US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Boys 2024-11th Grade Fall 2022/Summer 2023

Majority are coming from prep school or will be attending one after graduation.

They are all different and it’s mostly combo packages for D1 and D2. But depends on the school, but it is enough to make a difference. These coaches have offer packages to lane recruits. Having a successful program is everything. Think about it, it’s how they put food on the table.

My son got everything paid by an athletic scholarship, except room and board, and an NIL deal and academic incentive money, at a major D1 program. In the end, prob won’t cost us a dime.

Kind of obnoxious reply. Yay! Good for your son and you! Is he “on age” ?

That is more the exception than the norm. I think poster was asking what is the general consensus of what schools give in scholarship $s. Not necessarily the top 1 percent of players who are also getting NIL deals. Those players are probably 2 to 3 years older?.

Also, Did they pay a prep school for 2 to 3 years? How much did that cost? Also “ big johnnys “ training over the years? How much? College may not cost a dime for some, but it certainly already probably cost a pretty penny over the years.

And the earlier your son is recruited I assume the better.

Obnoxious? The question was, what are colleges giving for scholarships? I simply answered the persons question. The fact is, there is a misconception about lacrosse scholarships. People such as yourself spread the rumor that there aren’t any or if there is, they are minuscule. That’s not my experience. And I know of several other kids that got similar deals. So contrary to popular opinion, there are good scholarships being had out there. And they aren’t all reserved for 5 stars. For the record, my kid is not a holdback and not a prep school kid. Just a typical 100% on age LI Public school kid, Good luck to the original poster. If your kids very good, and you do the top showcases, the coaches will find them. College coaches love finding kids that are slightly under the radar of most coaches. Less competition for getting the kid. Don’t get discouraged. There’s more than a year left to the recruiting process.

That’s great, and congratulations to your son. He must be in the top 1% of recruits? (To get that kind of deal) . Just don’t want the other 99% to think that’s the typical recruiting situation. What’s the average scholarship $s one can hope to get for a good player, Not the 1% situation. More people are in that boat and will not have your experience.

From my experience’s, the average is between 30 and 65%. That’s combo athletic and merit. There are players like the above poster who do very well and on the flip side there are players who get very little. All said there is a wide spectrum. It Depends on how well your kid markets himself to the coaches Every school is different in terms of what they have to offer. It comes down to how much the coach wants him. Even then like a poster above said. His Nephew turned down more money for a school he wanted. There is absolutely a good amount of money out there in all Divisions.

WHAT ARE THE TOP SHOWCASES?

Yes but not necessarily. Depends on the individual needs of each team. Example: After 6 months, a top team has their prize recruit decommit and go somewhere else. That coach had planned to give that kid a bundle. But now no kid and the $’s are available. But now a lot of the top recruits are committed already. That coach has a roster spot to fill and cash to go along with it. That’s just one scenario. There are others.

Where there college coaches watching the games yesterday at the One Percent Challenge?

Showtime
Mainstage
Juniors Open
UnD1sputed Showcase

Nlf futures at IMG? Is it worth it?

Does anyone use CaptainU as a recruiting hammerhead? The amount of messages about coaches messaging us is insane - almost feel like paying to see what is actually going on? Appreciate any insight.

Most Coaches do not use recruiting websites to recruit. With my older kids, I was told to stay away from them, MONEY GRAB!!!! if you are on Facebook, there is a great page by Rene Lopez. its called " Educating parents of HS Athlete's on the college recruiting process" She also has a great book about recruiting. although the Facebook page has all the info that is in the book.

It depends on the talent level of your kid. If you are aiming for a mid-high level D1 or high D3 do not bother. The coaches do not use them. If your kid is a low-mid D2, low d1, or low-mid D3 talent level, it may actually help. I think this holds for all recruiting sites. CaptainU seems to be used less than sports recruits:ConnectLax or ncsa.

We just finished our process a couple of weeks ago. We used Connectlax and IMLCA and they definitely helped and were used by most of the coaches. I’d agree that some don’t use them, but from my experience, most did use them. Some even asked for a link to those websites, as part of their questionnaires. I would definitely recommend that people use these services.

Since the 2024’s are now upperclassmen, many will be playing a big part in the success (or failure) of their HS varsity teams. Which HS teams will have the strongest crop of 2024’s?

My big takeaways from the recruiting process for my son who is a high school senior and will be playing D2 next year are:

- Start with making a list of schools that your son/daughter wants to attend and then start doing events they will be at. Make sure you are checking their sites for prospect days and go to those. Even better if you can get to events hosted by a college with a few other in attendance. School based events have a lot less kids and increases your chances for exposure assuming your kid plays well. The events listed by others seemed to be money grabs to me and I was amazed by how many parents run all over the country to these events.

- Reach out to coaches before any event. Going in there among 200 - 400 players unknown to any coaches will really limit your chances of getting any recognition or call backs.

- You will start getting emails from college coaches that you never heard of. Write back to them instead of never responding. Your kid is probably not the next Paul Rabil like they think they are. You will start seeing these schools/coaches at tournaments and showcases. As a matter of fact you will see more of these schools you never considered than you will see schools like duke. Its not a bad idea to have a relationship with as many coaches as possible as it will give you leverage when it comes down to trying to get cheapest possible tuition. My son visited a couple campuses and would have been happy going and playing at several of them even though they were not on his original list of target schools.

- Recruiting sites do get used by coaches. Get video up there. We used Sports Recruits/IMCLA and our phones were constantly pinging with coaches looking at video on that site and reaching out. CaptainU was a waste of money in my humble opinion.

- To save yourself money video tape everything yourself. Video is important.

- Even though my son didn't start playing lacrosse until later, the first and constant thing they would ask is "How are your grades". This is lacrosse and not a money making sport so they want to give you "Merit" money instead of Athletic money which is more limited. If your grades are good then you have a little better edge than a kid with the same skill level but crappy grades. My son got half off sticker price in Merit aid and then I negotiated some athletic money on top of that. If your not the top 10% player then you need good grades.

- The most important thing is YOU need to do the legwork. Unless you are the top 10%, your club coaches and these mass showcase events are all just money grabs. Unfortunately that's the lacrosse market so it is what it is. This sport is setup to take parents money unlike any I have seen. Club coach's will probably make calls for you if you ask them and will certainly take a call from a college coach but they don't spend all their free time out there looking for schools for their players. They have a life so once again, YOU need to do the leg work, get in front of your target schools coach and then hope your kid plays well in front of him.

Thanks. When did he start getting verbal offers?

For my son it was during the spring/summer season before this year(senior). One thing that is funny is there is nothing formal. Coaches reach out to kids and mostly done through text messages. You will have coaches just call them and say you can play on my team if you want. Then I guess the coaches just wait and see who actually applies to their school.

The recruiting services will get your kid a lot of looks from some of D1 and D3 schools that are not highly ranked (acc, b10, etc) or high academic (NESCAC). But with 425+ lacrosse there are plenty of schools that may reach you through those services.

Timing will depend on the talent level as well as the connections of your kid. High d1 is mostly Sep-Dec before junior year. D2 seems to be constant and at all times. D3 started reaching out late winter/early spring but commitments happening not until late June/ July. Then it slows down drastically after July but still a smattering of D1 d2 d3 all making reach outs even through now.

Are there any good academic D2 schools which give a lot of money for lax or academic?

All D2 schools give good money. the problem with D2 is, most of the schools are small with an average ranking. Not many, if any, are considered high academic. D2 is good fo the average student with good lacrosse skills. They stack athletic and merit. My sons friend (2023) got 75% from a Westchester school. Our Neighbor got 80% from a Rockland County school. D2 is a favorite of Canadian kids because of the amount of money that is giving. Not saying Canadian's don't play on every level, just saying a lot play at the D2 schools.
If your kid can get into an elite school go for it, if your son is an average student who wants a college educaton, look at Pace, Adelphi or down south Tampa etc.... not bad schools, just not elite. They all give big money.

D2 is a great opportunity in many ways. D1 rosters are so much harder to make these days. Lost the list they just released the final rankings for the 2022 class and only 9 long islanders are on it. This initial push of commits is at the tail end for this group heading into November. Keep all options open, I would avoid the D1 or bust mentality.

Thank you

I agree with the D2 comments. Bentley seems to be the best S2 academic option out there but they are typically ranked for lax.

Does anyone have a true count of what clubs have the most Verbal commitments?

At this point in the game who cares what club has how many commitments, Are you looking to switch clubs now? That would be foolish if so. Also, if your kid can play they’ll be a spot for him somewhere. If you’re just starting out in elementary school that is possibly something to consider but not now IMO.

It’s all on the Inside Lacrosse website.

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/recruiting/club/2024/2022

Legacy - 17
Wolfpack - 14
Express - 7

Pease ignore the IL rankings. As already stated on here, they are done by a guy from MD who spends 90% of his time watching MD prep school games. Doesn’t step foot on Long Island unless it’s for a championship game. His rankings are a total joke and an insult to every lacrosse player in the country, outside of his beloved MD rich kid prep schools.

Bro, calm down. Dude is just curious. I know that basically all of the starters for Legacy and 91 are committed. Many committed to top D1 programs, but many committed to lower level D1’s too. Probably better off with a high level D3 team and high academic, than low level D1 program and low level academic. Chasing that D1 dream.

TAZ 17, 91 7, LIE 7.

IL reports 14 D1 players committed for 91. You saying that’s not correct or just stirring the pot?

91 website says 7..

Very true. The top D1 schools never have their starting line off the field and everyone else rides the pine for 4 years. The rest of the D1 schools do not compare to the top D3 in academics. Top D3 attracts highly talented D1 level education driven students.

91 website not updated in several weeks. IL information is up to date.

While what you say makes sense, the reality is, it’s not true. Top D3 programs do NOT attract top level D1 talent. Absolutely does not happen. Top D1 talent goes to top D1 programs that are usually top level academic institutions. Top D3 programs, like Tufts, pickup D1 players as transfers, after the players figure out that they aren’t going to get any playing time, on the D1 team that they are playing for.

People always say this, but it just isn't true generally -- academically, there are more "good" D1 schools than D3 schools, especially when you're talking about schools with varsity lacrosse teams.

D1 has seven Ivies, UNC, Duke, ND, UVA, UNC, Michigan, Hopkins, Georgetown, Patriot League schools, etc. D3 you've got MIT, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, and a few other pretty good small schools. D1 wins this one handily.

It is more so that most start out with D1 expectations and realize that it very difficult and choose a high academic/highly competitive D3 school after D1 is not happening. Go watch some high D3 and D2 lacrosse in person. Those teams are really good and they all three levels play for a championship on Memorial Day weekend.