Excellent advice on recruiting from former Tewaaraton winner, Katie Chrest Erbe - and not just for lacrosse:
So you want to play lacrosse in college? Well, I’m sure you’re already familiar with most of the fundamentals of recruiting: join a club team, attend camps of the schools you’re interested in, compile an academic and athletic resume, email college coaches and keep them abreast on where you’ll be playing and when. These are all important parts of the recruiting process, but I wanted to bring attention to a few other, less talked about aspects that are actually a huge deal.
First, it’s extremely important to honestly assess which schools and which level of lacrosse is the best fit for you or your daughter. Maryland, UNC, Northwestern bring in about 8-12 girls per year. So while lacrosse is certainly a sport with tons of opportunity, the sport has gotten much more competitive and the spots at those top schools and programs are more limited than ever. Those programs are looking for the cream of the crop, a chosen few. There are an incredible number of opportunities out there beyond the top 20 Division I schools. Now that I’m in the Midwest, I’ve begun to realize how many Division II and III programs exist that are dying for players. Keep in mind that, for the most part, lacrosse ends after college, so the education piece of your experience truly is the most important. Don’t get caught up in the hoopla of where everyone else is going. Do what’s best for you.
Second, student athletes MUST lead their own recruiting process. There are a few things that cause sirens and alarms to go off for a college coach and turn them off to a kid, and a parent who is working harder than their child to get recruited makes that short list. Once a student-athlete arrives on campus, a multitude of responsibilities are heaped onto their lap. Being a good student, attending study hall hours, turning in assignments on time, managing time wisely, showing up to practice on time with all the correct gear and equipment, being socially responsible, hosting recruits… the list goes on and on. Much of the recruiting process for a coach is feeling out a student-athlete to see if they are capable of shouldering these responsibilities. If a recruit isn’t the one taking initiative in their recruiting process, it’s going to be hard for the coach to believe she will have the life skills and wherewithal to be a reliable member of their team. The student-athlete will be the one attending school, dealing with the coach, etc. once she gets to school, so she needs to be the one doing the work in her recruiting process.
Going back to the sirens and alarms and red flags… this brings me to my next point: making good decisions off the field. Whether it’s at a tournament between games, on your weekends with friends, on a recruiting trip or on Twitter, social responsibility is absolutely essential. We are in a day and age where a 140-character post to social media by a teenager can cost a grown adult their entire career and livelihood. Many coaches have spent decades working their way into the job in which they now hold. This is why many coaches are incredibly cautious about recruits whose decisions surrounding their social lives and their social media usage appear risky. Coaches are finding more and more that taking a risk with a player whose social media is questionable just isn’t worth it. Be smart, think before you post, and if you wouldn’t hold the picture up in a personal meeting with the coach (or your parent for that matter) then don’t post it!
Next, ACADEMICS, ACADEMICS, ACADEMICS! I’m talking to all you freshmen out there! With how competitive things are getting across the board with college acceptance, admission standards are higher than ever and are continuing to stiffen even more. Sometimes coaches have some wiggle room, but more and more college admissions offices are demanding that athletes make the cut prior to stepping foot on campus. In many cases a "C" on a report card, even if it’s from your freshman year, is a big no-no. On top of stricter standards, recruiting is occurring much sooner these days so your freshmen transcripts may be what coaches are depending on when they’re deciding if you can hack it academically at their school. Good grades often signify maturity, responsibility, hard work and attention to detail — all qualities that coaches are looking for in their student-athletes.
Last of all, here's a little analogy that may help as you try to understand and navigate this process. I’ve often said that recruiting is a bit like dating. There are times when either party (college coach or student-athlete) really put themselves out there. There are times when you’re really feeling the love and times when you’re getting all kinds of weird signals… or no signals at all. Here are a couple things to keep in mind. First, recruiting is just one job on the list of a coach’s many responsibilities. Yes, it’s a big part of their job, but they’re also trying to manage 30 players, develop talent, build a solid lacrosse program, scout other teams, watch film, fundraise and keep on top of academics. It’s a HUGE job. With that said, it’s important to understand that almost no college coaches are responding to every email they receive. They receive hundreds and hundreds of emails — especially during tournament months. Also, they are most likely spending the majority of their recruiting time on the recruits they are very interested in. So, if you aren’t getting anything back, it might be time to move on and take a look at another school. If you’re set on that particular school, it may be helpful to ask your club coach to contact the coach to see if they’re interested. If they are not, you have two options: move on to another school or apply and try to get in on your own and ask if they will take walk-ons.
As you can see there is a lot more to getting recruited than playing on a good club team, scoring goals, making saves and getting ground balls. Make sure you’re taking care of life outside of lacrosse; it’s as important as your on-field value. And, remember to read the signals as this can save you a lot of time and confusion.
^^Bingo!! Copied, pasted and sent to my already commited daughter, because it doesnt end with the NLI
