expected to participate and make a commitment as if they were playing for their high school or a college team. Our most successful players are at every practice and give one hundred percent at every practice and tournament. Our lacrosse athlete’s drive and challenge each other. Many of our practice scrimmages are as intense as tournament games.

How are tournament rosters determined and how are Red Team players chosen?

For MassElite to succeed as a club, we must always be competitive. If we are not a challenging opponent or we do not succeed against the best club teams in the country, we will lose our place in the top tier of competition. One fact of the recruiting world is that college coaches will attend the most competitive games at a tournament. We will continue to aspire to be a top level team. In order to stay competitive our division directors are constantly ranking, evaluating and discussing player development.  Rosters are formed after players submit tournament commitment registrations; generally the top 10 players stand out as RED team players, but the next tier of players is a very large group with a similar skill level and it is often very difficult to make the next set of team assignments. Opportunity to be placed on the top team is definitely awarded to those players that consistently attend practice, are willing to play any position, and are coachable.

Player development can often change dramatically from year to year, there are white team players that make developmental leaps in a given season and pass by Red team players. Conversely Red team players cannot take their spot for granted, as there should always be players challenging them for these tournament roster spots. In certain years of graduation for youth players there are those players that are not being challenged by the majority of their teammates, and they are asked to advance a year, so that they are challenged. While we encourage players ‘playing up’ we also recognize that in many high school tournaments, players must play ONLY with their year of graduation; so athletes will typically play with their grad year in high school events.

What percentage of MassElite lacrosse players are playing in college?

Over fifty percent of MassElite participants are playing college lacrosse; of those players that are not playing, most of them made decisions not to play based on playing another sport, choosing a school that did not have a lacrosse team, playing club college lacrosse, or choosing an academic path that would not allow time for collegiate sports. With hundreds of schools offering the opportunity to play lacrosse in college, there is generally a fit, academically and athletically, for many of our athletes.

Our alumni are very active in helping bring other Massachusetts lacrosse players to visit their schools and will often provide their coach with information about our club. The players before you have made MassElite what it is today; talented, hard working and respectful; coaches everywhere know our reputation and are excited about hearing from our players and watching our teams play.

Will MassElite write college recommendations and help with the recruiting process?

MassElite is very involved with the recruiting process, many conversations happen every day in our office and in between games at tournaments. We do not typically write recommendations as coaches would prefer to evaluate players in a game situation than read an evaluation. Many club coaches will falsely inflate an athlete for the advancement of the club, and coaches have learned that only through watching perspective athletes play multiple times can they make valid decisions.

Though Mass Elite coaches are often involved in the recruiting process, unanimously college coaches have stated that they want all recruiting conversations to be with the athlete, not parents or coaches; simply because they are recruiting an individual, whom they would like to get to know. Your personality coming through in an interview, e-mail or phone conversation will help them determine how you will fit in with their existing team and how you will handle the pressures of college academics and athletics. Mass Elite offers individual recruiting meetings with any of our division directors, please never hesitate to set up a meeting or call the office with questions at any time.

The most important part of the recruiting process begins with your high school grades and standardized test scores. College coaches start every conversation with the question, “what are the student athletes GPA and Sat scores”? As hard as you work on the field, you must work twice as hard in the classroom. Extra help, SAT tutoring and summer school are very common for all athletes preparing to play a sport in college. The second most important recruiting fact is “BE PROACTIVE”, go after every lead, get in front of coaches, ask questions, schedule campus visits, go to camps and clinics, and get to know coaches and assistants; if you don’t make every effort to sell yourself and to take every opportunity to play in front of college coaches another athlete will step up and take your spot.