Recruiting

[Brokelaxdad]

Thanks for advice. Yea she is super frustrated. This will be a good insight in to coaches when she delivers the news that she can’t play at their camps. She still plans to go so they can get to know her unless her top choices come through with offers quickly.

I keep telling her to enjoy this process .. she looks at me like I have three eyes when I say that

[hmmm]

Thanks for advice. Yea she is super frustrated. This will be a good insight in to coaches when she delivers the news that she can’t play at their camps. She still plans to go so they can get to know her unless her top choices come through with offers quickly.

I keep telling her to enjoy this process .. she looks at me like I have three eyes when I say that

I 100% agree with the others that she should shut things down and get healthy.

Also, unless things have changed significantly since my daughter went through this process a few years back, if coaches are saying they want her to come to post 9/1 camps she’s somewhat down their priority list and it’s certainly not worth risking further injury, or making a bad showing playing hurt for a coach that doesn’t have her high on their list going into 9/1. Coaches know who they want already. Post 9/1 camps are typically to find girls to fill out rosters and most of the little $$$ available for the class is usually allocated by then. It sounds like she has a good amount of interest and I hope things work out for her.

[Relax77]

That OuttaNowhere guy is not gonna like that post but good luck with you daughter. Hope she gets well soon.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

That OuttaNowhere guy is not gonna like that post but good luck with you daughter. Hope she gets well soon.

[MM1980]

Uh oh. Gonna be a lot of ticked off parents with this list of Top 2025 players.

Do you mean the Lacrosse Magazine rankings? I don't have any skin in this game (2023 dd) but Lax Magazine seems pretty lame. They post random stuff and didn't even do any rankings for 2024 so how legit are they?

[MM1980]

Thanks for advice. Yea she is super frustrated. This will be a good insight in to coaches when she delivers the news that she can’t play at their camps. She still plans to go so they can get to know her unless her top choices come through with offers quickly.

I keep telling her to enjoy this process .. she looks at me like I have three eyes when I say that

I 100% agree with the others that she should shut things down and get healthy.

Also, unless things have changed significantly since my daughter went through this process a few years back, if coaches are saying they want her to come to post 9/1 camps she’s somewhat down their priority list and it’s certainly not worth risking further injury, or making a bad showing playing hurt for a coach that doesn’t have her high on their list going into 9/1. Coaches know who they want already. Post 9/1 camps are typically to find girls to fill out rosters and most of the little $$$ available for the class is usually allocated by then. It sounds like she has a good amount of interest and I hope things work out for her.

+1

[LaxDadMax]

Been reading this forum for an awhile so I figured with sept 1 in a few hours I would post.

DD plays on a top 20-25 team and looking for some advice.

Without going in to much detail she has a very very good summer with really good games against several of the top teams in nation (m&d black.. monsters etc. we usually loose by 1 or 2 to top 5 and rarely get blown out. that being said some of our girls have gotten some nice exposer.

My daughter has received 20-30 requests to fill out questionnaires and her club coach has been called by 20 plus schools on her.
A few of the names are Hopkins, ucon, Mercer, Denver, nova Georgetown and many other smaller and lower ranked schools that she is keeping an open mind too.

She is set to go to several camps after sept 1. Here is issue… she has been playing on an injury that was at pain level of 5-6 and she was running 60-70% when these schools identified her. Now she is at 7-8 and I would guess she would be at 50% for 1-2 hours (most of these camps are very short)

The plan was to push through but after working her out the other day it is clear she has to shut it down (surgery is scheduled for mid November) it’s a long recovery but good news is athletes come back 100% if not better (it’s not acl thank god) she will not play this upcoming HS and is targeting to be back on field 100% summer fair well tour with her club.

So question is do we keep injury under radar or come out and be honest. Sever schools said they don’t need to see her anymore they are going to “fight like hell” for her (a few coaches comments). However, some want her back to see her compete with other prospect.

As you can imagine for a 16 year old emotions are running high as she see some of her teammates at schools they past few weekends and sept 1 approaching fast.

I keep telling her to ask the coach when they call to share where they saw you and what they liked… then tell them they you were playing hurt and unfortunately doctors are suggesting surgery to fix injury and get back to 100% . If you loved me at 70 I am going to blow you away at 100%

We were very fortunate that the injury progressed when it did and she was able to play in majorly of tournament games .. we did not do AS or UA 150 etc for reasons we felt it could only hurt her.

Any comments, advise is welcomed

To be honest, if she played well in front of coaches and has good film, I would expect interest based on what you indicated above.

This is why you pay all of those $$ in club feeds.

Remember for the top 60 or so programs, they won't see any of their recruits play live before they offer. Lower tier schools are the one who focus on on campus prospect days for their 25 recruits. By October, most big schools will be focused on 26s.

Tell her to enjoy the process. She should disclose the injury, but it shouldn't be the first thing she does.

[RollTheCrease]

Thanks for advice. Yea she is super frustrated. This will be a good insight in to coaches when she delivers the news that she can’t play at their camps. She still plans to go so they can get to know her unless her top choices come through with offers quickly.

I keep telling her to enjoy this process .. she looks at me like I have three eyes when I say that

Having a daughter who just went through this process I agree with others that most coaches already know who they want prior to 9/1. They may invite players to come for an official visit day to get to know the players and families, but attending their camps should not be necessary at this point.

I agree with others honesty is the best policy when coaches do reach out. If a coach was really committed to a prospect they want to offer they should work with this player. The worst thing you could do is not disclose the injury and have the coaches find out later. It doesn’t make for trusting partnership, which this is. If a coach walks because of it then I would say that wasn’t the right place to begin with. Good luck to your daughter.

[Womenslaxxfan]

It’s an exciting time for the 2025s. Hope parents can keep anxiety down. One piece of advice I got when my daughters went through the process was to keep the “broken leg test” top of mind. Having seen many of my daughters’ teammates lax careers end through injury, not enough playing time, etc, I now realize how wise that advice was….
Basically don’t consider committing to a school for lacrosse that wouldn’t be on a players list without lacrosse.

Yep. But hard to convince a 15 year old that. They k ow everything.

As a counterpoint to this, I also think kids shouldn’t feel the weight of the world on their shoulders with this decision. I know a lot of kids (not athletes) who have transferred after their first or even second year of college for a lot of reasons - location, major, vibe, etc. It’s ok to try something and have it not work out, and make a change. It’s ok if they go somewhere for lax and break their leg and decide they’d rather be somewhere else. Maybe it’s a hassle but it’s not the end of the world to change their mind if things don’t work out. Sure, kids should start out with a choice that feels like a great choice even if they weren’t playing lax, but I also think it’s not a bad idea to acknowledge that things can change and that’s ok too.

Laxfan—agree where you start college isn’t where you have to finish. But what I disagree with is “going somewhere for lax” that wouldn’t be a school you’d otherwise want your daughter to seriously consider without lax. That’s having the tail wag the dog in my opinion.

[Relax77]

It’s an exciting time for the 2025s. Hope parents can keep anxiety down. One piece of advice I got when my daughters went through the process was to keep the “broken leg test” top of mind. Having seen many of my daughters’ teammates lax careers end through injury, not enough playing time, etc, I now realize how wise that advice was….
Basically don’t consider committing to a school for lacrosse that wouldn’t be on a players list without lacrosse.

Yep. But hard to convince a 15 year old that. They k ow everything.

As a counterpoint to this, I also think kids shouldn’t feel the weight of the world on their shoulders with this decision. I know a lot of kids (not athletes) who have transferred after their first or even second year of college for a lot of reasons - location, major, vibe, etc. It’s ok to try something and have it not work out, and make a change. It’s ok if they go somewhere for lax and break their leg and decide they’d rather be somewhere else. Maybe it’s a hassle but it’s not the end of the world to change their mind if things don’t work out. Sure, kids should start out with a choice that feels like a great choice even if they weren’t playing lax, but I also think it’s not a bad idea to acknowledge that things can change and that’s ok too.

Laxfan—agree where you start college isn’t where you have to finish. But what I disagree with is “going somewhere for lax” that wouldn’t be a school you’d otherwise want your daughter to seriously consider without lax. That’s having the tail wag the dog in my opinion.

And that’s a perfect explanation about the 16 year old. When they are a sophomore, probably around 19-20, they realize they went to this school for the wrong reasons. Big difference on the maturity scale 3 years.

[laxmenow]

When my daughter was going through recruiting I developed a list of all the D1 wlax schools, comparing lacrosse ranking with academics (using 25%th percentile test scores as the measure). Any school academically below the best she was likely able to get into without lacrosse, was automatically off the list! I say this only to share experiences amongst parents that might be useful. as an aside, based on club coach feedback regarding level of lacrosse schools showing most interest ahead of 9/1, it helped her narrow in on a handful of most likely's to then really think though.

[Wheels,Wheels!]

I’ve been through the process 3 times. 1st time was a struggle just because of what we didn’t know( why this board is great), 2nd was non traditional with a fantastic outcome and 3 rd was a love affair on both sides. One piece of advice! Know when you are a real, genuine prospect!!!! Do not be fooled by post 9/1 camp offers and other false enticements. Teams have their prospect lists sorted out by the end of July and they are busy finding out if interest will be mutual. Your club director should have a very good feel about suitors too. Don’t go to September events just to go, they just lead to more stress in the process. IMHO.

[watcherinthewoods]

I’ve been through the process 3 times. 1st time was a struggle just because of what we didn’t know( why this board is great), 2nd was non traditional with a fantastic outcome and 3 rd was a love affair on both sides. One piece of advice! Know when you are a real, genuine prospect!!!! Do not be fooled by post 9/1 camp offers and other false enticements. Teams have their prospect lists sorted out by the end of July and they are busy finding out if interest will be mutual. Your club director should have a very good feel about suitors too. Don’t go to September events just to go, they just lead to more stress in the process. IMHO.

Agree on being honest about your position as a prospect. And club coaches can add insight here in my experience. One of the best pieces of advice we ever got was to "move on" if it was made clear you were not being seriously considered by a coach/program.

[Laxfan212]

When my daughter was going through recruiting I developed a list of all the D1 wlax schools, comparing lacrosse ranking with academics (using 25%th percentile test scores as the measure). Any school academically below the best she was likely able to get into without lacrosse, was automatically off the list! I say this only to share experiences amongst parents that might be useful. as an aside, based on club coach feedback regarding level of lacrosse schools showing most interest ahead of 9/1, it helped her narrow in on a handful of most likely's to then really think though.

I’m glad that worked for you and I’m sure it’s a great idea for plenty of others too. A word of caution though - if you’re hoping to get academic merit money (to stack with athletic money), most times that will require attending a school that is below the best your kid could get into without lacrosse - i.e., my kid’s academic stats would make Duke a viable option, but she’d never get money there. But based on published scholarship levels, she’d for sure get a good amount from ASU. For many families this is irrelevant but for plenty it matters a lot.

[Relax77]

When my daughter was going through recruiting I developed a list of all the D1 wlax schools, comparing lacrosse ranking with academics (using 25%th percentile test scores as the measure). Any school academically below the best she was likely able to get into without lacrosse, was automatically off the list! I say this only to share experiences amongst parents that might be useful. as an aside, based on club coach feedback regarding level of lacrosse schools showing most interest ahead of 9/1, it helped her narrow in on a handful of most likely's to then really think though.

I’m glad that worked for you and I’m sure it’s a great idea for plenty of others too. A word of caution though - if you’re hoping to get academic merit money (to stack with athletic money), most times that will require attending a school that is below the best your kid could get into without lacrosse - i.e., my kid’s academic stats would make Duke a viable option, but she’d never get money there. But based on published scholarship levels, she’d for sure get a good amount from ASU. For many families this is irrelevant but for plenty it matters a lot.

A perspective I have is Parents say all the time utilize lax to get your kid in a school she otherwise wouldn’t be able to get into. Why? more than likely your kid is going to struggle in that school of it was a struggle to get into a school. That being said my kid doesn’t listen to me so she’ll be excited when Stanford calls Friday.

[Relax77]

When my daughter was going through recruiting I developed a list of all the D1 wlax schools, comparing lacrosse ranking with academics (using 25%th percentile test scores as the measure). Any school academically below the best she was likely able to get into without lacrosse, was automatically off the list! I say this only to share experiences amongst parents that might be useful. as an aside, based on club coach feedback regarding level of lacrosse schools showing most interest ahead of 9/1, it helped her narrow in on a handful of most likely's to then really think though.

I’m glad that worked for you and I’m sure it’s a great idea for plenty of others too. A word of caution though - if you’re hoping to get academic merit money (to stack with athletic money), most times that will require attending a school that is below the best your kid could get into without lacrosse - i.e., my kid’s academic stats would make Duke a viable option, but she’d never get money there. But based on published scholarship levels, she’d for sure get a good amount from ASU. For many families this is irrelevant but for plenty it matters a lot.

A perspective I have is Parents say all the time utilize lax to get your kid in a school she otherwise wouldn’t be able to get into. Why? more than likely your kid is going to struggle in that school of it was a struggle to get into a school. That being said my kid doesn’t listen to me so she’ll be excited when Stanford calls Friday.

Now I say Stanford as a joke but for my situation I would love for her to go to a good school where she can get a lot of money. And here’s where the not listening comes. I rather her go to Lehigh. Decent lacrosse. Good school. She’ll play early. Get a lot of money. That’s not happening at Stanford. But unfortunately I get a lot of “you were right dad” and never “ok dad that makes sense, I should look into that.” Always after the fact

[LaxGnome22]

. Here’s my take and I am sure many are gonna be upset or disagree with this. And this applies to all sports with travel clubs.

It’s a Ponzi scheme and they are all intertwined. The showcase companies, the college coaches and the club companies. All making money and dependent on each other. And after this years 2025s are done chucking in money to the pyramid, next up…..2028s on the bottom rung. It’s the cash cow that keeps giving. It’s a great Ponzi scheme that will never ever run out.

Think about it. It’s a great business. I’ve said multiple times I want to start running another showcase. Pay a couple college coaches. Pay a couple of clubs. Boom. You are now “Top shelf lax”. Or Top Tier Showcase. Or maybe even Best in Lax.” It’s a cash cow. Look how much that trash showcase in Maryland brings in every year. Everyone and their mother knows it’s fake. Yet every year they just about sell out. It has to be easy.

[LaxDadMax]

When my daughter was going through recruiting I developed a list of all the D1 wlax schools, comparing lacrosse ranking with academics (using 25%th percentile test scores as the measure). Any school academically below the best she was likely able to get into without lacrosse, was automatically off the list! I say this only to share experiences amongst parents that might be useful. as an aside, based on club coach feedback regarding level of lacrosse schools showing most interest ahead of 9/1, it helped her narrow in on a handful of most likely's to then really think though.

I’m glad that worked for you and I’m sure it’s a great idea for plenty of others too. A word of caution though - if you’re hoping to get academic merit money (to stack with athletic money), most times that will require attending a school that is below the best your kid could get into without lacrosse - i.e., my kid’s academic stats would make Duke a viable option, but she’d never get money there. But based on published scholarship levels, she’d for sure get a good amount from ASU. For many families this is irrelevant but for plenty it matters a lot.

A perspective I have is Parents say all the time utilize lax to get your kid in a school she otherwise wouldn’t be able to get into. Why? more than likely your kid is going to struggle in that school of it was a struggle to get into a school. That being said my kid doesn’t listen to me so she’ll be excited when Stanford calls Friday.

Now I say Stanford as a joke but for my situation I would love for her to go to a good school where she can get a lot of money. And here’s where the not listening comes. I rather her go to Lehigh. Decent lacrosse. Good school. She’ll play early. Get a lot of money. That’s not happening at Stanford. But unfortunately I get a lot of “you were right dad” and never “ok dad that makes sense, I should look into that.” Always after the fact

Agree with you in principle, however, almost no-one gets academic $$ at Lehigh. Boston U, Umass and Villanova are probably better examples of this.

Plus for underfunded programs like Lehigh, wait till the athletic program hits you up for "expected parental contribution"

[Laxfan212]

When my daughter was going through recruiting I developed a list of all the D1 wlax schools, comparing lacrosse ranking with academics (using 25%th percentile test scores as the measure). Any school academically below the best she was likely able to get into without lacrosse, was automatically off the list! I say this only to share experiences amongst parents that might be useful. as an aside, based on club coach feedback regarding level of lacrosse schools showing most interest ahead of 9/1, it helped her narrow in on a handful of most likely's to then really think though.

I’m glad that worked for you and I’m sure it’s a great idea for plenty of others too. A word of caution though - if you’re hoping to get academic merit money (to stack with athletic money), most times that will require attending a school that is below the best your kid could get into without lacrosse - i.e., my kid’s academic stats would make Duke a viable option, but she’d never get money there. But based on published scholarship levels, she’d for sure get a good amount from ASU. For many families this is irrelevant but for plenty it matters a lot.

A perspective I have is Parents say all the time utilize lax to get your kid in a school she otherwise wouldn’t be able to get into. Why? more than likely your kid is going to struggle in that school of it was a struggle to get into a school. That being said my kid doesn’t listen to me so she’ll be excited when Stanford calls Friday.

Now I say Stanford as a joke but for my situation I would love for her to go to a good school where she can get a lot of money. And here’s where the not listening comes. I rather her go to Lehigh. Decent lacrosse. Good school. She’ll play early. Get a lot of money. That’s not happening at Stanford. But unfortunately I get a lot of “you were right dad” and never “ok dad that makes sense, I should look into that.” Always after the fact

Agree with you in principle, however, almost no-one gets academic $$ at Lehigh. Boston U, Umass and Villanova are probably better examples of this.

Plus for underfunded programs like Lehigh, wait till the athletic program hits you up for "expected parental contribution"

Agreed - level of lacrosse isn’t indicative of a kid’s likelihood of getting money (esp in the Patriot league from what I’ve heard). Best bet is to look at the guaranteed merit money based on GPA/scores - some schools offer that in black and white. Add a few athletic bucks on top and that’s when things look really good.

[Relax77]

When my daughter was going through recruiting I developed a list of all the D1 wlax schools, comparing lacrosse ranking with academics (using 25%th percentile test scores as the measure). Any school academically below the best she was likely able to get into without lacrosse, was automatically off the list! I say this only to share experiences amongst parents that might be useful. as an aside, based on club coach feedback regarding level of lacrosse schools showing most interest ahead of 9/1, it helped her narrow in on a handful of most likely's to then really think though.

I’m glad that worked for you and I’m sure it’s a great idea for plenty of others too. A word of caution though - if you’re hoping to get academic merit money (to stack with athletic money), most times that will require attending a school that is below the best your kid could get into without lacrosse - i.e., my kid’s academic stats would make Duke a viable option, but she’d never get money there. But based on published scholarship levels, she’d for sure get a good amount from ASU. For many families this is irrelevant but for plenty it matters a lot.

A perspective I have is Parents say all the time utilize lax to get your kid in a school she otherwise wouldn’t be able to get into. Why? more than likely your kid is going to struggle in that school of it was a struggle to get into a school. That being said my kid doesn’t listen to me so she’ll be excited when Stanford calls Friday.

Now I say Stanford as a joke but for my situation I would love for her to go to a good school where she can get a lot of money. And here’s where the not listening comes. I rather her go to Lehigh. Decent lacrosse. Good school. She’ll play early. Get a lot of money. That’s not happening at Stanford. But unfortunately I get a lot of “you were right dad” and never “ok dad that makes sense, I should look into that.” Always after the fact

Agree with you in principle, however, almost no-one gets academic $$ at Lehigh. Boston U, Umass and Villanova are probably better examples of this.

Plus for underfunded programs like Lehigh, wait till the athletic program hits you up for "expected parental contribution"

Well good to know about Nova. And what the hell is expected parental contribution.