Most Frequently asked questions….

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

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 took advantage of as many opportunities 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. Generally, there are weekly Saturday afternoon practices from April to June for youth players. High School and youth players practice once a week during the summer. With other sports commitments in the fall and winter seasons, practices are generally limited to 1-3 practices per season.

There is also team training during the summer; position specific and year of graduation team training for four hours a day for four days. All practices include conditioning and running, but our expectation is that players are working out at home in addition to MassElite practice and play.

There are generally 4-5 tournaments per season; summer, fall and winter. The best way to look ahead for the 2006 season is to look back at the events that we attended in 2005. Check our tournaments here.

Where are most of the MassElite players from?
MassElite was one of the first lacrosse clubs in Massachusetts and had players from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island; but with new clubs everywhere we have become primarily an Eastern Massachusetts Club. MassElite club players come from many different towns and from many different public, private and prep schools throughout Eastern Massachusetts.

What is the “North Division” of the MassElite girl’s program?
MassElite has just announced a North Division for the girls program, which simply means that we are growing! We will offer practices and tryouts in locations north of the Mass Pike as well as the south/central locations of Westwood, Milton, and Canton. All players will be part of one team: MassElite. Tournament roster selections will remain the same; but athletes will have the opportunity to participate in try outs, practices, team training, and scrimmages at all locations. We will encourage players to take advantage of more practices instead of choosing between north and central locations.

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. 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?
The MassElite team fee covers uniforms, designated equipment, additional insurance, all practices and field rental costs, player profile CD for juniors and seniors sent to all college lacrosse programs, coach’s salaries and travel expenses, and marketing, internet and administrative costs.

Are the Tournament fees additional?
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 loose 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 laugh, they sweat, they make mistakes, they are challenged, and they grow. Our coaches are why they learn and why they have fun. The MassElite directors have been recruiting quality coaches for the last six years; our staff must share our coaching and program philosophies. Simply, our coaches are the best; talented lacrosse players, great athletes, and great role models.

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 can not 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 age appropriate needs of our younger players. The practices are not as intense and the expectations are not as demanding.

High School athletes are expected to participate as if they were playing for their high school or a college team.

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, we will loose 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.

What percentage of MassElite lacrosse players are playing in college?
Almost all four year MassElite participants are playing college lacrosse. With hundreds of schools offering the opportunity to play lacrosse in college, there is generally a fit, academically and athletically, for all of our athletes. We encourage candidates to take a look at the alumni page of the web site and view where MassElite players have gone to college.

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 checking out our teams.

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, on the field between games, and after our player profile CD has been sent to the coaches. We do not typically write recommendations as coaches much 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 we are often involved, 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.

MassElite Girls is part of Galaxy Lacrosse, what is Galaxy Lacrosse?
Galaxy Lacrosse is a group of girl’s lacrosse clubs that was originally designed to bring together a group of clubs that shared the common goal of love of the game placing team sportsmanship above winning. Based on the visions of the founders, Galaxy Lacrosse has attracted the top girl’s lacrosse club programs in the country who seek to join and thereby assuring their players the opportunity to play with and against the best. Galaxy Lacrosse holds an annual tournament called the Galaxy National Championships, which draws great attendance of college coaches and crowns a Galaxy National Champion. The Galaxy consortium also honors the top players of each club with the prestigious All Galaxy Awards for juniors and seniors. An award recognized by college coaches everywhere.

In summary, MassElite attracts multi sport athletes that are as strong in the classroom as they are on the playing field; our coaches understand and respect family, religious, sports, and academic commitments, thus the tournament and practice schedule is flexible; but we cannot emphasize enough the value of participation and hard work. Coaches feel that they can give you the tools to succeed, if you take advantage of all of the learning opportunities they provide, and you make the commitment to work before, during, and after practice!

On behalf of our entire coaching staff, we thank you for considering our program and wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.

Do you have any developmental programs for Boys?

Yes, MassElite Boys Program Announces a YOUTH “Development” Division for 2006. Our Mass Elite coaches recognize the value of lacrosse athletes playing competitively at the Youth level and the importance of developing a middle school team that will serve as a feeder program for our high school teams. Unlike our high school teams which play in the summer, fall and winter, our Youth “Development” team will begin training in the spring of 2006. Players are encouraged to continue to play for their town teams, but will have additional opportunities to practice and compete in the spring with MassElite

The MassElite Development team will practice once a week and play games on Saturdays.  Our proposed spring schedule will consist of games against town select teams from Beverly, Duxbury, Medfield and Lincoln-Sudbury.  We will also have several opportunities to play under the lights on the new Medfield High School turf field.   Additionally the MassElite Development team will plan to attend several tournaments including the Jersey Shootout, Great Guns in Wellesley MA, Xtreme Lax in Groton MA, Mid Summer Classic at UMass Amherst, Long Island Classic, and the D&R Tournament in Old Brookville NY.

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!

2006 MassElite Development Tryouts:
Wednesday, December 28 12:00noon – 2:00 pm
Tuesday, February 21 12:00noon – 2:00 pm
The Canton Sportsplex, 5 Carver Circle, Canton, MA

Questions or further information:
MassElite Boys Director, Chris Gelinas 
508-308-2180  boysinfo@masselite.com

MassElite Club Lacrosse