Recruiting Expectations - A Primer
This is the first in a string of conversations we will have about recruiting and getting your son recruited. One of us has experience with this in helping his son get recruited to play lacrosse, and another with getting my son recruited for football. Additionally, all of our coaches have been through the process.
First the some facts:
- There are only 56 schools that play Division I lacrosse (vs 119 for football and 327 for basketball)
- A Division I coach has 12.6 scholarships to use. (This means there are roughly 180 or so scholarships given per year)
- Rosters often exceed 40 players. Few, if any players get full rides
- Most rising seniors this summer will be fighting for possible roster positions and not athletic based funding in DI
- Generally speaking, supply is greater than demand - Lacrosse is still not a money sport
- Division II can offer athletic scholarships (roughly 30 schools)
- Division III can not offer athletic scholarships, but have many merit-based scholarships that make their schools attractive. Consideration is typically given to recruited athletes who apply early decision
- The NAIA is very similar to Division II - but I do not know the number of teams
- Club lacrosse is growing rapidly, opportunities to play coexist with potential merit-based scholarships
Please note if your son is recruited at any level (D I, II, III or NAIA) there is often an understanding that your son will apply for early decision. Coaches will discuss with the Admissions the ability to admit your son and will hold a position on the team for those who commit early.
Now that I've scared you all, here's the question that you and your son have to ask yourselves:
Do I want to play because I love the game and the benefits that I gain from playing a college sport? Remember, VERY few will make a living playing lacrosse!
More specifically, you need to ask yourselves the following:
- What type of schools do I qualify for, both academically and athletically?
- What is my commitment for competing at the collegiate level?
- What do I define as a good school?
- As a parent to I support my son's answers?
For my oldest son and our family the message was; if going to a school you like AND playing a sport is your goal, then there are many options. If you want to play for a DI program, its possible, but your options are limited. With lacrosse, unlike football or basketball, the financial reward of a DI program doesn't necessarily outweigh the merit-based financial opportunities at the right DIII school.
Many factors come into the choice you make as far as a college and whether a college chooses you. What we are going to focus on is giving you the tools to create as many options for the player as possible.
Every student-athlete on this team was selected because they CAN play lacrosse. There really is a college and team for everyone. The key is to find a school that you like, that has the academics, environment, and athletic opportunities that interest you. Note that athletics is last on the list. A person's interests and commitment to a sport may wane, and if it does, you want to be at a school you still like, even if the opportunity or interest to play passes.
The key to success is getting in front of the coaches, this means letters, emails, individual camps, and summer select teams like ChicagoLax. Being recruited out of your High School season, in any part of the country, is more and more rare. We've tried to pick the tournaments where we can be successful AND get the players the exposure they need.
Up next - Prepping for the summer - making sure coaches know about you and where you are playing.
After that - NCAA info and rules
Some links to check out for homework:
www.collegelax.us/conferences.php - MCLA colleges
web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec/sponsorship - NCAA Sport Listing - generate a list of schools by division...provides click throughs to school
www.pressboxonline.com/story.cfm - Interesting insights into the competitive sport of recruiting
