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Jacksonville and Gainesville, Florida – Well, Florida, you wanted college lacrosse. And now you have it! Recently released schedules have come out from both Florida and Jacksonville leaving both programs for little room to breath in the opening season of their programs. Both programs (UF – womens, JU men and women) are starting with uphill battles against established programs. While either program could have settled for a full schedule of lesser known opponents who were all “newer”, each has decided to dive in with the big dogs and start swimming. In the long run, this will help both school’s programs succeed. In the short-term, it will be a series of lessons on how to play top-level Division I lacrosse.
“If you don’t play the big dogs, you can’t recruit the big dogs,” commented JU men’s lacrosse coach, and former Team USA assistant Matt Kerwick, whose team plays North Carolina, Yale, Rutgers and Hofstra in their rookie season. “We open with a team that is a perennial powerhouse because we aim to be there. It won’t be overnight, but it will be a lot sooner than if we did not face the giants early. And our guys are pretty pumped up about it. We want to become a top-notch lacrosse program.”
More than 50 young men will vie for a coveted spot on JU's opening day roster in 2010. The talented group will be tested, but as time goes by Coach Kerwick and his staff will shape the young Fins into a lacrosse power.
JU’s men’s program has had their schedule posted for about a month now. CLICK HERE!
Tick-Tock! The clock is ticking down to the first Division I game ever played by a Florida program. Facing top programs in year one is a part of every Florida lacrosse team in 2010.
Have these programs bitten off more than they can chew for year #1? Well, that all depends on what your expectations are for the first year of lacrosse at the Division I level and what level of recruit you are looking to bring in for the future. Director of lacrosse and head women’s coach at JU, Mindy McCord, shares the aggressive belief as her men’s counterpart.
“We want to be challenged and play a schedule that reflects where we want to be in a couple of years. We have a very athletic group coming in and playing programs that are established and compete at the highest level is going to help us get there. We play our conference opponents and a number of programs who are coming to Florida for their spring break’s. It is a tremendous asset being located at the beach in Florida. Lots of teams want to come here to play. In the future, with teams will be able to come to Florida and play two quality Division I opponents in Florida and Jacksonville. That builds both of our programs very nicely.” McCord said prior to her team’s welcoming ceremony at Jacksonville University.
33 student-athletes arrived at JU with hopes of competing for the Dolphins lacrosse program in Year #1, including 23 freshman. The young Fins come from seven states.
Florida’s Women’s Schedule
2/20 Jacksonville
2/23 LaSalle
2/28 North Carolina
3/4 St. Bonaventure
3/9 Georgetown
3/13 Johns Hopkins
3/20 New Hampshire
3/24 Cornell
3/27 Ohio State
3/30 Oregon
4/3 Penn State
4/9 LeMoyne
4/11 Colgate
4/18 Vanderbilt
5/2 Northwestern
5/6-8 American Lacrosse Conference Tournament (Ohio)
Eight games are at home in the new UF lacrosse facility in Gainesville. Seven away trips plus the conference tournament for UF in their first campaign.
Jacksonville’s Women’s Schedule
2/6 UMBC
2/13 Oregon
2/20 Florida
2/27 Detroit (at Presbyterian)
3/2 Boston College
3/6 St. Bonaventure
3/10 Vermont
3/12 Temple
3/16 Long Island University
3/27 Howard
4/10 Davidson
4/11 Longwood (at Davidson)
4/15 Liberty (TBA)
4/17 Louisville
4/18 Cincinnati
4/24 Presbyterian
5/1-3 National Lacrosse Conference Tournament (Virginia)
Nine home games for JU and one game in Gainesville. JU will only have to leave the state of Florida three times in their first season plus the conference tournament.
Players for all the programs are looking forward to playing tough schedules in year #1. The impact these games could have on local lacrosse is huge. It’s like having a professional lacrosse team stationed on the First Coast! Tons of games to see and lots of role models to follow. And the level of competition will really open the eyes for area girls and boys to how the game looks like when it is played at the major college level!
I am prepared for all the bumps in the road! I can’t wait to see all these great teams come to the area. It can’t help but grow the game.
But what I love most are the stories of the college coaches interacting with the local high school and youth programs. Mandy O’Leary and her husband Kevin have been helping lacrosse groups in Gainesville to learn more about the game. Mindy McCord and Matt Kerwick have been out working in the community over the past 12 months. The difference that northeast and northcentral Florida will feel as a result of these coaches, and now THEIR TEAMS, will be incredible…but wait for five years to pass and then revisit the topic. These programs will become staples of southern lacrosse and as southern collegiate lacrosse grows beyond the point of no return, the high school game, where the first major growth was experienced, will become greater; The youth levels will explode, and the population as a whole will ignite!
Can you imagine when there are almost as many college programs in the south as in the midatlantic? That day is coming sooner than later.
And the DI season, and schedule, are still six months away! Hurry!
St. Augustine Beach, Florida -
The time has never been more right to start a collegiate lacrosse program in the South. It does not cost a dime of actual cash to start a program relative to the capital that will flow back into your school. If you are a business person, come along with me. If you are a bureaucrat/been in an institution your entire life – STOP HERE!
Creating a lacrosse program requires business savvy and vision, but not a lot of ‘up front cash’. Cash that is in short supply due to the recession. But as you will see, while large gifts to colleges and universities are down, one of the best hedges against the tight squeeze of our current lean fiscal time, is creating cost-effective, revenue positive programing that attracts students and draws attention to your institution while creating a more fun campus environment. Ever been to a lacrosse game? There is a reason why the sport is the fastest growing overall!
Get More Out of Your Soccer and/or Football Facilities: Lacrosse Leverages What you ALREADY HAVE on campus:
Colleges already spent a couple million bucks on soccer and/or football facilities. Lacrosse insures that you get the most investment back for your facility dollar. Your infrastructure for lacrosse is the same as soccer, and the sports share facilities quite well because they are opposing seasons (Fall and Spring). If at present, a college is utilizing a facility for just one of the two seasons for a varsity-traditional seasoned sport, they are actually wasting resources for half of the year.
Facilities Schedule:
Fall – Men’s and Women’s Soccer = Practice and Play at standard times at facility
– Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse = Practice at early or late times at facility, or when soccer teams are not practicing/on the road.
Spring – Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse = Practice and Play at standard times at facility
– Men’s and Women’s Soccer = Practice at early or late times at facility, or when soccer teams are not practicing/on the road.
It does not get much simpler than that. Plus, keep in mind that instead of only roughly 40 athletes utilizing the facility in a given year, the College has more than doubled the use of the facility and therefore spread the cost of the facility between more students. It is now actually worth you while to invest in a turf field that can be used at all hours of the day by varsity and intra-mural students to boot. If you choose to go in that direction. Best is, you probably could find a donar interested in putting it in and with construction and labor costs as they are in the recession, you get more bang for your buck!
This is not to say that a college’s current facility won’t do just fine.
Let’s say I want to start a program at private school ‘X’ in Florida. ‘X’ University has a soccer program and several other programs, but no lacrosse programs. They have a soccer stadium with grass and a practice area. They have lights on both the game and the practice area. There is an existing area for showers and there are locker rooms for other sports.
You will need to purchase some equipment. A few goals, balls, and netting, all of which is easily spent when you consider the income that arrives with the initial wave of recruits. There is some equipment that will need to be purchased, but nothing that would prevent a program from getting started, especially on the women’s side.
The infrastructure is already there. A college may need to add locker rooms over time. The school will also need to find two offices for the coaches of the programs, or rent portable space, which is going for cheaper and cheaper rates during the recession. That cost is easily absorbed by the 70 new students who will attend your institution to participate in lacrosse. You may want to invest in a sport-turf field, one that does not require maintenance and keeps it perfect shape for 10-years for both lacrosse and soccer AND your intramural programs.
Scholarships? Sure. You can Have Them, or Not:
So what are colleges really spending the money on? Scholarships perhaps? Provide a few scholarships for lacrosse?
Most programs are not fully-funded in terms of scholarships. They mix their academic, athletic and financial aid and utilize what money they have for sports scholarships to sweeten the pot for prospective recruits. Some schools have little or no scholarships. D3 programs do not worry about the costs of athletic scholarships because they do not have any. Rollins College (D2, Central Florida) built a program to fruition without any scholarships all the while competing against schools that had scholarships. Rollins was also without an on-campus practice facility or stadium to play or practice in. AND Rollins costs nearly as much as Princeton to attend and has stringent admissions policies. Yet Rollins College had a very strong D2 women’s program last year.
Colleges need to thing. If it can work at Rollins, with no scholarships, barely a facility, and a tremendous cost of education, it can work anywhere in the south. Rollins must thank their lucky stars for their lax coaches who have been school admissions staff and head coaches. You have to be to have the success that they have had in such adverse conditions. But they have done it.
Fact is, Rollins will hit their enrollment figures this year by just enough. Like most private schools, they are squeaking by. Thanks to the lacrosse program’s 56 (fifty-six!) student-athletes and growing. Those 56 students make up about 5% of the school’s enrollment. Think of the school cutbacks if they had not started lacrosse programs!
Private Schools Need Students: Lacrosse Teams Bring Them:
Mention ‘cut backs’ and you get the attention of the ‘institutional’ employees who normally walk the campus insulated from the rest of the world’s economic issues. In today’s economy, employees hear the word “Cutbacks” and everyone gets the message. Especially if they are not generating revenue.
But why, after seeing this case study at Rollins, would any school in the south budge at adding lacrosse. They should be lining up in droves to get their lax program off the ground before the next school does! CUTBACKS!!!
Adding men’s and women’s lacrosse is like adding a football program without the expense. Football teams tend to bring in about 60-100 student-athletes over a 4-year span, but they also require tremendous amounts of cash for equipment, staffing and facilities. Plus, many lacrosse manufacturers are looking for high profile programs starting up to help brand their name to kids in the south region. They may deal with you and provide discounts to lower college start-up expenses.
Private vs. Public – Why Lacrosse Helps Students to Choose:
Many of the new lacrosse students will be out of region, expanding the popularity base of the school. Perhaps school ‘X’ will enhance and utilize already existing inroads. More students will come to school ‘X’ simply because they end up hearing about the school from their friends who are being recruited for lacrosse. Prevailing attitudes in the south view private education as ‘expensive’ when compared to large public universities. School ‘X’ is actually about 25-50% less expensive than comparable private colleges in the northeast, making it a better value for northern kids to choose School ‘X’.
And attitudes begin to change when southern students are given more reasons to choose ‘X’ over, well, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ for lack of better terms. Private colleges appeal to all demographics, but the upper-middle class dem makes the world go ’round. These are students most likely from families that were privately educated and understand the process. They are not blinded or influenced by “tomahawk chops” and “Go Gators!” cheer and TV commercials. These parents could care less about who Tim Tebow is. They would push their kids to make educational decisions based on the quality of relationships their children have with their professors, not the quality of relationships they have at the pre-game tailgate party.
This is the place that every private college wants to be. Adding students and attracting new students vs. cutting back on programs because the tuition-driven dollars just are not there. Remember the Rollins example. Every college these days is waiting until Fall enrollments to see if they have reached their numbers for the year’s budget. The ones with lacrosse programs can breath a little easier these days.
Jacksonville University is another good case to look at. A school that is dependent upon tuition dollars, like 95% of other private colleges, to fund their operating budget. In just one recruiting cycle, the school has brought in 24 women and 40 men who would like to start the lacrosse program. These numbers will eventually be full rosters of 30 women and 45 men, similar to DI programs in the northeast. But in tough economic times, JU will reach their budgetary enrollment figures and then some. 64 new students compose about 10% of the school’s freshman class for the 2009-10 year.
Add to that the camp and lacrosse activity’s revenues that have come to campus, and JU has really created a hedge against the recession. More than 100 incoming freshman who have been touched in some way through the lacrosse programs recent start-up, the publicity, and the ‘parade of friends’ that often builds campus enrollment numbers (“I am going to this school because my friends are going…”). JU has practice fields, game fields, and other on-campus facilities, but they had to build locker rooms. They are in the process of putting in a turf field and adding lights to a second field as well. They can. They have the students to justify the growth!
How Do We Get Started?
Just add water (or lacrosse) and you have your programs. Well, it is not really that simple. But call some people. Call the folks at JU. Call Rollins. Talk to them about how they started their programs. It has been done before and it will be done again.
You can call me – I am happy to consult your project. Hiring a coach/recruiter who has experience in creating something out of nothing is a huge help. You have to understand economics and be willing to run with a goal oriented model to start a program. Find someone who is not ‘right out of college’. It is very difficult to find someone like that who will not need their hand held, or be ‘trained’ in how to do it. Far too often, new programs hire kids right out of school to coach their kids in school. This is not the YMCA. This is the NCAA. The paper work alone will boggle the mind of the recent college graduates.
Take a look at what the other southern programs have done to get started. Note that none of them (0) have pulled the plug on their programs. Some have greater advantages and disadvantages based on geography, facilities, or school academic reputation, but all have programs.
Here is a list of private schools in the southeast who do (30 private colleges and universities with programs. BOLD – Programs with 2-years or less of experience):
DI: Davidson, Jacksonville, Mercer, Presbyterian, Vanderbilt
DII: Belmont-Abbey, Converse, Erskine, Lees-McRae, Lenoir-Rhyne, Limestone, Pfeiffer, Queens, Rollins, Savannah College of Art and Design, St. Andrews, Tennessee Wesleyan, Mars Hill (M), Saint Leo (M), Wingate (M), Catawba (M), Florida Southern (M)
DIII: Agnes Scott, Berry, Birmingham-Southern, Guilford, Greensboro, LaGrange, Methodist, Sewanee, Shorter
New Programs Added over the past 12 Months (there are SEVEN schools):
Click on each school to read more about their founding lax programs and why
Jacksonville University
Lenoir-Rhyne
Mercer College
LaGrange College
Agnes Scott College
Berry College
Shorter College
If you are a University president or athletic director reading this article and you would like to start a program, please contact my company, MCC Sports. We will be happy to consult with your school and help get you on the right track towards building a successful program. While most schools create panels and committees, they often lack the real world experience to make the plan happen. We have been through program building many times and can eliminate steps while improving quality. Email me at Paul.McCord@mccsportsinc.com for more information!
Parkland, Florida – Another goal keeper from LaxManiax has made her choice to attend college and player NCAA lacrosse! Kelsey Harvey becomes the 9th goal keeper from the LaxManiax Elite over the past four years to earn an NCAA opportunity. But the real story is not the LaxManiax Elite program. It’s all Kelsey Harvey.
Quick and athletic, Kelsey Harvey has dazzled opponents over the past two years with the LaxManiax club! Photo courtesy of John Lagrow.
Last Fall I can remember thinking as a club director how deep our club has been in goal keepers over the past three seasons. When I contemplated the 2010 goal keepers, another deep class featuring some of the most talented keepers in the south, I would not have guessed that Kelsey Harvey would be the first to commit.
But like any great one, this goal keeper proved the critics wrong!
Kelsey plays for a good club high school (Douglas High School) program in south Florida. They battle each season for the championship of the 24-team Florida club high school championships. And each of the past three seasons, they have been in the game thanks to the services of a goal keeper named Kelsey Harvey. Kelsey stands all of 5′ tall. She moves like a cat in the cage and plays field as well, which is probably why her new soon-to-be college coach loves her so much.
Douglas GK Kelsey Harvey (in cage) teamed with defender and 2011 Maniax standout Jennifer Nardone to help Coach Ivy Warren's squad to another state final's berth in 2009. Kelsey, who also can play in the field, will take her quickness and instincts to the next level as a senior and beyond!
She has played for two seasons in the LaxManiax Elite club. We first noticed her three summers ago at the Florida Sunshine Cup, put on by Dan Wood and Tom Losier in Clearwater Beach. She was very athletic. She was playing on a team of South Florida all-stars for coach Ivy Warren. Her team faced an up hill challenge against our Maniax 10-11 team. She faced perhaps as many as 40 shots in the game, saving 25 and allowing 15. For those of you who are new to the game, that is one heck of an effort for a GK!
Thankfully and without any enticing on our end, she showed up at the tryouts for the South Florida Maniax program the following January. She and Dani Weidemeyer (Navy) put on a great showing for me as I was the coach working with GK’s at the tryout. Once again, I was impressed by her butterful style.
Her first year in the club was an adjustment year. Playing travel club lacrosse is an adjustment for anyone, but for Kelsey it was especially tough being pushed into the mix of kids from more established varsity programs. She was also challenged by my staff and I who would not accept her just being comfortable with herself as she was.
And adapt she did! She responded to the challenge by working hard and being positive!
She grew more as a person and player than any player in the history of the LaxManiax Elite program. She truly did. I cannot say that it had much to do with all the GK instruction at Maniax day, or the tournaments, or the emails and facebook time. It was all her. She matured right there before our eyes. It was awesome.
Her family shares the credit with her. An amazing group of go-getters who recognize that ultimately the opportunities are there for those who want to take advantage of them and eliminate the excuses. They are a great bunch of folks, and it is no wonder why their high school program is as good as it is despite not having full school or county support. The Harveys provide the backbone.
Kelsey fought hard and made the 2010 Black team against all odds. She had an amazing spring practice season with the club and worked so hard. Every goalie coach raved about her. I don’t know if anyone could have possibly worked harder or been more dialed into the recruiting program than Kelsey. From the Fall of 2008 until now, she did it all and worked to strengthen her weaknesses and augment her strengths.
The program that she has committed to, Notre Dame of Ohio, is one of the rising stars in Division II lacrosse. They presented her with a great offer and she became their exclusive goal keeper for the class of 2010. Coach McGowen from NDC knows what he is looking for in a GK. He was a great college GK himself and was able to work with Kelsey on the Mid-Atlantic tour at Lax University Camp. He also watched the 2010 Black team play several times against top competition from New England, New York, Maryland and DC. He knows he is getting a GK that can take the heat and who has no problem playing in a pressure defense, similar to what he runs on the college level.
One of the up and coming programs in Division II, Kelsey Harvey will be the only scholarship Goal Keeper in the class of 2010 for the Falcons.
It has been a great summer for Kelsey! Best part is, Kelsey wants to keep playing this Fall! She wants to keep working on her skills against great competition. Even though she has already committed and has decided on her place for the next 4-years, she wants to go to the Fall tournaments and help the other 2010’s and 2011’s find their homes too – while she continues to hone her instincts and prepare for her senior season at Douglass High School.
And that my friends, is all you need to know about Kelsey Harvey! What a team player! What a goalie!
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 – Bethany Beach, Delaware – As the class of 2010 continues to move through their recruiting process, I wanted to take some time to help everyone get a better idea of where they fit in the scheme of college lacrosse. I get asked many times the uncomfortable question “Coach Paul, where do you think I can PLAY college lacrosse?” It’s uncomfortable because it’s not an easy question to answer AND because sometimes the answer is a bit of a ‘dream buster’, however honest or realistic it is. And no one likes pigeon holing someone LESS than I do. I made it to the National Football League without a scholarship and played Division I and Division III football, and I came out of the Diamond State which at the time had only a few major college and NFL players to its lineage (sound familiar, Florida lacrosse?). So when a lot of D1 programs would drive thru Wilmington, Delaware on their way from Baltimore to Philly, many of us were told “You can’t play there!”
Not so fast, old men on the message boards!
There is a system to the madness of recruiting and we run a very good recruiting program for free (it comes with the membership) and this keeps me full-time busy assisting the rising senior class. I guess you could call me the world’s poorest sports agent! 
First, let’s answer the question “where do you think I can PLAY college lacrosse?” Let’s break down this question into two parts: THEM (the colleges) and YOU (the student-athlete). First let’s start with THEM!
THEM: Profile – NCAA programs from new start-up D3 schools to Northwestern (5x NCAA D1 champ). NAIA/Scholarship club programs like SCAD (Savannah College) would be considered like a D2 or D3 program. Let’s take a look at THEIR LEVELS first – because it’s not anything like the mature sports of football, soccer, and basketball. Lax recruiting may as well be the moon relative to those other sports!
LEVEL 1 (The best of the best) – Consists of the top D1 programs (40 of them) who are recruiting the top 200-300 players in each graduation year class. Florida and Jacksonville would be in that mix at this point because most high school prospects want to look at Florida’s programs because they are in, well, Florida. This means both of those programs are going to be very tough to be recruited by. This level also consists of the top-8 D3 programs and the top-4 D2 programs. If you take those 52 programs, you are looking at the most difficult to ‘play’ at in terms of playing time and selectivity.
More than 35 colleges of all levels, including Level 1, saw the LaxManiax show very well against Westchester (NY) Elite. Coaches and club parents handed out pink Maniax rosters to all the watching coaches.
Level 2 (really good lacrosse) – Consists of D1 programs from #41-#75, #5-#30 D2 programs and the #8-#40 D3 programs. These roughly 75 programs are very selective and many offer scholarships (most of the D1 and D2’s do, though some do not). Keep in mind, many of the D3 programs will easily beat the D2 and D1 opponents if they played them on the field. This does not happen often as there are tons of D3 schools for them to play, but well established D3 programs at this level, like McDaniel, will “put it to” schools that are listed as “higher level”. It is still VERY difficult to be recruited by this level of program.
Level 3 (solid college lacrosse) – Consists of the #76-100 D1 programs (more adding each week), the #31-40 D2 programs and the #41-110 D3 programs. These are programs where the competition is very good and most schools play in competitive conferences within their own right. It is important that the student-athlete look at these schools to find the exact ‘feel’ they are looking for. These programs will struggle to move up the charts ahead of the schools in category 1 and 2, but often the quality of life for the student-athlete is very high at these places. FIT is the key.
Level 4 (college lacrosse) – Consists of some schools of each level. You can check the results on the web to see where they would fit in terms of competitive level. Many of these programs are located in the south and are focusing on southern recruiting. There will be tremendous growth over the next few years in these programs. Take Rollins for example. Their first season out they won a few games and cancelled their season early. They then recruit well and played this year a much improved game and rapidly advanced from Level 4 to more of a Level 2 program. And they did it all without scholarships which tells you how many northern kids just want to play college lacrosse in Florida and what a great recruiter Coach Short is! So you can see from the Rollins example, schools in the south that are new can go from level 4 to level 2 or 3 in a year or two.
Level 5 (“This Just In!”) – Schools that announce programs over the next few months that they are starting a program. For 2010’s who really want to get playing time, these schools are a great place. High Point, Georgia State (if they ever name a coach), LaGrange, Agnes Scott, are just a few programs in our region who are looking for players and have not recruited a class yet. They will be relying heavily on their class of 2010 recruits to get them off the ground and competitive over the next few years. So if your dream is to play Division I lacrosse and you have not gotten any D1 interest, the schools to contact are Georgia State and High Point. They will be looking to fill a class and are behind the 8-ball in the recruiting process.
OK – now lets look at some statistics and start figuring out where you fit in to the process. This year there were 1,200 girls from the class of 2010 competing at the IWLCA events in the grad year exclusive brackets and about 400 competing in the Open Division brackets. That means there are about 1,600 girls who were showcasing at the tournaments from the class of 2010. Of that grouping, about 80% would like to play in college. 20% are going to college for other sports or no sports at all. That gives you a list of about 1,280 girls who are looking to be recruited at the IWLCA events in June. We had 40 girls competing as a club and a few other clubs had some Florida contingent to them, so Florida girls made up about 3.5% of all recruits (a pretty decent number considering 75% come from MD, PA, NJ, NY, MA, CT). Let’s breakdown now what the NEEDS of the different levels are so you can determine where you stand numbers wise and how difficult it is to compete for various levels:
Level One: 52 Programs recruiting an average of eight players each: 416 players will commit or sign to play with these programs from the class of 2010. That is about the top 33% of all 2010’s at the IWLCA. Remember, this includes the Skywalkers, Heros, Yellow Jackets, Capital, and MD United kids as well! If you look at it from a pure percentage standpoint, Florida will have about 14 or 15 players looking to go to schools at this level. If you factor in that Florida is not as good of a lax state as Maryland and New York, this number may be closer to 12. So, if you look at your game as one of the top-12 in the State of Florida, you probably will fit this level for the 2010 recruiting year. My prediction is that in 2011 there are closer to 20 for this level as each year the state matures as a lax state and our club’s alumni reputation continues to thrive.
Level Two: 75 programs recruiting an average of eight players each. 600 players will commit or sign to play with these programs from the class of 2010. That is the middle 50% of all 2010’s at the IWLCA. From our club’s two teams and from other Florida prospects, the majority will find programs in this strata to continue their education. If you look at yourself as a good player in the LaxManiax club program and you have game and instincts and speed, you should find a home in this area. But this area is for girls who have lax on their mind just as much as the Level One players. Not much separates the recruits of the two levels. Sometimes it is just a missing element in your game that can be worked out in college. Maybe you have not been dedicated enough to lacrosse because of other extra-curriculars that spread your life far too thin to excel in anything to the top level. Many in our club suffer from “spread me too thin so I can be more ‘well rounded’” syndrome. The over-scheduled kids are the ones who never truly achieve greatness in any one thing because as 16-year olds they are still trying to figure it out in stead of pursuing their passion with, well, passion! But that is another BLOG on another day. Of the roughly 50 kids from Florida at the IW’s from the class of 2010, expect roughly 15-20 commitments and signees from Florida this year. This could fluctuate based on the geography of these schools. Many of the schools are not within a 5-hour drive of kids from Florida, so as proximity would have it, the kids decide on other schools in level 3, 4 or 5.
Level Three: 90 programs recruiting an average of eight players each. 720 players will commit or sign to play with these programs from the class of 2010. If you are doing the math right now, do not scratch your head. You are correct, the 600 level 2 players, 420 level 1 players, and 700 level 3 players add up to 1,700+ total players and the IW’s had a little over 1,200 players who will play in college. There are more spots open for college student-athletes than there are actual players on the club level at this time. It is a BUYERS market. There are some kids who are attending other tournaments and others who are just high school kids. These players will inevitibly find a home somewhere, just maybe not at a Level 1 or 2 program and most likely not a Level 3 program. But all of our club members can play at Level 3 somewhere. They need to be committed to the distance factor as mentioned above. Proximity is a key factor in the decision making process – every bit as much as academic major. Level 3 has been a successful home for the majority of our alumni from 2007 and 2008. As of 2009 a shift to level 2 started to occur and now our 2010 class is shifting to the top end of level 2 for many prospects. This is GREAT for Florida lacrosse.
With more slots available than club players to fill them, LaxManiax players of all ages need to 'stick' with their program to realize the greatest rewards in the process. Over the next seveal years, Florida lacrosse will become a hot bed. As an old cliche' goes "It's not a matter of 'if' it's a matter of 'when'".
Level 4 and Level 5: These programs are looking for more players. Most are looking for 8-12 players on average. For this we will estimate 10 players to keep the math simple. 110+ programs searching for 1,100 prospects to fill their rosters. 2,800 total members of the class of 2010 are “wanted” and only 1,400 of them were competing at the IW’s this year. You can see why ‘limiting’ tournaments at any level is like the college coaches chopping off body parts – they need more players than are available. This was one of the prime rationales for LaxManiax starting out and then expanding to grow more players and more ability levels. Helping as many Florida kids as possible find a college home AND develop into all-stars is what makes the program unique.
Now that we know there is a home for everyone in our club, lets now talk about the variables that create more opportunities and the factors that go into making a decision:
Variables include – Club prestige and reputation. The LaxManiax has been around and attended 6 IWLCA tournaments and over time has placed more than 60 players in colleges nationwide. This year and last year’s senior ‘A’ teams competed against the top programs in the country and found success and a roughly .500 record against hot bed teams. In other words, we are just like them. Therefore, colleges know we have players and they come to see us play. Add in the connections that 100+ years of playing and coaching experience on the NCAA level add up to and you are a part of one of the hottest things going in lax. The reason why Inside Lacrosse and members of the IWLCA are so interested in the ‘rise of Florida’ lacrosse on the national level.
Our 2011 class has some very high level recruits. The effect of their recruitment and the success of our alums playing in college so far will tweak more and more interest in our club’s 2012, 2013 and younger classes. The more they stick together, grow together, and play together as a club, the better they will be as time goes by!
With a dozen Level 1, or Level 2 prospects, the class of 2011 is on its way to becoming more storied than the 2010 and 2009 classes. Many of the 11's have played together since their 8th grade season, helping them to progress and develop together and learn the club's complete curriculum.
Performance at the SAT by the TFG programs was huge. None of the TFG teams fell to another outside club. This shows that the teams are as good as it gets in the South. Playing against some great southern clubs in grad year competition also raises the level of the club and the other clubs as well. The coaches at that event talk to other coaches and the reputation builds.
The Bolt sisters and Melode Adolphe strike a pose at the Southern Alliance Tournament. The Maniax teams played very well and established themselves as one of the south's top club programs for the forth consecutive year.
Vero Beach High School’s trip to Maryland (which ended up pushing them over the limit for games vs. Out of State opponents) this year helps as well. The trip may end up costing them a state title, but they played well at the Maryland based Centennial tournament. No matter what your opinion is of the men of Vero Beach, their players are very good and when one program in Florida performs well, everyone benefits. We should always seek to build up and not denigrate other Florida lacrosse people, like them personally or not, we cut our nose to spite our face when we look down on other programs, whatever the reason.
Other variables include the success of our LaxManiax alums, which has been nothing short of miraculous. Our players last at college and they earn starting spots. Coaches come back for more players when they have a positive experience with one of them.
Mel Hicks '08 (Detroit), Mindy McCord (JU), and Katie Carbiener '08 (Longwood) are three examples of successful LaxManiax alumni who are now performing at the Division 1 level. Their success creates more opportunities for all kids from Florida. Hicks, who anchored the UDM defense as a freshman, was instrumental in recruiting/hosting Park Vista (FL) graduate Megan Cunningham this past Fall.
Now lets go into Factors of Making a Decision: For this I like to break it down using the term S.L.A.P. SLAP stands for “SIZE”, “LOCATION”, “ACADEMICS”, and “PERSONAL FIT”. These are in relative order, although “SIZE” is closely related to “PERSONAL FIT” insomuch as you would not attend a school that did not “FIT” because it was entirely too large or small. So, “SIZE” is relative to the size of the campus, and the interactivity of the student body and team. Some small schools have a big school dynamic and some big schools are essentially “Suitcase colleges” where kids go home every weekend, or the school was a community college in the state educational system and grew way too large so they added a couple of years on. Either way, “SIZE” does matter.
“LOCATION” is a key as well. Student-athletes will not go where they do not want to be. I asked one of my players who a major D1 had inquired about if she would like to stay in the South and she said, “NO WAY! I want OUT of the south!” No point in forcing that point! Find the location that is right for you. This is why so many of our kids slide from Level 2 to Level 3 – more level 3’s in the south making it a closer proximity!
“ACADEMICS” is also a huge factor in the decision making process. This is impacted by the maturity of the prospect and their families understanding of a few simple truths. If the prospect has it set in his/her mind that they are majoring in THIS, than super! Not to burst anyone’s bubble, the average state school prospect changes their major twice before graduating and the average private school prospect changes their major once. So, finding a school that is the right fit academically and has a variety of majors you would like to pursue is key.
So, in my advise, while every mother says that school is all about academics, I would have to disagree. It has as much to do with location as it does academics. How many kids who do not play lacrosse do you know who come home from school and don’t finish? A large number of these cases are because they went to school for a football team, or they went to the wrong location. Look around and visit schools the summer and fall going into your junior year. That is a key to knowing if the location is a fit for you.
Excluding or including schools at the various levels based on SLAP creates a better success rate in college decision making. There are lots of Level 1 players who choose to go Level 2 or 3. The choice is theirs. Occasionally there is a Level 3 player who tries to cram themselves into Level 1. The success rate of kids who do this is not very high. There are some clubs that live on the reputation of getting kids to Level 1 schools when the kids are not level 1 kids. This does a disservice to the kids they are supposed to be guiding in the process and is not the point of the club system.
It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. If kids get pushed Level 1 and only play one fall, you have not really helped the prospect. You may have ruined their chance of actually having a college career, or in fact limited their career to 1 semester.
Final thoughts: When to Commit?
IWLCA coaches struggle with the ethics of recruitment and dealing with legal minors making adult-level commitments. As a business person, nothing is legal until the guardian has signed with the minor and taking a minor’s word for it is not a position I, or any good business person, would want to be in. Pressuring the minor to follow through with their obligation made as a 16-year old gets even more problematic. While we cannot control the coaches and their ever changing whirlpool of recruitment policies and ethical dilemmas, we can control our behavior as prospects and club programs. Here are a few rules to be aware of:
1) YOU are the PROSPECT, not them. If they want you, they will respect you as a PROSPECT with options and a duty to investigate those options. If you are late in the investigation and have not seen all you need to see, explain this to the college. YOU are the consumer – they are the salespeople.
2) UTILIZE your PARENTS and CLUB COACHES. They are your adult advocates and can help you in dealing with adults who are trying to woo you. Do not allow anyone to pressure you, especially club lacrosse coaches who are wanting you to ‘commit’ to top-level schools so they can show you off. You are not a pawn in the marketing game of a club. The club works FOR you.
3) CALL the COLLEGES. They cannot call you until July 1st of your rising Senior year, but you can call them. Best time to start calling them is the summer of your rising Junior year as you are visiting campuses and attending tournaments and camps. Get to know them then so you feel more comfortable making decisions when you reach July 1st of your rising Senior season. Many colleges at Level 1 look for you to decide around the July 1st date, even though this date was established to allow colleges to call you (first call date for D1’s). Some Level 2’s are now looking at this as a date to have a lot of their recruits “committed” as well.
Kaylee Quint (Left), and Morgan Derner (Right) are 4th year LaxManiax members (they lasted thru the hiddeous pinnie stage of the club) who have used the club's prestige and their personal development and team relationships to become Level-1 Prospects are rising seniors. Their first year in the club (the club's 1st year) was their rising freshman year. Imagine how great the club players who started as 6th graders will be in a couple years!
For LaxManiax members, you have a great website and recruiting system and network that no other club can offer. And you have the benefits of playing with your fellow-prospects from middle school on through, providing you with more familiarity and experience than just playing on an all-star team. Follow your programs and know that the advise you receive comes from people who care about your individual decision and not their personal pride. We have won our Super Bowls and NCAA titles in life and now we want to help you all reach your goals.
Yours in recruiting, Coach Paul
