Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Are there tryouts for Brotherly Love lacrosse teams?

Yes, we offer Developmental, Select, and Elite Teams.

Developmental Team:  This team is for the player with rudimentary passing and catching skills to work with quality coaches to develop their individual and team based skills.

Select Team:  This team is for the player whose skills are at an intermediate to advanced level.  They will compete in A/B level tournaments.

Elite Team:  This team is for the player whose skill are advanced.  The objective for this team is to compete at AA tournaments and succeed against any team in the country.

Do I still play for my community team?

Yes, we encourage community level participation for all players.

Are the coaches paid?

No, parent coaches are not paid.  We do pay our high school and college coaches, as well as the specialty coaches, we bring in for supplemental training.

Will there be college coaches?

Yes, we believe college players are an integral part of the learning and mentoring process.  These players will be paid by Alliance Lacrosse, LLC.
 

How is playing time determined?

We believe that a club team that has more than 25+ players on their team cannot offer an appropriate amount of playing time.  Our teams will carry a maximum of 20 “suited up” players per game/tournament. We will strive to win games and tournaments while optimizing playing time for all players.  We do reserve the option to roster extra players on those teams that have a history of players not being able to commit to a full tournament season.  While we do our best to optimize playing time we also cannot place our teams in the precarious position where they go to tournaments in the middle of the summer heat without enough substitutions.

Can I play for another club team?

We prefer you do not, once you make a Brotherly Love team you are “IN” until YOU choose to leave us.  We make a commitment to the long term development of each and everyone of our players.  We ask you to make the same commitment to our club.  We do encourage our players to participate and tryout for community and county based All Star teams.

Will you help in recruiting?

We have a cadre of high school coaches, collegiate players, and professional players that will work with you along with our administrative resources to help guide you through the process of selecting a college that is the best fit for our players.  With the new recruiting changes allowing no contact until a players Junior Year in High School the role of the Club Lacrosse Team is more critical than ever, and we assume that role with the knowledge that we can make a difference.

Where are the practices?

We recognize and appreciate that players joining our team often have two hour commutes to practice.  We have chosen West Chester, PA as a geographical focal point and strive to find quality fields that are both economical and convenient.

Is this a year round program?

Our club offers programs in the Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer.  We cease all operations in the latter part of July and all of August.  We are committed to an a la carte approach to our club team.  Only play and participate in the programs, seasons, clinics, leagues, and tournaments that make sense to your family budget and calendar.

What community teams are represented in Brotherly Love?

We currently have players actively participating from the following Philadelphia based programs:  Kennett Square, Garnet Valley, Lionville, Unionville, Avon Grove, West Chester, Conestoga, Radnor as well as Lehigh Valley and the state of Delaware.

What is your stance on “Daddy Ball”?

The dreaded words that often accompany any team that is predominantly coached by parents with kids in the program.  It is very real and at its worse can ruin teams and whole programs.  We have all watched coaches whose kid has to be the Quarterback in football, Point Guard in basketball, or Attack in lacrosse.  Unfortunately, it is innate in nature and what is apparent to the rest of the team somehow clouds the vision of the parent guilty of playing “Daddy Ball.” 

Our rule at Brotherly Love is simple.  Any parent coach whose son is playing on their team must play at least two positions.  They cannot play Attack for the whole game.  Whether or not they may truly be a fantastic player whose offensive skills are beyond reproach, they cannot play attack for the whole game.

Do you offer scholarships?

We fundamentally adhere to the believe that finances should not hinder a child’s ability to participate in the great game of lacrosse and join our club.  If you would like to discuss a needs based scholarship please Contact Us.

How are Brotherly Love tournament rosters selected?

We strive to build a roster for each individual tournament that reconciles to the anticipated skill set of participating teams.  For some tournaments we bring only our best players and for others we will mix and match to allow less experienced players an opportunity to raise their individual playing experience by playing at a higher level.

Our goal is to win every tournament we enter with class and respect for sportsmanship.  In many instances, we extend invitations to players to join our club fully realizing that a player may be developing their skill set as a lacrosse player.  These players will be developed more slowly and not put in situations, where we can help, they may be over matched.  We invest time developing individual players because we believe in their long term potential.

We also believe our club should play to a certain standard of excellence. If we are unable to field a full roster that meets our standards of excellence due to vacations, seasonal sport commitments, or scheduling conflicts we may supplement our teams with guest players.

How do you fit other sports schedules into the program?

The best lacrosse players play more than one sport.  We encourage your child to play football, field hockey, soccer, basketball, hockey, volleyball, swimming, etc.  This is the primary reason that we offer an a la carte approach to our program.

Why does my son need a US Lacrosse membership?

Brotherly Love’s team insurance is with US Lacrosse.  This requires all members of the team to also be members of US Lacrosse.  There are many other reason to be a member of the governing body of the lacrosse community.  To read more about US Lacrosse please click here.