Confl ict * * *
College coaches worry that if they don’t recruit sophomores, they’ll get left behind. “If a boy or his parents say they are ready to make a decision, and we say, ‘Look we’re not ready,’ Carolina, Hopkins or someone else will offer him an opportunity,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. “We’re forced to make a decision.” When programs begin to fi ll their sophomore classes, it has a domino effect. “If you want to play with those programs, you need to keep an open door,” said Denver head coach Bill Tierney. College coaches face immense pressure. Early in Starsia’s career, he had a nine-month contract with summers off. Now, more games are televised, universities and athletic departments are more invested in the sport and coaches get paid more. Since 2010, Maryland’s Dave Cottle, Rutgers’ Jim Stagnitta, Towson’s Tony Seaman and Navy’s Richie Meade all have been fi red at least in part because they did not win enough games. Many of the kids and their parents also
want to commit early. Just 61 schools sponsor NCAA Division I lacrosse, and even fewer could be characterized as BCS types with big athletic budgets, strong academics and the maximum 12.6 scholarships. Like coaches, when recruits see peers making verbal commitments and taking precious spots, they feel squeezed too. Save a short stint as an assistant at Johns Hopkins in the 1970s, Jim Amen coached high school lacrosse on Long Island for nearly 30 years. Now the athletic director at Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.) High, Amen still tries to help kids and their families navigate the recruiting process. Describing a current sophomore recruit, Amen said, “He was a second- line midfi elder last year. He’s athletic. He has all the tools. A couple great colleges want him to commit. Mom and Dad don’t understand what the rush is. Coaches can go to the next kid by the time he decides. It’s too late.”
Drexel head coach Brian Voelker used less amicable terms. “I equate it to a used car salesman saying the car will be off the lot tomorrow,” he said. “We’re pressuring them before they’re ready.”
Other factors have pushed the recruiting calendar forward. Blue-chip prospects likely play on club teams for coaches who know how to skirt NCAA rules to establish earlier contact with college coaches. Then there’s the hype factor. For over a decade, Inside Lacrosse has provided
46 LACROSSE MAGAZINE May 2012>>
Interest
extensive recruiting coverage. By 2006, the magazine had expanded its player rankings to include rising seniors and juniors. Now its website lists the “power 100” college freshmen, the top 50 rising seniors and juniors and the top 20 sophomore “young guns.” Weekly recruiting round-ups report sophomore and junior verbal commitments to Division I schools.
LaxPower.com has maintained a recruits database for even longer. ESPN recently created its own high school lacrosse satellite site that ranks players and tracks commitments. With a couple of clicks, prospects see spots evaporating at places like Notre Dame or Maryland. An early commitment becomes a status symbol. * * *
An accelerated recruiting process has ripple effects. Because many prospects have little or no high school experience, U15 club teams, freshman-sophomore showcase events and camps have helped fi ll the vacuum. Jake Reed’s Nike Blue Chip, for instance, recently added a rising freshman session for July 2012. Ryan Boyle, a former top-ranked recruit and a four-time All-American attackman at Princeton, now runs camps, clinics and select teams as CEO of Trilogy Lacrosse. Boyle emphasized that the majority
of recruits are not blue chips attending exclusive showcases. Because contact rules are more ambiguous, most of them are unsure how to navigate the process. “There’s a gray area. Parents and players are confused. Where there’s confusion, hiding in the wings is anxiety and stress,“ Boyle said. “This should be a fun process.” The general growth of the game at least
partially explains the expansion of club teams and the camp circuit. But college coaches looking to watch kids at younger ages and the general hysteria around recruiting is also responsible. Consider the fi nancial benefi ts of coaching club teams, directing camps and providing recruiting services. Nike Blue Chip charges 120 invitees $675 each for a three-day session. Multiply that by four sessions — $324,000. “If there were no money, people wouldn’t be doing it,” Amen said. “I believe in free enterprise... But they found a way to capitalize on the paranoia of parents.”
Because high school and even some college coaches run club programs, players can be put in an uncomfortable position if they feel pressured to join a certain club team, while club coaches are more likely to provide unrealistic prognostications about a prospect’s college potential. Top 205 got its name because more
A Publication of US Lacrosse
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