FAQ
PRIDE Lacrosse is a competitive travel program in Northern Virginia. We offer a year round program for grades 2nd – HS (11th grade). Our club has been recognized as a Top 10 Program in the country given the competitiveness of our teams who participate in the top tournaments in the country.
Our mission is to support the development of highly competent and confident girls on and off the lacrosse field. We’ve made it our priority to provide our players with strong role models and character building team sport experiences. The positive impact that sports has on the lives of young women instills lessons that will last a lifetime, paving the way for the next generation of great lacrosse players and people.
Be a great person. Be a great teammate.
PRIDE Lacrosse has two locations:
NOVA: Northern Virginia and what some would consider our “hub”. Players are typically from Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria Counties. We also have players traveling from the Baltimore, Bethesda, and Richmond areas. We are humbled that players will travel the distance to participate in our program.
LOUDOUN: Loudoun players are typically from Loudoun County. However, we also have players represented in our Loudoun program from other counties including Fairfax, Arlington, etc.
The PRIDE season runs for a full year and we ask families to acknowledge this at the start of the year. The season specifically runs from September through mid July. We take the month of August off and we encourage our players and families to do the same. We put our sticks away and spend time with family and friends! You can find us at the beach or the pool!
Players only tryout once in July and commit to the full year season. Rosters are finalized after tryouts. Players do not need to tryout again and are expected to participate for the full year. If needed, we will work out specific players for open roster spots and add them midway through the season.
Our players participate in a comprehensive year-round program that includes practice, training, and tournaments.
FALL (September – November)
In the fall, all teams practice once on the weekend in September and October. Sometimes in early November depending on the tournament schedule. Teams should expect to practice 8 times. Practice start times depend on field availability.
Teams will also train once a week at 4SQUARE Training. 4SQUARE is a comprehensive training first pioneered by our program, that focuses on four key areas: [Stick + Strategy] and [Strength + Speed]. Players will spend 45 minutes at [Stick + Strategy] with a PRIDE coach and 45 minutes at [Strength + Speed] with a professional trainer.
The training runs for 8 weeks in the Fall for all teams. Youth teams will train during the week and high school teams will train on the weekend. Training during the week is at Word of Grace in Herndon, VA. Training on the weekend will take place at The Madeira School or Word of Grace.
Our teams participate in tournaments during the Fall weekends. All teams participate in 3 tournaments. Tournaments are in mid to late October or early November.
WINTER (December – February)
Our youth players will have the opportunity to participate in our Winter League. The league is optional and is comprised of our players as well as other competitive travel players in the area. The league will run from December – February. Our 8th grade A team will participate in Chris Robinson’s indoor league played at GOALS in Baltimore. There is an additional cost to both leagues.
Our high school players will compete with their high school teams in winter league. We do not have them play together in a Winter League because we don’t want to over schedule them.
All teams will once again participate in 4SQUARE Training in the winter. The training runs for 7 weeks for youth teams and 6 weeks for high school teams. Youth teams will train during the week and high school teams will train on the weekend. Training during the week is at Word of Grace in Herndon, VA. Training on the weekend will take place at The Madeira School.
SPRING (March – May)
All our youth teams, 4th – 8th grade, participate in the National Girls Lacrosse League (NGLL). The NGLL is a competitive spring league played out of Maryland and made up of the most competitive teams in the country (PRIDE included!).
Practices begin in mid March and run through mid May. We have the week before Easter weekend off and we also have Easter weekend off. Practices are twice a week at locations including Visitation, Madeira, Marymount, and Word of Grace. NGLL games are played on the weekend in Maryland. They vary on Saturday or Sunday.
High school teams do not participate in PRIDE activities during the Spring because they are with their high school teams.
SUMMER (June – mid-July)
In the summer, our teams practice twice a week beginning early June through the middle of July. Practices are on Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday. Practices generally start at 6:00PM or later.
Our teams participate in tournaments during the summer weekends. Typically this includes the second, third and fourth weekend in June and the second or third weekend in July. All teams participate in 4 tournaments.
Our season officially ends by the third week in July.
PRIDE competes in the most competitive tournaments in the country; several of which are invitation only. We want our players to be challenged and face tough competition to be pushed to new heights. We participate in tournaments such as PRIME Time Young Guns, Chesapeake Invitational, Mid Atlantic Showcase and Championships, President’s Cup, Level 9, Live Love Lax, Lax for the Cure, etc.
Our A teams (RED youth, BLACK high school) compete in the highest brackets.
Our B teams (WHITE for youth and high school) compete in the middle/upper brackets.
Practices for our NOVA location are held at Georgetown Visitation, Madeira, Nike 4, Word of Grace, Marymount and Meridian High School.
Practices for our Loudoun location are held at Briar Woods High School, Heritage High School, Independence, and Word of Grace.
Teams will have 8 practices in the fall, 16 practices during NGLL (youth only), and 12 practices in the summer.
*Please see “What does the practice and training schedule look like for the year?” for more information on the full yearly schedule.
All teams will have 8 training sessions in the fall. Youth teams will have 7 training sessions in the winter and high school teams will have 6 training sessions.
*Please see “What does the practice and training schedule look like for the year?” for more information on the full yearly schedule.
The NGLL is a competitive Spring League run by Robinson Sports. We participate in the Mid-Atlantic Division which is the toughest division in the country. All our teams, 4th grade – 8th grade participate in the league regardless of level.
Our teams participate in the league because the girls have an opportunity to practice during the week, compete, and then practice again. Our players continue to get better every week and it has springboarded PRIDE into the most competitive club in Northern Virginia. We are the only program who puts all our teams in the NGLL.
All our players are expected to participate in the league. We understand players may have competing activities. Continue reading below for more information.
Yes! We encourage our players to continue to play in recreation lacrosse. Rec is fun and our players get to play with their friends. If there is a direct conflict with PRIDE practice, we ask that you make at least one PRIDE practice during the week and communicate this to your coaches in advance of the season.
If there is a game conflict, we ask that you prioritize PRIDE over rec. We are unable to forfeit games in this league. We encourage communication amongst our players and families to make it all work. In the past, conflicts have been minimal and it hasn’t been an issue. Rec clubs have also begun to carry more players on the A teams in case of a conflict with travel players. Rec coaches have begun to be flexible and work with PRIDE because of the competitiveness and coachability of our players.
And no, we never penalize or shame our players for working to attend the different activities they are involved in. We want our players to thrive in multiple activities!
ABSOLUTELY! PRIDE was founded in an effort to give players access to lacrosse while participating in other activities. PRIDE has players who also play soccer, basketball, competitive dance, field hockey, etc.
We simply ask that you communicate these conflicts in advance to your coaches and work with us on your schedule. If a player’s attendance starts to become an issues, we will simply talk to you about it and work to come up with a solution.
PRIDE is a competitive travel program and playing time is not equal. Because we are a competitive program and focus on developing our players, playing time is typically not an issue. However, it is dependent on game situations as well as the time and effort that players are putting in outside of practice.
Goalies split halves during games.
At PRIDE, RED (youth) and BLACK (high school) teams are our A teams. WHITE are our B teams.
We have players move up and down levels every year. Some players develop at different times and it will also depend on how much work a player puts outside of practice. We will move a player up mid-year if it is earned and deserved. We will not move a player down mid-year, however, the player may be given less playing time and offered to play additional time on the WHITE team.
Yes and yes. Our WHITE players are very talented and oftentimes some could play up on the RED level, but we have to cap our rosters at a certain amount. Our program for RED and WHITE looks exactly the same. Both teams have great coaches and have the same number of practices and training. Our current and past WHITE coaches have played at Ohio State, Monmouth, American, Elon, Northwestern, Virginia Tech, etc.
In many instances, our WHITE teams are more competitive than other local A teams. They also compete in more competitive tournaments and brackets.
The annual cost of our program includes tournaments, practices, coaches, and training. When looking at the cost of our program compared to others, there are some things to keep in mind:
- We have 14 – 16 weeks of training that is required for our players. This training averages $37 per training with PRIDE and would cost $75 – 100 individually or with a small group.
- All our practices are on turf and we partner with the best facilities in the area.
- Our youth players participate in the NGLL which is an additional cost that most other programs do not require. During the NGLL season we provide 16 practices.
Payment is due in two or three installments. The first payment is due on acceptance of your roster spot. The second payment will run automatically on January 1st. If a family opts for three payments, the third payment will be run automatically on March 1st.
Payments are automatically withdrawn from your account through TeamSnap. We do not accept checks. All payments must be made through TeamSnap.
We do not offer multiple family discounts because we run our budget on a fixed schedule.
Scholarships are offered on a needs basis. We do not want a player to not play with us due to financial hardship. Please reach out to the Executive Director to discuss your needs.
We are here to help. If you need a payment plan, please reach out to the Executive Director to discuss your needs.
We do not offer refunds and this is standard practice in the industry. Tournaments are booked 6 to 12 months in advance and we work off of a fixed budget. If a player withdraws from a program, we will not provide a refund. If a player becomes injured and is unable to compete, we will refund half of the dues for the season she is out in the form of a credit to be used the following year.