My Opinion ..... Please Read.......This is gospel ...
If you want you son to have a chance at playing for a top D1 program....
If you want your son to have a great youth career....
If you want your son to be a starter as a Freshman or Soph .....
HOLD THEM BACK EARLY OR DO A PREFIRST
And this is what's wrong with youth lacrosse. Your kid stinks and couldn't hang with the on-age kids. Tell him to the hit the squat rack next time.
You're missing the point. A kid who stinks is never playing college lacrosse at any level whether he holds back or not. But if your son's goal is to play D1 lacrosse (or even D2 or D3) he has the best shot if he holds back, AND is naturally great athlete, AND works hard on improving himself outside of team practices by hitting the weight room, the wall, etc. Of course there are exceptions, such as the St. Paul phenom with the proud Dad who posted earlier. But if you look at the rosters of the top college D1, the majority of players do have the trifecta of holdback, lots of natural ability, and hard work.
Good point, but 4 years of playing D1, D2 or D3 lacrosse doesn't last forever and they certainly don't pay the bills.
Nobody said that it did. The benefits of being a lacrosse star (holdback or not) is a college admissions advantage, the self-confidence and prestige that comes with being a varsity athlete, a peer group of like-minded and committed teammates, and coaches who hopefully are good role models. And, if your son is a class act while in college, lacrosse is a small world that will likely provide life long friendships and maybe business connections. Scholarship money is not what it is cracked up to be - 12.6 scholarships spread among 30-40 players in division 1, and zero in Divisions 2 and 3. If your son works hard enough to get some modest D1 scholarship money, you should be incredibly proud of him, but it probably will not surpass the thousands that you paid for travel teams, private coaching, hotels, etc. from age 8 to 18. So nobody should be in lacrosse for a career or to pay bills - but if you want all the advantages, prestige, and fun of playing college lacrosse, the prior post is correct that holding back is a good move, like it or not.
