May 6, 2008 E-MAIL PRINT

Prospects for college lacrosse worth review

by Justin Walker/

Recently, I was on the phone with a Division 1 college coach discussing Eastern Massachusetts’ top D1 lacrosse prospects. As we discussed a talented junior midfielder, I sheepishly stated that irritating phrase I always try to avoid: “He is getting some pressure to commit by some other programs.” Not surprisingly, I heard an audible sigh on the other end.
To verbally commit to a school means that you enter into a gentleman’s agreement of sorts. Nothing is signed. In a sense, the player is making a good faith gesture to a given coach that, come July 1 of the summer before that player’s senior year, he will sign with that program. At that point the agreement is all but finalized (though not binding; the earliest it can become binding is Nov. 14 of a player’s senior year).

Commitments used to happen just before July 1. And they rarely happened in New England; our players weren’t often regarded as commitment-worthy. Now, they are happening earlier than ever. In some isolated cases, players commit before their junior year even begins. A good chunk of the country’s best high school players will have committed to a program by the end of their junior season. As Yale coach Andy Shay noted about many cases: “Kids are deciding (to commit) well before they’ve even taken their official visits.”

Back to my phone conversation. In response to hearing the player was receiving pressure, the coach — Kevin Corrigan of Notre Dame — said what I’d hear several other top coaches say: “This year we’re sort of establishing a new set of rules as we go along.” What he meant by this — and what all who have said this or something similar mean — is that we are making judgments on players far earlier than ever before. Some facets remain constant, and Corrigan said as much. Communication between the kids, parents and coaches is still first and foremost. But nearly every D1 college coach will agree that the advice one must give a talented high school player now is inherently different than ever before.

As both a high school coach at the Rivers School in Weston, Mass., and coach of the Top Gun Fighting Clams select team, I ask myself the following question with increasing frequency: How do I advise a player how to get recruited when even the nation’s top lacrosse coaches admit that they are not even exactly sure how it goes now? To answer the question, it helps to first go back.

To explain where we are now, one must understand where we were. As few as five years ago, the summer before a player’s senior year was the big one. Hartford coach Pete Lawrence, an All-American at Roanoke College in the late 1990s, recounted how the process has changed. “I have no recollection of ever seeing a college coach at one of my high school games,” he said. “(It was) only hockey games (that coaches attended). The first time I ever played in front of college lacrosse coaches was at Peak 200 the summer before my senior year.”

The camps in the late ’90s were the same as they’d been for the previous decade or two. Events such as Top 205, Top Star and Peak 200 were where you wanted to be. And, to an extent, you were hoping for lightning in a bottle. Unless you were a truly exceptional player, this meant having a great game on the field where that coach who you wanted to play for happened to be watching. Not to take away from the recruiting work of coaches then, but there was definitely some luck involved, especially for players from New England and other lesser-recruited regions. Take Lawrence. He was recruited by no Division 1 programs, and by just a few Division 3 schools. Yet he became a two-time All-American at Roanoke, was his league’s Player of the Year in 1998, and is now in Roanoke’s Hall of Fame.

Back in the ’90s, “team” recruiting camps were in their infancy. And the number of strong club teams was a fraction of what it is today.

Now, it’s 2008 in New England. We’re gaining our respect on a national level, but we haven’t arrived yet. And just the other day I was asked by a top-20 D1 coach for my best sophomores, and what I knew of their grades and test scores. A few years ago, I would have been surprised at such a question. Nowadays, its commonplace.

Every day, it seems, I open my e-mail to see that my Top Gun Fighting Clams team has been invited to a new “team” recruiting camp or showcase. Most of these e-mails are personalized, asking the Top Gun Fighting Clams to travel to Pennsylvania or North Carolina or Colorado — or, in one I got last month, to Hawaii. Each weekend from late June through early August features overlapping events in many states, most claiming better competition and more college coaches present than the next. This is true for team recruiting events as well as individual events. Said Lawrence: “My best players coming in now will have played on multiple select teams in addition to their high school team, as well as (at) six or seven recruiting events per summer.”

Jeff Coulson of Indoor Action Sports, an experienced and respected select team coach in Western Massachusetts who also hosts his own recruiting showcases, had his own take. “It’s like the Wild West right now in lacrosse,” he said. Indeed, to a large extent, it seems to be. The reason for this rampant expansion, Coulson said, is that “there isn’t a code of ethics for club teams, or a standardization of what people call showcases. Anyone can start a club team — a parent, a college coach, someone who knows nothing about lacrosse but can see that travel teams make money.” So, as the number of events promising exposure climbs, so, too, does the number of teams and individuals filling these events. But concerns abound regarding the quality of new events, and the ability of new select or club teams to fulfill their promises.

Lacrosse is enjoying a tremendous boom, and the amount of events catering to “the dream” of playing college lacrosse is rapidly catching up to the number of players with that dream. But the number of new programs added at the collegiate level each year moves at a snail’s pace. In the past decade, only five Division 1 programs were added. And it should be noted that during that same time period, two strong D1 programs — Boston College and Butler — were dropped. The vast majority of the growth at the college level has been in Division 3, which has seen its numbers swell from 105 in 1997-98 to 144 in 2008 (during that same time, Division 2 had a net gain of just one team). So, needless to say, there’s now a bit of a bottleneck at the top.

Few sports can open doors for a strong New England athlete more effectively than lacrosse. Over the past five summers, the Fighting Clams team I coach has sent 38 players to D1 programs. In terms of high school programs, The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Mass., (considered by some to be the most talent-laden private school lacrosse program in Eastern Massachusetts) has sent five players to Division 1 lacrosse teams since 2005. Says Governor’s coach Peter Bidstrup about the recruiting process: “It starts earlier than ever. It’s important for aspiring college players to work hard in school, to do the best they can as part of their high school program, and to get good exposure during the summer.” And it’s not just private schools. Duxbury (Mass.) High School, winner of five of the last six state championships, has sent six players to Division 1 programs over the past three years. Already, five current seniors are set to join D1 programs in the fall. This means in 2009, Duxbury will have 11 alumni playing D1 college lacrosse.

Then there’s D2 and D3 lacrosse, which still embodies the true feel of the sport. Many very good players with D1 ability choose D2 or D3 programs because of the caliber of the school, or because, as one player put it, they want lacrosse to remain a game and not to become a job. Some end up landing outside of D1 not by choice, but by circumstance. Said Yale’s Shay: “These days, you’ll find that immensely talented players have no choice but to play D2 or D3 because all the D1 spots are dried up.” Regardless of why one ends up there, D2 and D3 lacrosse is the right fit for many, and should be considered by all players before making a final decision. I am every bit as proud of my 15 Fighting Clams players that have gone to NESCAC programs over the past five years as I am of my players who have gone on to play D1 lacrosse.

If you want to play D1 athletics and you live in this region, lacrosse may be one of your best shots … still. The same holds true if you aspire to be a D2 or D3 athlete. Based on what I’ve seen over the years, and what I’m now seeing, the recruiting game has changed. But if you’re a very talented lacrosse player and you’ve taken care of your business in the classroom, it is a game that still can be won. And don’t panic if it’s late in the game and you don’t know where you’re going. Duxbury High coach Chris Sweet offers hope to the late bloomers, and cautions players looking to commit to the top programs early. “Every year there are (very good players) out there who will not be on anyone’s radar until their senior year. Smart teams that are not at the very top of D1 will take advantage of this and get a read on these players’ future potential, (whereas top D1 teams) hedge their bets and stockpile talent, the result being a lot of talent sitting on the bench for four years.”

The game has to be played, not watched from the sideline. Be proactive with recruiting. The days of the college coach noticing you for the first time at a recruiting event during the summer before your senior year are all but a memory. And, most importantly, continue to enjoy the game. For if that goes, none of the above matters too much anyway.

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