US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Boys 2019-9th Grade Fall 2015 Summer 2016

Get your credit cards ready they're gonna want another
$ 179.00 to save your spot at the next Tryout.

Yes like a recurring nightmare. You people are all suckers

So everyone has been notified that made the team? Did they notify the ones that didn't as well already?

are they doing a second tryout or did they pick the team just from the first. I know last year we had a final tryout to pick the teams

People just want to say there kid made the brine team. Who really cares. It's a big joke. Reasons like this is why I pulled my kids out of travel.

Which are the individual showcases that 2019s should be attending this summer? I already know that anything NLF is for the A players of the 6 clubs who make up the group.

Thanks for posting NFL, shamelessly promoting your pocketbook!

The NLF better load up with the 2019's because the top 2020's are not in that silly group. First the Crabs are a 2019 team playing down. And beside Crush the others get beat frequently by a ton of other teams. It will all unravel.

What clubs make up the NLF?

Look it up. It's called Google! Amazing tool I am told.

The time it took for you to be a smart [lacrosse], you could have chosen to be helpful

And the time you took to write the above, you could have looked it up on google. Stop being lazy. No doubt a Bernie Sanders supporter

I am not the one who asked the question, I gave you my 10 seconds

CRABS
BIG 4 HHH
LAXACHUSSETTS
LEADING EDGE
LONG ISLAND EXPRESS
TEAM 91 LACROSSE

The NLF better load up with the 2019's because the top 2020's are not in that silly group. First the Crabs are a 2019 team playing down. And beside Crush the others get beat frequently by a ton of other teams. It will all unravel. [/quote

How many of those "2019's" are actually 14 year olds ?

What's are you trying to say ?? Most 2019's have under aged players ?? Why would they do that ??

Back to the original question:

What showcases should my son be playing In this summer as a rising sophomore?

He does not play for an NLF member "AA" team so he is not going to Crabfest, young guns, Platnium Cup, NXT where there will be coaches watching.

Any insight????

Well most of the good ones will be full at this point. Showtime and Jake Reed are pretty much done at this point, there are some 2nd tier options you should talk to your club or high school coach about. You should have him go to the prospect days for the schools he is interested in as well.

Most of the good showcases require a recommendation from your club or high school coach so get with them as soon as possible.

Honestly though the best way to get quality looks is at the schools prospect day. Send your sons video to the coaches and follow it up with an introductory email. Best of luck

None of the tourneys you mentioned are NLF events.

NLF events will be one and the same as others. Quite honestly I think it was formed as another p.r. gimmick by HHH and Crabs to 'differentiate' themselves from everyone else by throwing together exactly the same thing. Basically club lacrosse is a place to play some summer ball at one of 3-4 tournaments that will run each weekend that will all be 'attended by coaches from over 100 colleges'. That means the bigger D1 programs that have a head coach and three assistants will split up to canvas them which leads to a lot of frustration over where 'THE coaches will be'.

I know this is a cynical take, but is there a cogent way to look at this and think these coaches are keenly following hundreds and hundreds of games or kids? Frankly I think the college recruiting is more college ex-players who are coaching club while playing MLL or other known club guys are just pumping a word of mouth on kids they want to push -- which are usually kids who have attended a lot of paid clinics and events showing they and parents 'really want it'. UVA's first few 2016 recruits who committed as freshmen were all club players coached by UVA alums which were seen once in person by the UVA staff. Nothing has changed since that started a few years ago except it has gone earlier.

This process should look like all the kids line up in front of the lawn chair row with their name, prep school coach email address, GPA and dad's W-2 AI for three prior years stitched onto their pinnies. It would make the process more transparent.

Both clubs have their "AA" team playing in great events.

My son is not playing with AA-- not complaining, I am asking if anyone has insight on where I should be sending my son - not counting college prospect days --

Seems to me NLF was designed to have the top team in each of the 6 clubs playing in front of coaches. I was unaware that they do not take players from their other teams, i.e.: white, Schreiber, for showcase events. I called and asked.

If you have suggestions thanks. No need to respond if you are going to complain or tell me son was not good enough for the top tier team so he should not be in top events.

Be careful as many of the school prospect days you get "invited" to are just money grabs. At best, most coaches already have the 10-15 kids they are looking at - the other 80 are trying somehow to get noticed.
Good indicator? Prospect days with more than 1 or 2 grades invited. Why have you son play vs kids much older....or at best, with multiple ages there, how focused really are the coaches?

That's why you go to prospect days of the schools you have interest in not the ones that come to you.. My son gets invited all the time, just pick schools your son realistically want to go to

As stated above, choose to attend prospect days at the schools that are a realistic fit athletically and academically. Secondly, look at the various committed lists and check the number of recruits already committed at those potential schools. Probably no need to attend a prospect camp at a school that already has three or four poles committed if your son is a pole also. Check with your club and HS coaches and ask them what schools they would realistically recommend based upon their experiences with your son. My son attended three D1 prospect days. First one I felt was a money grab with too many kids and I don't think they were really looking at the kids as potential recruits. The 2nd one, the coaches were actively looking and sought my son out during and afterwards. The 3rd one, the coaches were actively looking and sought my son out during and afterwards. He ultimately committed to the third school attended. So the first one was a negative experience and the other two were positive experiences! Good luck!

They do take kids from their other teams. White kids were invited to and attended the NLF individual showcase and the white team will be in the NLF national championship. I am sure the better kids from the second Express team were invited to the individual event as well.

Since you're asking the question, I'm going to make the assumption that you're not completely familiar with the recruiting process. Here's a general guideline to help:

1. Have your son make a list of schools he would like to attend. First and foremost, the SCHOOL should be a good fit for him and his interest. LACROSSE comes second. There is a big difference in environments from say a Big 10 school vs. a Patriot. Injuries happen, passion fades, etc. etc. Have your son go to a school he would attend regardless of lacrosse.

2. After you have your list, make your highlight tape. If you don't have a tape, make one. There are countless online examples. Keep it short, simple and put your son's BEST highlights first. This isn't a movie to build up to a big bang. Coaches probably watch 45 sec - 1 minute of a film and have a good idea if the player would be a good fit.

3. Email your highlight tape and introduce yourself to the colleges and put in your contact info (i.e. Club Director, Coach so they can contact them. Not your kid). You can ask to see what tourney's/showcases they will be attending in the summer. If they like what they see, good chance they'll contact your Director/Coach

4. Schedule your summer schedule based on exposure to the coaches/schools you want to play for. This is why showcases/club teams matter. Not every coach is going to every showcase/tourney. They're going to the premier events where they can see a higher % of the kids they're interested in. Folks like to say "money grab" a lot, and in some respects that's true. But it isn't a "money grab" if the school you're interested is there, you've coordinated with the coaching staff that you're playing there, and they're expecting to see you play. It's a process and your son has to own it.

5. Follow up with coaches through your club or coach after tourneys, showcases, etc. to gauge interest level. If they like what they see, they'll schedule a visit.

All that being said, if your son isn't playing at the top team events I'd suggest moving to a club that does so he can attend those top events. Sadly with early recruiting, he's already behind in terms of the top D1 programs. DIII is a different ballgame completely; and there may be a good fit for him there as they're more regulated with recruiting.

How is D 3 more regulated ?? They have less restrictions in the recruiting process?

point # 1 about choosing the school is so important. you cannot be so desperate to say you committed that you choose a school just because a coach said , "sure you can commit here if you want" this is a common D3 thing. its a bad path to follow just to commit to a lax team. the schools culture should be a good fit.

"1. Have your son make a list of schools he would like to attend. First and foremost, the SCHOOL should be a good fit for him and his interest. LACROSSE comes second. There is a big difference in environments from say a Big 10 school vs. a Patriot. Injuries happen, passion fades, etc. etc. Have your son go to a school he would attend regardless of lacrosse."

Sorry if this sounds snarky, but asking a 9th grader to choose a college that would be a good fit for him and his interests is hysterical. Are there any colleges out there that are a good fit for a kid who keeps forgetting to clean his room and likes to play pick up basketball down the block or Call of Duty with his friends after school?

You just described 99 percent of the male teenage population, lol

If you think the parents aren't behind almost all of the recruiting emails and blind contacts to coaches, you're delusional. Further, if you're leaving this process, that could be worth $100,000 or more in some cases in tuition money, in the hands of a 13-14 year old freshman you really are insane. The guy above saying the kid has to own it, is full of it. What 13 yo is "owning this process"? Total BS. The parents need to be "all in" you need to work tirelessly on behalf of your son. Craft the emails, pay for the video, book the showcases and prospect days. Do the follow up. Don't know about your kid, but mine needs to spend his time working hard on his grades and his game. Oh yeah, he needs to be a kid too. This is a partnership between you and your son. He focuses on Grades, Sports and off field behavior. You had better sign up for EVERYTHING else. BTW, I have one playing in college already and one committed. I know what I'm talking about!!! Between the two, my total projected tuition savings will be very close to $200,000. Call me crazy, but there's no way I'm leaving that to my 14 year old. Last point, in my tax bracket I need to make nearly $350,000 to come up with that $200,000 in take home tuition cost. This is not child's play folks...

That makes more sense. If your kid is a good enough player in 9th grade to get a monetary discount, I can understand a parent wanting or needing that. Many of these same colleges have a lot of merit money for good students and some of the selective colleges also have very large endowments. So if affordability is a driving factor, there is that for kids who are admitted without lacrosse.

I have a son who is a junior with a 4.7 GPA and scored 99% on the PSAT meaning he'll be a national merit semifinalist and he'll have a few merit based opportunities...where those opportunities will be I have no idea. He was recruited, but by schools he doesn't go in for geographically and schools we would not want for him academically. So he will be one of the zillion kids applying to 3-4 Ivies and some other selective schools. Maybe he'll get into his #1, maybe he won't. Lacrosse can greatly boost that #1 choice to happen with the coach helping. That written, I am confident he'll get into a very good college and likely will have a choice of good colleges.

I'd vote that if a kid is a very good student, lacrosse is discounting both the dollars and the opportunities. There are some lacrosse parents who will get $100,000 off a four year college which would cost over $200,000 and that sounds great. I know of a few parents who are excited about $5,000-$10,000 a year scholarships making college more affordable, and I think those parents have a problem doing math. If they can't afford college, there will be aid or merit money insofar as their kid is a reasonably decent student. I have an older son and it appears to me that nearly all private schools that cost $60K or more cost that for a reason. The uber rich will just pay, and everyone else including the sort of wealthy get a discount. It is the same thrill some feel when they get $2,000 off MSRP on a car from a dealer. For private colleges very few people are paying sticker...it makes people feel good to get a discount and helps the school raise yield to say $45K instead of $65K. It isn't like they aren't collecting a lot anyways, especially universities supported by states.

I just got the email from USlacrosse on the new player segmentation policy. I know this long overdue change was well known to be coming, but nice to see it's official with a 2017 start date...too late to help our kids, but at least it's here...now kids won't have to deal with the huge disparity in size and skill that existed due to this nonsense...you hear that Edge, you can keep your men against boys select sides home and play box, because I doubt you'll be bringing and of the age appropriate select sides south of the border anymore...but thanks for being an integral reason this came about...nonsense

I like that they aggressively adopted the recommendation and in fact made the cutoff 9/1. I thought it was going to come back 5/1 which is kind o meaningless...

Finally, age based lacrosse. Now the tough part. How do you police the rosters? Need an ID system of some sort.

not true about everyone makes freshman at chaminade...i know of two pretty decent kids who didn't make it, even over at kellenberg and saint anthony's I heard they're were freshman cuts, not sure how the publics do it...too many kids now play or think they do...the point is to play, not wear the red helmet...i think they were done a favor, if your kid never sees the field as a freshman, even if the are playing up on JV or varsity, i think the time is better spent elsewhere...grades people, that will matter more if they are a marginal player...

35ish made the 9th grade team from 100ish that tried out

By far one of the most spot on posts I have ever seen on this forum. Kudos to you sir......

Have to disagree on this one. Time spent playing sports, be it at practice or during games is a valuable asset for any child. I encourage my son to play as many sports as possible, this is valuable for his college applications as well as keeping him busy and away from potentially bad decisions. So spend time on the practice field with his friends, stay active and enjoy the camaraderie of it all.