<p>Hi my son is a 10th grader and is hoping to play college lacrosse. He has been on the highest level travel teams for our area and has played varsity since 9th grade. He has been a defenseman and just this year switched to middie, for which is much better suited. He is much happier, knows he has a lot of work/catching up to do but is very athletic and extremely determined. In his first tourn of the season he scored 6 goals within 3 games so he knows he made the right choice. He was on track to become a recruit playing D, but now he needs to get noticed as a middie.</p>
<p>He is about done wtih a highlight tape but its all defense, and he will enclose it along with an explanation of what he is doing (the swtich of positions). Besides playing in various tournaments and some high exposure invite only camps, anything else one might suggest? We do not know a lot admittedly about this whole recruiting process, and most of those we know who know a lot about it have kids my sons age who are "his competition" and I am not so sure we are always getting the most sound advice. This whole process is so competitive and cut throat, and obviously we want to be able to help him however we can, if anyones had experience with this, would love to hear from you.</p>
<p>My son is a D1 college player, the recruiting process is like most other sports. I cannot stress this enough !!! The key is to make sure your son (and parents) are honest with themselves and understand what division (D1, D2, D3) he is really capable of playing and what his academic capabilities are ? Narrow down colleges that match his academic and lacrosse skills. If he has not generated any interest from coaches at this point, he should start out by filling out online college recruiting forms (college lacrosse websites) to let them know he is interested in the scool and their program. Follow-up with a letter to coach and include your athletic resume, which pretty much gives them a history of your academic and athletic background, enlcose a tape. The tape should inlcude 5 minutes of game film and 2-3 minutes of postitional highlights of game film, include scenes that showcase athletic skills and positional skills (not all goal scoring, show left and right hand skills, ground ball play, defensive plays ect…). Leave out the loud music, and include a pointer or highlight bubble on your son so the coach can easily see him in the film. Note: Coaches look for the best athletes, typically young recruits who are the most athletic can adapt to a new position the coach needs, they will get the playing time. Go to as many elite camps as possible the summer of your junior year, play for a high level summer club team, most if not all travel to the best tournaments, all will have college coaches watching from the side lines. Most of all pick a school for the acedemic and social fit not the sports program. Would your son rather start for a D3 program or ride the pine for a D1 team ?? Can he deal with a 6 day a week D1 team commitment and keep up his academics ?? Feel free to PM me with specific questions, it is a lengthy process.</p>
<p>It was a really fun ride as my son negotiated the lacrosse recruiting process. He is a 2005/2006 HS grad, and a 2010 college grad – so things have changed a bit.</p>
<p>As MJP points out above, the coaches are looking for <em>athletes</em> that can manage the academics at their respective institutions. They look for competitors. They also look for the “good kids.”</p>
<p>I would like to mention that some of the recent tippy top players at the collegiate level were not heavily recruited out of high school. I can think of one young man who was an AA goalie in high school, that ended up playing defense, and excelling. I’ve seen the coaches move players around position-wise, attack to middie, close D to LSM etc. </p>
<p>Have your son attend the best camps he can get to this summer, and next. Remind him that he’s being observed all the time at the camps, and he should always go hard, compete, push himself. And don’t forget the academics … take the PSAT and the SAT next fall so you have an idea of his numbers.</p>