Does anyone think this rule change will impact the club/player relationship. What I mean is as it stands now the player and her family is dependent on the club for all communication FROM the College coach and the program prior to junior year. Does the change make an already crazy club atmosphere more intense as kids are contacted directly and at any age.
Your thoughts?
Our impression is that too many club parents and student-athletes depend on the club or organization to handle their college recruitment process. Lacrosse families would do well to seize back control of their recruiting cycles and map a strategy that works for the individual player, leveraging the club.
Interestingly, the soccer world has seen parents and players largely in control of their own recruiting through their individual teams at tournaments and the "Development Academy" concept is looking to wrest more placement control away from the parents and student-athletes. The result is that you have these two youth sports moving from opposite ends of the spectrum towards some middle point.
Direct college coach contact with players removes all of the previous "game playing" where conversations were being conducted through coaching conduits. Effectively, this has the potential to place the early commitment process back into the open.
The downside here is that players and their families could become overwhelmed by a steady drumbeat of coaching contacts; worse, students and their families could be lured into academic environments which do not necessarily align with their long term interests. We think that the family that remains organized with their Top 10 Academic and Top 10 Athletic school listings will avoid this trap.
Does this change threaten the club coaching role? BOTC does not think so as the club coach can still offer valuable input in helping a student-athlete land a roster spot. Where this does "weaken" the club coach is that he or show will no longer be the exclusive voice in speaking with the college coach.
Other thoughts and comments on this topic are welcomed.
