Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/31/14
Team Philadelphia (of Lacrosse Evolution) has merged with The Duke’s Lacrosse Club-Lite program and will hold evaluations this Sunday, Jan. 4, for ages 2016 to 2025.
This initial open evaluations will be held at Lacrosse Evolution King of Prussia Training Center, 201 King Manor Drive, Suite E, King of Prussia, PA 19406. All players that attend the evaluations will be eligible to participate in the Duke’s LC-Lite program, a division and new feeder program of the Duke’s High School program. There will be additional evaluations posted in the near future.
The registration fee is $25. Click here to register for evaluations.
Evaluation Times:
2016-2017: 8:00 AM-9:30 PM
2018-2019: 9:30 AM-11:00 AM
2020-2021: 11:00 AM-12:30 PM
2022-2023: 12:30 PM-2:00 PM
2024-2025: 2:00 PM-3:30 PM
This Duke’s LC Lite program will be overseen and modeled in the blueprint of the Duke’s LC High School program as a collaboration between Lacrosse Evolution’s Team Philadelphia and Duke’s LC, which is expanding its feeder program and providing a travel club program for all interested. Players that progress will have an opportunity to be moved up to the Duke’s high school program.
Initially, the Team Philadelphia coaches will run the program but additional coaches will become involved as the program grows. The Duke’s LC plans to create Lite teams in each age group or multiple teams in each age group, depending on the numbers. In addition, the top players in the Duke’s Lite program in the age groups will also compete, be labeled on a depth chart and move up to make a Duke’s Lite 1 or a Duke’s Lite 2 Team in the program’s model.
Click here to register for the evaluations.
Some elite high school players that reached the pro ranks and played with the Duke’s LC and/or Team Philadelphia programs include Jordan Wolf, Jeff Bigus, Xander Ritz, Billy McGlone, Matt McMonagle, Todd Fairlie, Greg Leonard, Eric Bishop, Steve Grossi, George Castle, PT Ricci, Brian Christopher, Steve Layne, Kevin Kaminski, Sean Evans, Ken Clausen, Colton Vosburg, Kyle Wharton, Nick Mooney, Ryan Cranston, Jack Forster, Matt Dolente, Ryan Snyder, John Corbin, Shane Sturgis, Owen Blye, Matt Mackrides, Ty Souders, Stephen O’Hara, Mason Poli, Joe Lisicki, Tyler Knarr, Austin Kaut, Drew Adams, Niko Amato, Tucker Durkin, Greg Gurenlian, Chris Schiller and Lacrosse Evolution founder and owner Tom Slate (who played on the original Duke’s Adult Team in the late 1990s).
FAQs on the merger:
My son made the roster for Team Philadelphia, does he need to tryout again?
–No, your son is on the roster of one of the Duke’s Lite LC teams.
Will the coaches of Team Philadelphia now be Duke’s LC coaches?
–Yes the coaching staff and leadership team will continue to operate under the Duke’s Lite LC banner. The majority of them will be the same. They will go through a qualification or training program to make sure they deliver the same message as Dukes Lite.
Will tournament/practice location and times be affected?
— Practices will be similar of the merge, tournaments have been discussed, but nothing has been set in stone. The number of tournaments will possibly go up. The schedule we had tentatively scheduled is on this link, but after evaluations we will finalize and get out.
The Duke’s LC website says they are a High School Team, what does this mean for my middle school/youth son?
–This is a new endeavor for Duke’s and we will be fielding youth teams this coming summer season. The purpose of getting youth teams or a program is to strengthen the message and culture so that when they get to high school they are better prepared for the rigors of tournaments, college prep, etc.
My son made the roster for Team Philadelphia, do I send my deposit and tuition to Lax Evo care of Team Philadelphia?
— Yes, your payment will still be sent to Team Philadelphia, 417C Boot Rd, Downingtown, PA 19335 of Team PHL with Duke’s Lite and your grad year in the memo. Please bear with us as some of these changes take more time than others.
My son made the Team Philadelphia Youth Futures/High School team. Will he be included in this merge?
–Yes, there will be a spot for your son on one of the Duke’s Lite Teams. We are asking all of the Futures players to be re-evaluated, this re-evaluation process will be at a later time in January.
Will roster size increase due to the merge?
— We are striving for a max of 22 players on each roster. We are moving the Team Philadelphia players to the Duke’s Lite rosters by grad year. The teams will look the same but we are adding talented players with the winter evaluations. Current Duke’s players with college commitments: click here
My son has made the roster for Team Philadelphia; are the winter trainings that were scheduled still happening, or will they change?
–Yes, the Winter Training sessions will still be taking place as scheduled. They will be part of the Duke’s Lite Winter Training program
I am looking for a higher level youth team for my son this summer, does this merge benefit him?
–Yes, the Duke’s Lite program will be run in the same fashion as the Duke’s LC with an emphasis on a high level of coaching, play and commitment.
Is there a Girls’ program?
–Coming soon. We are making sure this program is up and running smoothly prior to developing the girls’ side. If “Lady Dukes” would interest you please reply and say yes and give us your info to start an email list.
If I make Dukes lite will I have a chance to make Dukes 1 or 2?
–Yes periodically throughout the year Ebe and Staff will pull kids up as they see fit. With the help of a depth Chart and constant interaction with staff.
About The Duke’s Lacrosse Club
The Dukes Lacrosse Club has been recognized as one of the premier travel programs in the nation and uses uses lacrosse as a vehicle to a college education. It is a talent-based lacrosse club, not age based and is non-profit with no fees to participate and its coaches don’t earn income. It is transparent with no outside agendas and uses a depth chart to assess players. It is inclusive and has 59 high schools represented in Grades 9-to-12. It is spiritual, but Philly tough and represents PA, NJ, and extending to many areas of the East Coast.
Up to date information & videos of Duke LC alums and current high school players, visit: www.thedukeslacrosse.com
About Lacrosse Evolution
Lacrosse Evolution (www.LacrosseEvolution.com) was founded in 2005 by Tom Slate, professional lacrosse player and coach (NLL, MLL). LaXeVo has developed the concept of, “The Complete Lacrosse Athlete”, which reflects our approach of addressing multiple dimensions of Lacrosse participation enabling Lacrosse athletes, at all levels, to get the very most from their Lacrosse experience. We specialize in year round Girls & Boys Clinics, Camps, Tournaments, Private lessons, Training, Recruiting & Event Management. Lacrosse Evolution’s headquarters is based in Downingtown, PA. @lax_evo
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