Coaching Carousel 2023 - D3

[FXLax]

My son played at Mary Washington and they had a fairly large roster but a it’s a state school and a lot of the kids on the team were from Virginia. I don’t think many of them would have played on teams out of state. But I do think they enjoyed being part of the team and made some good relationships. My son got recruited by a couple of D2 schools but they were in Georgia and South Carolina and he really didn’t have any desire to join a new program.

[Old&InTheWay]

What is an appropriate roster size for a lacrosse team? I would think the schools that have vacancies would have a sense of urgency...... since the summer recruiting season has already began. Their lack of urgency might be a sign of how little support they have for their programs . It's backwards thinking to me. You want to get heads in beds and bring revenue into the school but you sit on your hands and slow play the hire. Crazy S***.

[palaxoff]

What is an appropriate roster size for a lacrosse team? I would think the schools that have vacancies would have a sense of urgency...... since the summer recruiting season has already began

My observation is the average is between 45-50. Weaker programs usually have less then 45 while stronger programs have over 50. I'd say the stronger programs carry larger numbers for practices and depth.

It is also a number's games for a lot of D3 schools, it a very good way to get students in a very competitive market.

I wouldn't be too hard on the Ads, they usually have multiple sports to fill with coaches, there is a lot of red tape hiring, and maybe the number of people who want to coach has declined as the way to coach has changed drastically in the last 10 years.

[River Donkey]

I think a good roster limit for D3 would be 50. D2 55, D1 55.

[InsiderRoll]

What is an appropriate roster size for a lacrosse team? I would think the schools that have vacancies would have a sense of urgency...... since the summer recruiting season has already began. Their lack of urgency might be a sign of how little support they have for their programs . It's backwards thinking to me. You want to get heads in beds and bring revenue into the school but you sit on your hands and slow play the hire. Crazy S***.

45-50 is a healthy roster size. A little more or a little less is not a major issue.

Most D3 ADs do not realize that the lacrosse recruiting window is significantly earlier than many other sports.

Another factor could be that many colleges fiscal year doesn’t end until June 30, so they may be able to interview and post but might not be able to offer and start the process until that time.

Lastly some ADs at some of these lower end colleges would not be considered “at the top of their profession”, my experience at some small colleges is that many people do not work very hard in the summer months. There are many great ADs at less successful schools, but there are plenty that aren’t great.

Also, sometimes it’s very hard to find quality candidates no matter how hard you look

[Laxattackjack]

50 is large. In reality. In a competitive game, only about 20-25 see the field.
In a blowout, those 25 see the field the first half, then get rotated with backups on the 3rd. And the 4th is for the bottom 10-15 kids.


But some schools don’t even sub that much. I follow several kids that played on various teams with my son. Or kids from the area. They range from top 10 D1 to mid level D3. Some of these kids only saw the field for a few mins, in a handful of games.

If you looked at roster size from everyone’s perspective, 35-40 is a good size. Anything beyond that, will have kids on the sidelines that will go several games in a row (or never) without seeing the field.

I am sure coaches want at least 50. For many reasons. Players probably want 25

[HomerCoach]

https://averettcougars.com/news/2023/6/ ... ation.aspx

Averett open

[VTLaxGuy]

What is an appropriate roster size for a lacrosse team? I would think the schools that have vacancies would have a sense of urgency...... since the summer recruiting season has already began. Their lack of urgency might be a sign of how little support they have for their programs . It's backwards thinking to me. You want to get heads in beds and bring revenue into the school but you sit on your hands and slow play the hire. Crazy S***.

For as many 50+ rosters we see at the top end of D3, there's just as many 20-30 player rosters at the lower end; so I think the average of about 35-40 seems about right.

If a team makes the NCAA tournament there is a roster limit in the high 30's for players allowed on the sideline. The document linked below is the official NCAA tournament travel party declaration form....you're allowed to dress 32 eligible players for the game, have another 5 non-dressed players included in the travel party, and another 13 people to bring the total party to 50...that last 13 person group includes coaches, managers, athletic trainers, strength coaches, ADs who want to be on the sideline....so for all those 50-60 player teams making the NCAA tournament, those coaches have to tell a bunch of guys...sometimes 20+ that they have to sit in the stands.

https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/champi ... erForm.pdf

"Hey Mom and Dad, we got an at large bid for the NCAA's!"

"Oh that's great son, congrats, we'll be there. Good luck! See you after the game."

"Actually, I'm not one of the best 50 players on the team, so I can't be with the team on the sideline. I need to sit with you in the stands...oh yeah, and you need to buy my ticket. Thanks guys!"

[Leonard Washington]

https://averettcougars.com/news/2023/6/ ... ation.aspx

Averett open

Wonder where Coach Mackin is headed in the lacrosse world. Assuming it is for another (lacrosse) coaching job

Only so much you can do in the ODAC in men's lacrosse as a new program.

[Leonard Washington]

Current Openings:

Alma (MI)
Augustana (IL)
Averett (VA)
Catholic (DC)
Eastern Connecticut St. (CT)
Haverford (PA)
Immaculata (PA)
Ithaca (NY)
Lycoming (PA)
Mount St. Joseph (OH)
Muskingum (OH)
Pitt-Bradford (PA-2025)
Thiel (PA)
Wells (NY)


Filled:

Eastern (PA) - Colin Piper (Interim Currently), Eastern AC
Keuka (NY) - Ty Trombley, Keuka Interim HC
Lawrence (WI-2025) - Michael Zadorga, Davis and Elkins HC

[River Donkey]

https://averettcougars.com/news/2023/6/ ... ation.aspx

Averett open

Wonder where Coach Mackin is headed in the lacrosse world. Assuming it is for another (lacrosse) coaching job

Only so much you can do in the ODAC in men's lacrosse as a new program.

Lycoming is my guess.

[smoova]

For as many 50+ rosters we see at the top end of D3, there's just as many 20-30 player rosters at the lower end; so I think the average of about 35-40 seems about right.

35-40 is a good size. Anything beyond that, will have kids on the sidelines that will go several games in a row (or never) without seeing the field.

Agreed. Cap of 40 would eliminate hoarding at the top programs/schools and still give coaches enough payers/players to practice, weather injuries, etc. It will never happen, but a girl can dream ...

[lax13]

For as many 50+ rosters we see at the top end of D3, there's just as many 20-30 player rosters at the lower end; so I think the average of about 35-40 seems about right.

35-40 is a good size. Anything beyond that, will have kids on the sidelines that will go several games in a row (or never) without seeing the field.

Agreed. Cap of 40 would eliminate hoarding at the top programs/schools and still give coaches enough payers/players to practice, weather injuries, etc. It will never happen, but a girl can dream ...

Anything more than 40 means you are just trying to put heads in beds and giving false hope to guys about playing.

[Nosey Ned]

For as many 50+ rosters we see at the top end of D3, there's just as many 20-30 player rosters at the lower end; so I think the average of about 35-40 seems about right.

35-40 is a good size. Anything beyond that, will have kids on the sidelines that will go several games in a row (or never) without seeing the field.

Agreed. Cap of 40 would eliminate hoarding at the top programs/schools and still give coaches enough payers/players to practice, weather injuries, etc. It will never happen, but a girl can dream ...

Anything more than 40 means you are just trying to put heads in beds and giving false hope to guys about playing.

Assuming of course we are talking about non Covid eligibility quirks. IMO a coach shouldn’t target a total player number for an upcoming season but instead recruit as individual classes. Meaning try to bring in a full team each year - averaging somewhere between 12-15 player recruiting classes. This will give you depth per position and allow for recruiting “misses” on talent assessments. You will have natural attrition as that class advances through the 4 years, whether by injury, lack of playing time, loss of interest on the players side etc. This will most likely mean the first years will be your biggest class, your second years the second biggest etc. This strategy will most likely leave you with an overall roster of somewhere around 45-48 players each year. Some years more, some less. A side note is when a particular team has a large Senior class, I think that speaks volumes to the character of the players who despite lesser playing time than they had envisioned, they stuck it out. That, to me, was a great recruiting class overall.

I really don’t like when coaches over recruit, and have more helmets than they have seats on the bus for away games. That leads to a “travel squad “ and in my opinion that’s just wrong. We all know how much it stinks to have to reduce to the reduced NCAA Tournament roster, imagine doing that for each away game?

[balderdash]

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[laxpert]

DIII athletics exist to make money for the school. Many coaches have goals in terms of applications, admissions as well as fund raising. You achieve those goals you have better job security than the coach wins his conference but doesn't hit them. A coach once told me about 15K of tuition cost went to running student activities. If true, those players who are numbers 35 to 50 something are what every school wants, even more so if they are full payers and strong academically.

[InsiderRoll]

For as many 50+ rosters we see at the top end of D3, there's just as many 20-30 player rosters at the lower end; so I think the average of about 35-40 seems about right.

35-40 is a good size. Anything beyond that, will have kids on the sidelines that will go several games in a row (or never) without seeing the field.

Agreed. Cap of 40 would eliminate hoarding at the top programs/schools and still give coaches enough payers/players to practice, weather injuries, etc. It will never happen, but a girl can dream ...

This is the most pathetic thing that’s every been said in the history of the internet. And no 35-40 is not enough to run a fast pace college practice if there are injuries

[Laxattackjack]

For as many 50+ rosters we see at the top end of D3, there's just as many 20-30 player rosters at the lower end; so I think the average of about 35-40 seems about right.

35-40 is a good size. Anything beyond that, will have kids on the sidelines that will go several games in a row (or never) without seeing the field.

Agreed. Cap of 40 would eliminate hoarding at the top programs/schools and still give coaches enough payers/players to practice, weather injuries, etc. It will never happen, but a girl can dream ...

This is the most pathetic thing that’s every been said in the history of the internet. And no 35-40 is not enough to run a fast pace college practice if there are injuries

I love the temper tantrums when someone has an opinion different than you.

[River Donkey]

For as many 50+ rosters we see at the top end of D3, there's just as many 20-30 player rosters at the lower end; so I think the average of about 35-40 seems about right.

35-40 is a good size. Anything beyond that, will have kids on the sidelines that will go several games in a row (or never) without seeing the field.

Agreed. Cap of 40 would eliminate hoarding at the top programs/schools and still give coaches enough payers/players to practice, weather injuries, etc. It will never happen, but a girl can dream ...

This is the most pathetic thing that’s every been said in the history of the internet. And no 35-40 is not enough to run a fast pace college practice if there are injuries

Really?? That’s how majority of D3 operates, maybe you’ve been out of the game to long.

[River Donkey]

For as many 50+ rosters we see at the top end of D3, there's just as many 20-30 player rosters at the lower end; so I think the average of about 35-40 seems about right.

35-40 is a good size. Anything beyond that, will have kids on the sidelines that will go several games in a row (or never) without seeing the field.

Agreed. Cap of 40 would eliminate hoarding at the top programs/schools and still give coaches enough payers/players to practice, weather injuries, etc. It will never happen, but a girl can dream ...

This is the most pathetic thing that’s every been said in the history of the internet. And no 35-40 is not enough to run a fast pace college practice if there are injuries

I love the temper tantrums when someone has an opinion different than you.

He thinks he’s special and an utmost authority on all things NCAA lax. And if someone disagrees, this is what he does. Truth is the game has passed him by and he has not realized that yet.