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Jamey Hebb · gt2on11u98t2l2200229h89d4c ·
A group member who shall remain nameless reached out to another page admin with some thoughts and reminders about the recruiting process for HS players, especially those outside of the Top 50, and I want to paraphrase, summarize, and sprinkle my own thoughts here for the benefit of fellow current and future HS lacrosse parents.

I grew up with parents who stressed that the biggest objective when you play sports is to HAVE FUN. Practice hard, play hard, play to win, but more than anything else remember that it's just a game and games are played for enjoyment as well as competition.

The game of lacrosse has grown, and continues to grow, exponentially over the past 20+ years. I spent three years working in California pre-pandemic, and was amazed and pleased by how many kids I saw on the west coast with sticks. All over the US there are HS athletes playing lacrosse at a pretty high level, where it used to be Baltimore/Annapolis and Long Island/Upstate NY that produced virtually all of the best college players.

This particular lacrosse parent (whose sons are both top tier lacrosse players themselves), made an observation that has occasionally been discussed in this forum but bears repeating. In a nutshell, it is for parents and kids not to get overly stressed out or concerned over which school they play for and what NCAA division they play in.

College admissions and college choice should be about academics first and sports second, which is why the term scholar-athlete is phrased in the order it is. Not every kid can study at Harvard just like not every kid can play lacrosse at UVA. And guess what? That's totally okay!

So enjoy the journey with your player(s), fellow lacrosse parents. Make sure first and foremost that your son or daughter goes to the SCHOOL they want to attend, without the focus being on the conference or division or national ranking in lacrosse. If your kid is a D1 talent, congratulations. If your kid is a D2 or D3 talent, I extend the same exact amount of praise and congratulations as I do to the D1 kid and his/her parents.

Set realistic expectations throughout his/her HS years. Make sure your child knows that you will be every bit as proud of him/her wherever they end up playing, even if it's a program no one is familiar with. Pursue an Ivy League education if the grades are there and that's what they want to do, or go to one of the MANY great D2 or D3 schools, or one of the service academies if that's appealing (everyone gets a full ride there).

I'll close with this. Many years back I was at a local Baltimore watering hole with a bunch of fellow old guys who were all former teammates or opponents. Someone asked what we thought the biggest single difference was between when we played HS lacrosse (the '70s and early to mid '80s) versus the kids playing today and the consensus answer was that we played FOR FUN. We didn't play year round, we all played different sports in different seasons, and it was all about the competition - other MSA 'A' Conference schools - and having FUN.

Wherever your son or daughter ends up playing, it's important to remember that having fun while competing is the real goal and reward, in addition to furthering his/her education.