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FVLC is the Club for Hockey Players

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LACROSSE AND HOCKEY

Lacrosse is a sport that compliments hockey extremely well.  Many of the skills are interchangeable, plus there are some added benefits to developing your son’s hockey skills.   There are a lot of reasons hockey players should consider lacrosse: 
  • Lacrosse and hockey are very similar sports
  • Hockey players excel in lacrosse
  • It’s a great method to increase physical fitness in hockey’s offseason
  • Team sports build self esteem, respect, integrity, & fairness
  • Lacrosse teaches leadership skills
  • It helps prevent sport burn-out by playing a new, fast-paced sport
  • A player can learn basic plays and strategies
  • A player can learn to play both offensive and defensive positions and make a quick transition from defense to offense and vice versa
  • It reinforces the importance of quickness and agility around the net
  • Lacrosse increases hand-eye co-ordination when stick handling
  • It teaches players to play with their head up and to be more aware of their surroundings
  • Offensive scoring skills are honed by shooting at smaller targets and picking corners
  • Defensive skills are taught with individual and team concepts
  • Lacrosse teaches the creativity of fakes, back passes, & shots
  • It is inexpensive to equip lacrosse players as most hockey equipment can be used in lacrosse
HOW LACROSSE IS ORGANIZED IN ILLINOIS
 
In Illinois, lacrosse is divided into three levels. The first level are house leagues run mostly by local park districts.  The second level are travel teams – generally based out of a particular town.  At this point there are about 20 travel clubs in Chicago supporting teams at 7/8th grades and 5th/6th grades that play in the Spring.  These teams will all play in the Illinois Boys Lacrosse Association www.iblax.org.  The highest level are national travel teams – these teams are formed from the best players out of the 20 travel clubs in Chicago and generally play in the Summer and Fall.
 
WHAT IS THE FOX VALLEY LACROSSE CLUB
 
The Fox Valley Lacrosse Club fits in the 2nd tier of clubs.  Players are chosen through a tryout process and coaches are chosen through their passion for and knowledge of the game.  At the 7th and 8th grade level, they will have two teams an A team and a B team.  The A team will compete at the highest level across Chicago, and while most boys who make this team have played lacrosse for a few years, they had one hockey player last year make their A team even though he had never played organized lacrosse before – that gives an idea of how transferrable hockey skills are to the lacrosse field.  The B team will compete against other clubs here in the western suburbs – the B team would be a great place for a boy who’s interested in lacrosse and is a strong hockey player to really learn the sport.
 
The club seeks out the strongest competition and has established a strong record of success. Over the past three years, the 7th/8th grade A team has amassed a record of 72-12.  The club also boasts of placing more than 30 boys onto the national travel teams mentioned above over the last two years.
 
HOW OFTEN DO THEY PLAY, WHERE AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
 
The club begins outdoor practices in March with an introductory week and then practices Sunday afternoons – they know this is towards the end of the hockey season and there still may be some conflicts with our games.  Beginning in April they usually practice for two hours twice a week during the week with about two games on the weekends.  They have one local tournament planned that is just one day, another tournament near Indianapolis that is also one day, a mid-season tournament in South Bend, IN that will be two days and they also plan to travel to Detroit to play the Michigan Warriors, the middle school club associated with Brother Rice High School in Detroit.  The season lasts from early March to mid-June – the club expects to play approximately 25 total games between league games and the four tournaments mentioned.
 
Practices will be held either either on the turf field at Benedictine College in Lisle or at All Saints Academy in Naperville.
 
Compared to hockey, the fees are modest.  For this entire season, the fee will be $450 and the uniform fee will be another $100.  Of course, each family is responsible for their own travel to tournaments.
 
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER MIDDLE SCHOOL LACROSSE?
 
One of the great things about lacrosse, is that it was approved this past Fall by the IHSA (Illinois High School Association) so local high schools will make this an official varsity sport – the Fox Valley club has been extremely successful with the number of boys who have played on Varsity teams as Freshmen.  For boys who excel at the sport, there are certainly opportunities to play on the national travel teams mentioned.  Also, there are numerous opportunities for boys to play lacrosse in college.

WE RESPECT HOCKEY PLAYERS NEEDS

We know that for the Winter, hockey is the most important sport for hockey playres and we fully support this and will work to accommodate the schedule of hockey players. 

We do ask that players make all reasonable efforts to attend FVLC practices during the hockey season.  That said, we expect that once your son's hockey season is over that they will make the same commitment to the club that we ask every other boy -- that lacrosse is your their primary Spring sport.