level, but too often that becomes their sole focus. Skills suffer and life lessons are neglected in recruiting factories. “It’s all about development,” Trevor
Tierney said. “You need good people to teach your kids how to play the game.” It’s easy to see which clubs focus
on college placement over player development. Many will publish players’ commitments to build their reputation and even raise prices. “Make sure kids’ lacrosse IQ is being developed,” said Joe Spallina, the Stony Brook women’s coach, Team 91 coach for his sons’ youth teams and coach of the MLL’s Long Island Lizards. “Club lacrosse is similar to honors classes. I want my kids with the best teachers, the best students. I want the bar as high as possible. I don’t want a low bar and great results.” Parents should research a prospective
club’s coaches and background. “Look out for manipulative practices,”
Trevor Tierney said. “If a club team is hiring a high school coach and the high school coach is saying, ‘If you want to play for this high school, you have to play for this club team’ — if there’s a form of coercion — that’s when there are red fl ags.” Because of that confl ict of interest,
Shriver has turned down opportunities to start a club program. “It’s ripe for potential problems,” he said. Connor Nelson recognizes the benefi ts
a club could hold for him. The freshman at New Hartford (N.Y.) High wants to follow the footsteps of his father, Hall of Famer Tim Nelson, to Syracuse. “I’m excited to what
see the
future holds,” he said. “I’m kind of worried too. You don’t know if colleges are going to want you.” New Hartford
is known more for its baseball program. College lacrosse coaches aren’t exactly lining up to see a team that has won one Section 3 title in school history. That’s why he’s looking for the right club experience. The number of players in a club and on
each team will factor into the attention your child will receive from coaches and colleges. Rosters should be in the low 20s. “A lot of clubs run their clubs with
promises of college scholarships and the ability to get seen by coaches,” Banks said. “The most important part is the educational side. That’s what’s missing from club programs. If you come to practice and it’s just scrimmaging, I don’t think there’s a ton of value in it. Another red fl ag is to say, ‘We’re the best team and we’re going to go undefeated.’ Our record isn’t a sign of our success.” That
resonated
message with
former Washington
& Lee player Jay Foster, an Upper Dublin
(Pa.) parent
whose freshman son, Sanjay, plays for LB3.
“Winning summer tournaments,
while great, in our view is the byproduct,” Foster said. “We take pride in mastering the fundamentals.” Said Trevor Tierney: “Realize the experience you’re having is a great experience in itself. Club lacrosse shouldn’t be a means to an end.” LM
02
SEEK THE BEST EXPERIENCE (and not necessarily the best team).
By Trevor Tierney I have been bewildered by a phenomenon that seems
to be growing in youth athletics. There is a constant search among parents and players to be on the “best team” that wins the most games and tournaments. It’s no longer enough to play on a local youth or high school team and enjoy the experience of playing sports.
It’s no longer
enough for our children to play on a good club travel team that plays well together,
is competitive
with other great teams from around the country and has top-notch coaching. Rather, there is a “grass is
greener” mentality among parents and athletes who are on the constant
lookout for the best team. It is partly due to the
misconception that the better their child’s team, the better their chances for recruitment and success down the road.
62 LACROSSE MAGAZINE March 2014 >> This perception — making sure our children win all the
time and at all costs — has become mind-boggling. It is narcissistic for us to think that we should never lose. Even though I won two NCAA championships, an MLL championship and a world championship with Team USA, I also got my butt kicked a whole lot along the way. My youth teams were disgraceful, my high school team had serious rough patches, I can’t even count how many goals Syracuse scored on me at Princeton and in 2006 I was on the U.S. team that lost for the fi rst time since 1978.
A Publication of US Lacrosse College coaches do not even know the scores of the
games they are scouting — they only notice who is 6-foot- 4, 225 pounds and runs like a gazelle in the Serengeti. This mentality runs deeper than that, though.
Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
— “Batman Begins”
“And why do we fall,
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