US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM MadLax Lacrosse

Thanks. Take with some salt because this is just my experience alone:
1. prep coaches - I think it is sad but true that lacrosse is still very caught in the prep school spiral. In exact words my son's prep coach said the club coach has your kid for 3-5 weeks in summer and some weekends in fall. Prep coaches have the kid every day for 90+ days. Their reference is credible, even when it is (IMHO) pathetic when the kid hasn't even had a spring 9th grade season yet. They can also give the recruiter comfort that the kid will develop in their program.
2. Showcases should not be important for prep parents given #1, but I think are indispensable for public kids. I would say buyer beware because there is a lot of crap. The best ones are Philly Showcase, Adrenaline Black Card and Marverik Showtime. Unfortunately Showtime is a harder one to access from here because it is run by Long Island guys and politically dominated by locals. I don't really have anything + or - to say about the 3d Blue Chip auditions for the Jake Reed thing. We didn't pony up for that and don't really know what we were missing.
3. Prospect days are underrated - if your son has a list short enough of 2-4 schools these are good ways to get in front of coaches at the schools.
4. Club lacrosse ranks last because it belongs there. My son went through the process and to be candid I heard more than one college coach make a snarky comment about pushy club coaches and owners. In truth all clubs would try to sell them anything and that costs credibility over time. The club coach is also the one most likely to mislead you. In 7th grade everybody is a Hopkins early recruit candidate. In 9th grade they like to mention how competitive those spots are, then they like to start with the speech about how you can help them sell your son by...buying more crap like clinics and videos.

I would also say don't spend a lot on recruiting videos. I truly believe that a coach will want and need to see your son at a showcase, a prospect day at his field or at a club tournament combo. Every kid can put together a video where they score 10 goals or stop 10 shots. Unless it is a tape from a high level prep game, showcase game or club game where you know your son is on a good Madlax team vs a good Crabs team or something like that, don't waste a lot of money on it. Also smart to buy a $200-$300 video camera once and do a homemade video. I've hear led a million times how important video is, but I just don't believe the coaches really care about it too much. They need to see your son play and play well through one medium listed above.