Dear Parent,

The purpose of this letter is to introduce you to the process of recruitment for your son if he is interested in playing college lacrosse.  In my time as the varsity coach our program has graduated players who have gone onto playing college lacrosse at the DI, DII, DIII and Club levels respectively.  In the past I have been asked by players/parents to write letters of recommendation on their behalf, however, several lacrosse players and their families have done most of the work themselves.  Which ever process you are more comfortable with is fine with me.  However, I would strongly encourage you to use all of the resources available as you go through the college search process.  These include your son’s guidance counselor, classroom teachers, and other coaches or parents who have any experiences with this. 

Over the past few years the recruiting process has changed dramatically but in my time as the varsity coach I believe there are still some common denominators to keep in mind.  The first point I mention when talking with any player is to actually focus less on the lacrosse side and more on the academics/social.  A few years ago I was working the lacrosse camp at Duke University and I was partnered-up with a recent Duke graduate.  I asked him about why he chose Duke over his other options, Princeton and Johns Hopkins, and his response was that when he visited Duke he felt that if something happened and he couldn’t continue playing lacrosse he would still want to be a student at Duke.  I certainly appreciate the uniqueness of picking between schools of that caliber, but the underlying point is significant.  Lacrosse can be an important factor in choosing a school, but it shouldn’t be the most important.  The coach who is recruiting your son might leave, your son might suffer an injury or maybe your son gets burned out of athletics.  Therefore I consider the most important question for your son to ask of a particular school is, “Do I want to be a student here?”

Another point I stress to anyone interested in playing college lacrosse is to be proactive.  Each year I receive 10-15 letters from college coaches asking for possible recruits, I also send out 20-30 e-mails each year to coaches.  Yet this is a small fraction of the number of colleges that actually field teams.  In this regard the Internet can be a valuable resource.  Every college program has a website where you and your son can either contact one of the coaches or fill out a recruit questionnaire.  If you want more information on contacting schools I would suggest the laxpower website and look under “Lacrosse Listings” on the left column.  Click on “Links” and you can choose the level of college from there.  There is no harm in contacting a coach, the worst thing that can happen is the coach decides that your son might not be the type of player he’s looking for, but you won’t know that unless you contact him. Also, even if the coach doesn’t think your son is a good fit at his school he might refer your son to another program.

Once your son has contacted a school a number of things can happen.  A coach might contact him via e-mail, letter or send an informational packet (NCAA rules prohibit phone calls from a coach before July 1 before his senior year).  By contacting the coach your son will at least have put himself on a mailing list and the coach knows he is interested in the school/lacrosse program.  As your son prepares to attend recruiting camps or play in summer tournaments he can keep the coach updated on his plans and possibly arrange for the coach to watch him play.

If your son is interested in playing either DI or DII college lacrosse one of the most important items to take care of is to be cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center, which was formerly known as the NCAA Clearinghouse (DIII does not require this process).  The NCAA Eligibility Center has a website, which details the eligibility criteria for any prospective student-athlete.  It is important to use your son’s guidance counselor in this process because the NCAA Eligibility Center reviews the courses your son has taken as a high student to determine if they meet basic curriculum requirements.  This takes place in the spring of Junior year and failure to register might impact eligibility as a college freshman.

The last point I stress with players in the recruiting process is to ask questions.  This can be the most difficult part of the process because asking questions is not always a strong point for teenagers.  Typically I would consider asking the following questions of a college coach:

Ø      How many players make-up an average recruiting class?

o       In most a recruiting class will range from 8-12 players depending on need, however, some schools “over-recruit” by bringing in 15+ players a year.  From my experience talking with coaches, when a coach recruits large numbers of players each year he does not anticipate all of them making the team or staying with the program all 4 years.

Ø      How many players return for their sophomore year?

o       This gives you an idea of how players like the program.  If every year a good number of recruits leave that might be a warning sign.

Ø      How many players graduate/use all four years of eligibility?

o       Similar to the previous question.  The higher the number, the safer it is to assume players stick it out for at a school for their entire career

Ø      What academic support is made available to student-athletes?

o       Do they have a student-athlete academic center or a tutoring service?  Are study halls mandatory?  How does school work get done on road trips?

Ø      On average how many players do you carry on the roster?

o       The answer to this can be interpreted a variety of ways.  It’s not necessarily a bad sign if a program carries 40+ guys.  It just means more competition for playing time

Ø      Do you have a cuts or a JV program?

o       Most schools will have cuts in the fall and some schools carry a JV team.  Some people make assume that being recruited guarantees a spot on the team.  This is not necessarily the case and often fall ball is used to make these decisions.

Common Misconceptions about recruiting

Ø      You should send a highlight tape/DVD to a coach.  This is point is debatable depending on talking with the college coaches you’re interested.  In some cases you are better off sending a complete game tape that shows how you play the entire game.  Many college coaches are not as interested in how you can take the ball away or score goals.  They want to see how you hustle back on defense, how you ride the ball, and play without the ball.

Ø      It’s not worth sending a tape/DVD of your son playing another sport.  Some college coaches have gone on record that they have recruited an athlete to play lacrosse after watching tapes of that athlete playing football, hockey, soccer, and basketball.  The fact is college coaches want the best possible athletes.

Ø      Being a good/great lacrosse player will get you into a better school academically.  Lacrosse can certainly open some doors, but every school has standards.  One of the first things a coach will ask of your son is his most recent transcript and with that document the coach can decide if your son meets the academic requirements (GPA, SAT’s, etc.) to get accepted.  The better the grades, the greater the opportunities will be as you move forward.

Ø      Scholarships.  Most schools are not fully funded with the 12.6 scholarships allowed by the NCAA.  Even those schools that do have the allotted scholarships rarely give full-rides.  Most athletic scholarships are partial and only DI & DII institutions can give them.  This means that you should examine the financial aid process as well.  Schools supplement athletic scholarships with need-based aid, academic scholarships or other packages.  Ask questions of the coach and financial aid office.

Useful Websites in the recruiting process:

Ø      NCAA Recruiting: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/

o       Offers guidelines on recruiting for both coaches, parents and athletes

Ø      NCAA Eligibility Center: https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/common/

o       Details the high school academic requirements

Ø      Laxpower: www.laxpower.com

o       Provides links to most college programs

Ø      Dave Walsh, Lexington High School Varsity Lacrosse Coach:

Ø      http://lhs.lexingtonma.org/Sports/lacrosse/ForParents.html#CollegeRecruitingOne

o       Coach Walsh is a friend of mine and someone who has been very helpful in getting ideas from about the college recruitment process.  His website is very informative

There is a great deal more to the process of getting recruited and this letter is just a quick overview.  If you should have more specific questions I would be glad to help out. 

     Regards,

           Coach Andalo