For example, Hall vs. St. Pauls
I’m in DC and don’t know the Baltimore kids nearly well enough to have an opinion on Calvert Hall vs St Pauls or anything like that. For the DC kids, I would say school seemed to matter less than club or just how you present as an athlete. Kids that show out well in the IAC or top part of WCAC obviously do well in recruiting. But most of those kids also showed well in the club/showcase context so it’s hard to tell if the school mattered or not. It certainly does not hurt to go to the top programs. But whether that makes you significantly more marketable probably depends on the player and position. I don’t have any evidence for this other than my observation, but I think that school may matter more for attack and maybe goalie than other positions. The stock of middies and defensive players rose or fell much more on how they presented in terms of size and speed on the club/showcase circuit than school in my opinion.
I suspect school matters most in terms of weeding out kids— D1 coaches are probably (I say probably as I have zero evidence of this theory) are less likely to take a chance on a sick athlete playing in Virginia or MD public schools, and dominating there, Vs a very good player/athlete at one of the elites. Just a lot more unknowns with public school competition.
I detest to wade into these waters, but......former coach here.
#1 if your kid is between Richmond VA and Boston MA and he or she can't get "looks", then that is highly suspect in terms of D1 "appropriateness."
#2 Coaches have to sell their "picks" to the admissions department of these D1 schools, most of whom have high academic integrity. So "your school" counts, period. A 3.9 at a public HS in Garrett County is not the same as a 3.9 at a public in MoCo or HoCo. Or.....sigh...... a 3.9 at Gilman. And because it's not football, your kid's 2.6 GPA and his 100mph shot at public school is not going to be enough.
#3 I AM NOT SAYING THAT PRIVATE SCHOOLS ARE BETTER THAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS but no college lax coach wants a stud with a substantial risk of academic suspension. College preparedness at a Garrett County PS is not equal to a MoCo PS is not equal to a prep school. Most "prep school" graduates find that college academics are not particularly challenging. That is a (small) factor in lax recruitment. And yes, for sure, prep school does NOT necessarily weed out or flag future behavior problems that we occasionally see in all college athletes including lax players.
#4 There is honestly an "X" factor in the # of coaches, faculty, and counselors per student at the (best) privates, who in many cases attended a prep school themselves and perhaps played lax and can "put in a call" to a college coach or recruiter. When you are at a PG County public school and there's a total of 4 adult lax coaches and 4 college counselers per 2000 students, your odds of getting someone to make a call are quite slim.
Which is the best excuse around for why your kid would play for a club coach who WILL make those calls.
