<p>Hi I have lurked on these boards a while and have some questions to ask to anyone who is knowledgeable with the recruiting process. i am going through a separation and it is a difficult situation to say the least and my husband (who did most of this) is "getting back at me" and now not getting as involved, makes this whole thing very hard. Anyway a little background my son started playing lax in 8th grade. (late yes I know but he is very athletic) and was an immediate top player on the team. Attends a good school in CT. Plays for a strong summer team. Started since 9th grade. He has been communicating with coaches as he knows he wants to play college lax. Here is where I am confused. </p>
<p>He is looking at D3 schools. At this juncture, what should be happening? If anything? They all want his transcripts, and test scores by July 1st. Then what happens? Do they tell him if he could be a candidate or not? At what point will he know this? I don't want him wasting his time on schools where he won't be a good fit. I want him to go somewhere that he will be happy, fit in academically socially and athletically. After college, he probably won't pick up a stick ever again! Will coaches generally tell an athlete after July 1st that they think they are a good fit or not or does he need to ask them? How often will or should coaches be keeping in touch with him or is it his job? My husband was doing all this so I am really clueless. His friends dad said this is a good resource for all questions related to college. </p>
<p>I just want to be sure he is not barking up the wrong tree so to speak. I just don't know how one "reads" a college coach. How do you know if they are really interested? He is considered to be a strong player but how do you know if this is someone recruit able? I would hope college coaches wouldn't' keep in touch with him (or waste their time) if there wasn't interest? I am hopeful there are other lacrosse families out there who might have some experience and could help me out. Thank you.</p>
<p>In almost all cases, D3 coaches will try to get the best athlete they can get through Admissions. If your son meets the college’s academic requirements, they will recruit him for D3. Can we assume he is a rising senior? If so, this summer will be the key recruiting time frame for D3 in any sport. They want his transcripts and SAT scores to determine his academic fit with the coach acting as a proxy. A good coach will tell you how that “Admissions pre-read” progresses and the outcome. In addition, I’d suggest you review these documents (URL below) to become more familiar with the recruiting language and timeframes. If you haven’t already, you may want to check out the NCAA Clearinghouse to make sure you have everything.</p>
<p>A parents recruiting objectives are generally different from a coaches recruiting objectives…</p>
<p>Parents are pretty much looking for some financial help whether it comes in academic or athletic money,</p>
<p>Coaches want talent, but there want is tempered by admissions-so if they can get admitted then we can start considering money and depending on level D1/2 athletic money might figure into the equations whereas academic and need based money figure into all three.</p>
<p>Lax is not the sport of a poor trying to make it out of poverty athlete, so the need might not be as much of an issue as it is in other sports, so the rest is based on talent/ability and whether he has the talent that a coach wants at your desired choice of schools…and all that is governed by timetables set by the NCAA.</p>
<p>kwalker, I had occasion to interview the Middlebury lax coach about recruiting in the NESCAC and here are a few excerpts from our conversation, </p>
<p>"It’s important to remember that in the NESCAC, as coaches we’re not allowed to guarantee anyone that they’ll be admitted to our institution. It’s ultimately an admissions decision, not a coach’s decision. That’s one constant throughout the league. Now of course we can all identify recruits that we’d like to support through admissions and that number is going to vary a bit from school to school and year to year. It’s worth asking each coach how many student-athlete’s they plan to support in your class early in the process. The other thing that’s going to vary from school to school is exactly what ‘support’ means and how it’s handled. Each coach has his own language and track record as far as that goes.</p>
<p>“I think it’s natural for kids to feel a little nervous about things working out in the ED 1 process at a NESCAC school. But I think you can minimize that by asking a lot of direct questions during the recruiting process leading up to submitting your application. You should be asking where you stand and what kind of read you’ve been given by admissions. Ask lots of direct questions and take notes – I can’t overemphasize that.”</p>
<p>“Over the years we develop relationships with high school and club coaches around the country and try to get as much input as possible from them in regard to character, work ethic, etc… Most of us also speak with college/guidance counselors to get a better feel for a prospective student-athlete off the field.”</p>
<p>“To stay competitive, guys are working out year round. They have to be self-motivated. I’d say 90 minutes to 2 hours a day is pretty typical during the off-season. Once the season starts in the spring, we’re going about 2 hours a day.”</p>
<p>Fenway (always a cornucopia of great info and advice) may have slipped a tiny bit on that one.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, the NCAA Guide and the Eligibility Center (though with very good info) are actually only for Division I and Division II athletes, not Division III:</p>
<p>“This Guide has been designed to help you … understand the NCAA initial-eligibility process … to becoming an NCAA Division I or II student-athlete.”</p>
<p>There is no requirement, for example, for DIII athletes to register with the Eligibility Center.</p>
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<p>“Timetables” for D3 are different and much more lax (get it ) than for DI or DII.</p>
<p>My son was recruited in the summer of last year (as a rising senior) to play lacrosse at a D3 NESCAC College (New England Small College Athletic Conference). He was targeting NESCAC in particular and had been in touch with many of those coaches throughout junior year. He played at several NESCAC camps over the summer, making the all star team each time. He had a 3.82 unweighted GPA (out of 4.0) with all Honors and AP courses and a 34 on the ACT with strong other ECs so we were pretty sure he was in the overall range they were looking for. By July he had interest from seven of the 11 schools… he narrowed it down to two… one in CT and one in Maine (Amherst was very interested but went with someone else in June, Tufts was never particularly interested in him… Middlebury expressed interest and he met with that coach in Feb but decided the school was not a good fit ) and we went to visit and meet with the coaches… Prior to our visits they had asked for his transcript, board scores and senior year class schedule which we provided. When we visited both schools we were told the coaches had run his packet by admissions and both schools had “green lighted” him… which met they would most likely (nothing’s ever 100 percent) admit him with no changes… as long as he kept his somewhat rigorous senior schedule we provided. While we were in Maine my son decided to go with the school in CT… and called the coach and “Committed” and agreed to apply ED… With D3 the commitment is verbal, and you still need to go through the whole admissions process including essays, recs, etc… The coach told us we were good to go… but I have to admit I breathed a total sigh of relief on Dec 15 when he received his official acceptance from the University.</p>
<p>Apparently college confidential does not let people respond to private messages until
you have 15 posts which I do not… If you private message me again with your email
I would be more than happy to get in touch and answer any questions you might have.</p>
<p>These were excellent articles though the first batch is from 2005, the same principles apply today(just intensified)! Thank you for sharing them…it is quite a wild ride indeed.</p>
) than for DI or DII.</p>