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BEWARE THE RECRUITING RACKET (and those who profi t from it). By Justin Feil
Last July, lacrosse got the sort of
publicity it did not need. It made Deadspin. The popular gotcha website published
an alleged email exchange between a Mid-Atlantic club coach and the parents of a player who was leaving for another club team. Their son, they wrote, was “unhappy and very demotivated to play. We as a family think it is time we make a change.” The club coach responded with vitriol,
a horrifying snapshot of someone who believed he wielded the power to shape the player’s future. He said he would talk to the player’s high school coach and college coaches, “and make sure they know they are getting a quitter who is ungrateful and soft… You have no clue how this lacrosse world works. Wow. You have really screwed him.” Before a game between his club
and the player’s new club, the coach threatened: “Your former teammates and coaches, who hate you now, can’t wait to get a piece of you.” The player had just fi nished eighth grade. Message boards and blogs widely condemned the exchange. It intimated that club coaches — who may be more concerned about their bottom line than players’ best interests — could dictate where their sons and daughters end up. And some will prey on that fear. “There’s no memory in recruiting,”
Hofstra men’s coach Seth Tierney said. “Every year, new ninth- and 10th-grade parents come through recruitment and don’t know the potholes.” Early recruiting has increased the pressure parents feel to fi nd the right club. Last year, several boys’ lacrosse players committed to Division I programs before even playing a high school game. “A lot of what’s happening in recruiting
is fl ipped to the club scene because college coaches can go see an awful lot of kids in a confi ned space,” Boys Latin’ (Md.) coach Bob Shriver said. “We’re secretaries. Since college coaches can’t call kids, they need kids and parents to call them. That goes through us.” A common anxiety among parents is
they will pick the wrong club, miss out on the best coaching, fail to go to the top tournaments or showcase events and hamper their kids’ ability to play at the highest level in college. Arcadia coach Jim Stagnitta has been
A Publication of US Lacrosse
on every side of this kind of courtship — as a Division III coach, as a Division I coach, as a recruiting consultant and as a parent. “There are 60-70 blue-chip kids that everyone is all over,” said Stagnitta, who spent 10 years at Division I Rutgers and also coached the MLL’s Denver Outlaws. “Then there’s everybody else.” Coaches say there are good lacrosse
opportunities in college for those who want them, but getting a Division I scholarship is a dream that less than one percent of them will achieve. “Parents have to know there are more chances out there in D-II, D-III and MCLA,” said Trevor Tierney, son of Denver coach Bill Tierney and president of the National Scholastic Club Lacrosse Association. “Just because you don’t make D-I doesn’t mean there aren’t places for you.” Parents trying to fi nd their child a club
him to play in tournaments and showcases with Southern Maryland Select (SMS) Lacrosse the last two years. “It was a good experience,” Martin said. “Regardless of how much we spent, it was the way I fi gured out which path I wanted. Even though I ended up not playing, I didn’t have any regrets.” A good experience starts with being an informed consumer. Most club programs charge fees to try out. If you make the team, then there are transportation, lodging, meal and entry fees associated with tournaments. Showcases, clinics and camps bring additional expenses. Training sessions and consultation fees add more. “We know a lot of teams we compete
with and a lot of the coaches, they’re making a living and some are making some scary, scary dollars,” Duke’s (Pa.) Lacrosse coach Ebe Helm. “You can charge out your
among a dizzying collage of similar mission statements and perks need not lose sight of what should remain the top goal. “If they’re not having a good experience,
or lacrosse isn’t fun for them, it’s a waste of time for everyone,” said Liam Banks, founder of LB3 Lacrosse Club. Patrick Martin grew up in a lacrosse
hotbed outside Washington, D.C., and dreamed of playing Division I lacrosse. He was a three-year starter on attack for The Heights School and Maryland-Independent Bob Scott Award winner. Martin turned down an Ivy League school
and a top Division III program to go to North Carolina, where he plays for the club team. His family spent thousands of dollars for
you-know-what and make a killing.” Parents at most clubs fi gure on four to
fi ve summer tournaments and two to three more in the fall. Kathy Weeks of Princeton, N.J., estimated her family spent $4,000 in one summer for her daughter, Kaitlyn, to play with Ultimate Lacrosse. Kaitlyn Weeks impressed Boston College, where she is a freshman this year, at a tournament in Massachusetts, and the family felt its money was well spent. “No one ever said it, but when you go to
your fi rst tournament, it’s clearly where the college coaches are going,” Kathy Weeks said. “No one is going to your high school games.” Clubs can help open doors to the next
March 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 61
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