Philadelphia (PA/NJ) Area Club Lacrosse
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 4:51 pm
One silver lining of the COVID pandemic is that the strongest and most beneficial lacrosse clubs for girls have emerged. Like it or not, club lacrosse is necessary for recruiting and has resulted in a monetary conflicts for club lacrosse owners/managers who are also affiliated with high school lacrosse programs. Some of the club owners are truly in it for the improvement and development of players and to guide their players on the best fit for girls who want to continue to play in college (DI, DII, DIII or club) and others seem to just be in it for the money. Some of the clubs have very talented and strong coaches, while others have primarily young women 1-3 years out of high school coaching or people who never played the game. Full disclosure - I have had daughters play for both South Jersey Select and All American AIM in New Jersey and attend clinics hosted by Big 4 HHH in Philadelphia and my sister has had 2 daughters play for STEPS (Philly) and Phantastix.
Big 4 HHH (https://big4lax.com/girls-program) - Colleen Magarity runs the best program in the area. She is the most connected of all of the club coaches in the area. She played at Northwestern with (1) Danielle Spencer (just left Dartmouth for Stanford HC job), (2) USC HC Lindsay Munday, (3) Colorado HC Ann Elliott Whidden and (4) Univ of Michigan HC Hannah Nielsen. College coaches respect her and her opinion on players and she has instant credibility with the Kelly Amonte Hiller coaching tree. She is sharp and will reach out to college coaches PROACTIVELY. Her club teams are well coached and have designed plays and discipline. The club hosts excellent clinics and a committed games of top college programs. Club coaches are Colleen Magarity - former Colorado asst and current Penn Charter HC; Blake McHugh - 2015 Northwestern grad; Mallory Grey - 2017 St. Joseph's Univ grad; Kasey Mock - 2014 Syracuse grad; Kelly Cross - 2014 Syracuse grad; Erin Dunne - 2011 Franklin & Marshal grad;, Mary Dean - 2011 Penn State grad and Germantown Academy HC; and Steph Lobb - 2017 UNC grad.
Phantastix (https://phantastixlax.com/). This is a solid program, but has a lot of current college kids coaching. The program does a decent job of helping its players with recruiting and Lorraine Beers is the most active of the coaches. Lately, Phantastix seems more focused on expanding for more $.
Steps (http://www.stepslacrosse.com/steps-elite-girls/ and http://stepslacrossephilly.com/) - Steps has strong programs in NJ and Philadelphia area. Their NJ girls coaches are very strong and include at least 10 coaches that are or have been girls high school coaches and several D1 lacrosse graduates. The Philadelphia area program is much smaller but the coaches are also strong and include 4 head girls lacrosse high school coaches.
All American AIM (http://www.allamericanaim.com/)- AIM is an up and coming program with three coaches that are or have been girls high school coaches and several D1 lacrosse graduates. One of the top 2021 players in southern NJ, if not the top player - Hailey Russo - left South Jersey Select a few years ago for AIM. Club owner/director Katie Lee is very plugged in with college coaches and the NJ Under Armour teams. She is very proactive in helping her girls get recruited and has even helped players from other clubs in south jersey get recruited. My younger daughter left South Jersey Select for AIM and has a much better experience with AIM.
South Jersey Select (http://www.sjselectlax.com/) - This program has been going down hill steadily over the past several years. Former Moorestown girls lacrosse head coach, Deanna Knobloch has NOTHING to do with this program, even though she is listed as a Director and Coach. She does not do any coaching at practices or games. Her husband, KC Knobloch runs the program. The website is outdated and does not list the current coaches. One of the coaches listed - UNC grad Gianna Bowe - has left and is coaching for AIM. Unfortunately, this club seems more focused on making money than player development and recruitment. Several top high school players have left SJS in recent years for other clubs because of their dissatisfaction with SJS - Hailey Russo Clearview HS 2021 and Maryland commit; McKenzie Blake - Haddonfield HS 2021 and Princeton commit, and Avery Jaffe - Moorestown 2020 and Maryland commit. Many girls not yet in high school have also left SJS for other clubs. The club raises the fees each year. There are only two legitimate team coaches - Colleen Hancox and Erika McCool. The program does a poor job of coaching and helping with recruiting. Previously, the program's strength was that it could get into tournaments that other clubs in the area could not. That is no longer the case.
Big 4 HHH (https://big4lax.com/girls-program) - Colleen Magarity runs the best program in the area. She is the most connected of all of the club coaches in the area. She played at Northwestern with (1) Danielle Spencer (just left Dartmouth for Stanford HC job), (2) USC HC Lindsay Munday, (3) Colorado HC Ann Elliott Whidden and (4) Univ of Michigan HC Hannah Nielsen. College coaches respect her and her opinion on players and she has instant credibility with the Kelly Amonte Hiller coaching tree. She is sharp and will reach out to college coaches PROACTIVELY. Her club teams are well coached and have designed plays and discipline. The club hosts excellent clinics and a committed games of top college programs. Club coaches are Colleen Magarity - former Colorado asst and current Penn Charter HC; Blake McHugh - 2015 Northwestern grad; Mallory Grey - 2017 St. Joseph's Univ grad; Kasey Mock - 2014 Syracuse grad; Kelly Cross - 2014 Syracuse grad; Erin Dunne - 2011 Franklin & Marshal grad;, Mary Dean - 2011 Penn State grad and Germantown Academy HC; and Steph Lobb - 2017 UNC grad.
Phantastix (https://phantastixlax.com/). This is a solid program, but has a lot of current college kids coaching. The program does a decent job of helping its players with recruiting and Lorraine Beers is the most active of the coaches. Lately, Phantastix seems more focused on expanding for more $.
Steps (http://www.stepslacrosse.com/steps-elite-girls/ and http://stepslacrossephilly.com/) - Steps has strong programs in NJ and Philadelphia area. Their NJ girls coaches are very strong and include at least 10 coaches that are or have been girls high school coaches and several D1 lacrosse graduates. The Philadelphia area program is much smaller but the coaches are also strong and include 4 head girls lacrosse high school coaches.
All American AIM (http://www.allamericanaim.com/)- AIM is an up and coming program with three coaches that are or have been girls high school coaches and several D1 lacrosse graduates. One of the top 2021 players in southern NJ, if not the top player - Hailey Russo - left South Jersey Select a few years ago for AIM. Club owner/director Katie Lee is very plugged in with college coaches and the NJ Under Armour teams. She is very proactive in helping her girls get recruited and has even helped players from other clubs in south jersey get recruited. My younger daughter left South Jersey Select for AIM and has a much better experience with AIM.
South Jersey Select (http://www.sjselectlax.com/) - This program has been going down hill steadily over the past several years. Former Moorestown girls lacrosse head coach, Deanna Knobloch has NOTHING to do with this program, even though she is listed as a Director and Coach. She does not do any coaching at practices or games. Her husband, KC Knobloch runs the program. The website is outdated and does not list the current coaches. One of the coaches listed - UNC grad Gianna Bowe - has left and is coaching for AIM. Unfortunately, this club seems more focused on making money than player development and recruitment. Several top high school players have left SJS in recent years for other clubs because of their dissatisfaction with SJS - Hailey Russo Clearview HS 2021 and Maryland commit; McKenzie Blake - Haddonfield HS 2021 and Princeton commit, and Avery Jaffe - Moorestown 2020 and Maryland commit. Many girls not yet in high school have also left SJS for other clubs. The club raises the fees each year. There are only two legitimate team coaches - Colleen Hancox and Erika McCool. The program does a poor job of coaching and helping with recruiting. Previously, the program's strength was that it could get into tournaments that other clubs in the area could not. That is no longer the case.