I call troll too. The tell is claiming that your family will be "in the black" after college. The other tell is that you claim to be a Long Island Dad whose son is committed to college, yet here you are reading and writing long posts on a 2027 mid-atlantic board. You are trying too hard and overplaying your hand. Nice try though.
You all spend so much time trying to figure out who is writing the post that you miss the point. I was hoping people would respond more to whether boys need to be on an NLF team or not. Does it really make a difference in recruiting? I personally don't think it does but my son is just an 8th grader so I don't know.
Just look at commitments over the last few years, seems like a lot are coming from non-NLF teams.[/quote]
It has to start with "what's your son (realistic) goal?" Any advice prior to that question, aside from "get playing time" and "mind your grades" is just silly.
Once you answer that question, the math is still quite complex, especially due to the transfer portal.
In our family's experience (boys and girls lax), the most important factors, in order, have been:
1) You better be on the field all the time if you want elite D1 (starter by 10th) or high D2/D3 (starter by 11th). PT at club and school is critical unless you literally "don't care where you play in college." In which case, you'll be fine, you'll find a spot. Many D2 and D3 programs are still recruiting in the spring of senior year (you just have to remember to apply for admission the previous winter).
2) HS Coach's or Club Coach's Connections AND willingness to "make a call."
3) "Elite-ness" of your HS and club program, including brands like NLF, MIAA, etc.
4) Grades and leadership outside of lax; lax tradition and alumni of your school.
5) Do you fit the current recruiting trend of players at your position? For example, right now if you want to play upper D1 with a long pole, you better be 6'0"+ and be STACKED. Or giant SSDM's with a killer 40 speed and an ability to fast break through traffic. Seem like odd one-offs, but coaches decide "that's what they want" whether it's beneficial or not really. For example it seems like "nobody" (exaggeration) is recruiting tiny FOGOs the last 2 years. Even though a tiny FOGO can win consistently. Just a trend.
6) Coach or director-verified "growth" or "improvement" across several years of a specific camp or showcase. And their willingness to send an email / call / text on your behalf.
7) Good film.......but everybody has good film now, if you get enough PT .
Again, all this said, you can be an LSM being heavily recruited to play at Princeton and suddenly two genius LSM's come to Princeton through the transfer portal, right before your 12th grade year. It's a bit like the wild west right now.
