Below are the questions we most frequently are asked regarding our Elite team programs. Our coaches and staff work extremely hard to make Leading Edge Elite a true ELITE program. Players on a Leading Edge team have earned their spot.
1. How much does it cost to participate on a team? The cost to participate on a LE Elite team varies from year to year and from level to level. Our fees for middle school players (grades 5-8) are inclusive. Which means it includes all of your tournament entry fees, game uniform, practice reversible, coaches stipends, practice fields, balls, mini camp, individual NSCLA league games. At the HS level you will be paying additional tournament entry fees for tournaments where you son will be staying in dorms and eating in the college’s dining hall. A middle school player’s fee can be between $1000 and $1400 and a HS players fee can be between $1000 and $1800. Final fees are communicated to those that receive an invitation to play based on their tryout. The Leading Edge fee does not include travel, hotel, or meal costs at each tournament.
2. How are the teams configured? The Leading Edge Elite teams are GRADE based. We use the current school year to determine our teams. We have the following teams and they are identified by the year that grade will graduate HS. We identify the teams this as it is the preferred method of the college coaches for their evaluation purposes.
- 5th Grade Team (2019)
- 6th Grade Team (2018)
- 7th Grade Team (2017)
- 8th Grade Team (2016)
- 9th Grade Team (2015)
- 10th Grade Team (2014)
- 11th Grade Team (2013)
- BLACK Team (players that did not make the 2013 or 2014 teams)
3. How do you select your teams? At Leading Edge Elite we utilize a multi faceted approach to our player evaluation process. ALL players must participate in a traditional tryout. In addition we will make a fall tournament or two available to players that did not particiapte on a LE ELite team the previous summer. Details on the availability of tournament spots will be made available in mid September each fall. Another benefit for a player to get evaluated is to participate in a Leading Edge Fall Program. Basically the more we see you play prior to tryouts, the more we have to consider. All players will participate in two evaluation sessions that make a Leading Edge team. It could be a tournament and a tryout or two tryout sessions. The bottom line is we want to make sure we get the best players and give the best players the opportunity to play their best.
4. What type of player are you looking for? We are looking for ELITE level players. Our definition of an Elite player is one that has a solid base of fundamentals. They can use both hands in all aspects of play (goalies excluded). They are passionate about lacrosse and committed to being at every practice and every tournament. They are always looking to get better and never feel like they have "arrived" or know how to do everything. They should be considered one of the best players in your local community.
5. Where do the teams practice? High School teams practice at Rutgers University (turf field with lights and a lightning detection system). Middle School teams practice at at the Watchung Hills Pop Warner Complex (grass and turf fields) in Warren NJ.
6. Who will be coaching my son? This may be the most important question a parent can ask. At Leading Edge we believe we have the BEST coaching staff around. Our coaches are passionate about coaching lacrosse. ALL have collegiate playing experience and are dedicated to being on top of the latest trends in coaching. All of our coaches attend two coaching clinics annually, run by college coaches. All of our coaches currently coach at the COLLEGE, HIGH SCHOOL or YOUTH LEVELS. Our coaches stay at the same level each summer. This provides the opportunity for the players to experience different coaches each year. This is a valuable experience as the players get older. No one ever loves every coach they have, but they MUST learn to play for every coach they have. We utilize college players that came through the Leading Edge Elite system as assistant coaches or practice coaches. Click here to see who coaches your son’s grade level.
7. Can I play for more than one club program? NO!! At Leading Edge we make a tremendous commitment to our players, and to run an ELITE organization it takes time and preparation. We need to be able to count on EVERY single player at EVERY practice and tournament. We do not allow our players to play for other travel teams during the summer. We do not attend a tournament every single weekend. When we take a weekend off we are doing it for a reason (rest, popular individual recruiting event). We want you to rest. Being in top condition and form when playing in these tournaments are critical to each individual’s success as well as the team’s success.
8. How do you select the tournaments your teams attend each summer? Our experience participating in tournaments provides us with tremendous advantages when it comes time to select tournaments. We select our tournaments based on a number of factors: level of competition, division format, history of running a tournament well, location, past experience. For our high school teams we add in attendance of college coaches. Often times this is difficult to predict. However, our experience and the fact that we are top program in the country tends to draw coaches to our games regardless of the tournament. Our membership in the NSCLA allows us to tap into a network of other top programs to make sure other top teams will be at the tournaments we are attending.
9. What is the overall commitment required to play for Leading Edge? The primary commitment if you make a Leading Edge Elite team is for June and July each summer. New for 2011 teams is a winter commitment. We will be implementing winter training sessions that we feel are critical to setting our players apart from the rest when we get to the summer season. Our winter training program will focus on core skill development LAX IQ development. We are also investigating winter tournament options at this time. If you are a winter sport athlete (recreational skiing does not count) you will be excused from these sessions if they conflict with your winter sport. Working on your craft is important, but the BEST lacrosse players are multi sport athletes. Details of the winter session will be communicated to those that are invited to play.
10. What separates Leading Edge from the other programs I may tryout for? Leading Edge is not a part time endeavor for Marc Moreau, Owner. Leading Edge is his full time job. Marc is also the head coach at St. Joseph HS in Metuchen, a 2010 Non Public A State Champion and Tournament of Champions Finalist. Marc also coaches in the Somerset Hills Youth Lacrosse program. He is on top of the strategies and techniques to make youth and high school lacrosse players successful. This involvement at many levels allows us to be on the cutting edge in every aspect of running a lacrosse training business. The entire staff of coaches are PASSIONATE about COACHING lacrosse. We do not have a bunch of coaches that love to just play lacrosse. Our staff truly LOVES to COACH! In addition we have created a reputation among college coaches of preparing our players to play at the collegiate level. We implement college style offenses and defensive philosophies that make it easy for coaches to evaluate our players and prepares them for the expecations that will be placed on them at the next level.
11. I have some other questions, who do I contact? You can call the Leading Edge office at 973-348-5291 or send an email to info@LeadingEdgeLacrosse.com.
12. Question for Mom and Dad - Are you prepared to have the conversation with your son if he does not make a team? A lot of players tryout for our teams, which means A LOT of players do not make a team at Leading Edge. Our process is not perfect, there is no perfect process. Everyone has an opinion on the right way to do things. We have ours, it has been successful, we tweak each year and we take this process very seriously. If you or your son is not prepared to hear the news that they did not make a team, then they should not tryout.
