BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Do Kids Have To Play Travel Lax To Get Recruited?

The cost is borderline insane. I'm just wondering from people who have been through the process.......does travel lax really matter if you want to play in college?

Gary, for the most part, the answer to your question is yes. Playing travel lax [for the right club] has it's obvious benefits from playing against top competition, practicing more with different players and exposure to the college coaches in Team Showcases & help getting into an individual showcase in which a coach or club director/owner can play an integral role in helping a child to be brought onto a colleges radar or helping with getting them getting seen again.

Few and far between have there been recent players who have not played on a club team and were offered a scholarship to play at the college level, especially at the D1 level. (Not sure what Division you were inquiring about).

If you paid to enroll into a handful or more prospect days as they are typically only seen by that 1 institutions coaching staff in addition to enrolling into 3+ individual showcases so you can be seen by 20-40 different college coaches at each one of those but again, individual showcases can be political so getting into the stronger ones typically for D1 prospects affects your question potentially but this could be a way to get exposure and I know of only a few players who have been fortunate to get recruited this way.

I also know of those who only played with their school team and on a 'showcase team' in a few showcases and the above approach who went on to play at the DI, II & III levels. This is something I am seeing a higher trend of now due to the obvious costs some clubs charge or for peoples lack of interest for playing on a club team all year round.
Hope this helps & thanks for your support & for using your BOTC Screen Name!

Gary - I will give you my son's experience as it relates to D3. He's a current senior (class of 2019) who stopping playing club lacrosse in 9th grade when he realized he was not going to be a D1 player. It was the hayday of early recruiting. He is on age and played at a pretty high level (Philly Freshman Showcase and Maverik Showtime invite) but saw others around him committing early and my son had limited D1 looks. The difference between many D1 commits and good D3 commits is pretty razor thin.

He went to 2-3 D3 showcases the last two summers (Elite 180, Good 2 Great, etc) and a few prospect days of of school he was focused (NESCAC, Swarthmore, Haverford). We were also the family that went to the Princeton, Georgetown, Yale, Colgate, Army, etc prospect days in 8th and 9th grade hoping to garner interest. Lots of time and money spent!

He committed this summer to a top 10 liberal arts school to play D3 lacrosse. He is beyond thrilled. It is not easy to get committed for D3 without a club program but clearly happens. My son came across a number of kids in similiar situations who were looking at elite liberal arts schools but many more kids who played for club programs across the country.

Good luck to you and your son.

If your son is going to be at Haverford, Swarthmore, or any of the NESCAC’s...congrats! The education and alumni networks from those schools are top notch.

The area of PA that Haverford and Swarthmore are in is beautiful and an easy ride from the Island. The level of lacrosse being played at the top of the NESCAC and the Centennial is most certainly comparable to the Division 1 level. ( If you are offered by Tufts/ Wesleyan and Marist/Sacred Heart... D1 isn’t always the best choice.)

In terms of NEEDing to be on a club team to be recruited? No, you don’t necessarily NEED to play club ball ( especially if you play at WM, GC, Manhasset, etc. as they will garner interest from college coaches through their HS play as well.) Many college coaches speak to club coaches and directors often... especially ones they know and trust, for information not only on their own players, but others as well ( most club coaches know who the top players in each organization are.). So all things being equal, a respected club coaches recommendation goes a long way. The other HUGE thing about club ball is that parents are present at games. Coaches are recruiting the player, yes, but they are also recruiting the family. If a players parents are the ones screaming negative things on the sidelines, yelling at refs, coaching from the sideline, etc. That behavior most likely will be the same in college, and most coaches don’t want the headache.

My son played Travel from 5-8th grades, which helped him get better compared to the other kids who just played on middle school team.
Once in High School only practiced/played with HS team. Fall of 11th grade and summer prior to 12th, he went to several Prospect days to see the schools he was interested in and did a few showcases (prospect camps were cheap). If your kid is talented, he will be noticed either from playing on HS team or at one of the camps/showcases. My son ended up committing to a D2 school that showed interest from a showcase (D2 schools can offer both academic and athletic scholarships), but unless your son plays in front of the college coaches he will be hard to find.

Boy or Girl?
What level in college are you talking about?
What HS does your child attend?

There is a place to play for everyone. The bottom of D1 is like playing glorified HS ball. The top team in D2 and D3 treat their programs like a D1 team does. The bottom of all the divisions always have a place for athletes and walk ons so travel lacrosse isn't needed but don't fool yourself it is very very very hard to crack a decent program by not going the traditional travel route. All depends on what your kid wants.

Just not accurate . Not trying to knock any program or devision. But there is no comparison between programs like Maryland, Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia, Penn State, Syracuse, Ohio State, Michigan, Rutgers, Hopkins, Army, Navy. There are no DII or DIII programs that treat their teams like those schools do.

Agreed. If you think playing at Salisbury, Tufts, RIT, etc comes with the same perks as playing at a top D1 school you are fooling yourself.

Read the post

What type of perks do they have in D1 compared to D2 and D3? Doesn't that depend on school not program? I can only speak for what I've heard in D2. Fully funded programs get all equipment paid for and travel costs. Some Schools have separate facilities for athletes (this includes gym, tutors, and food areas). Don't all divisions have rules around practice/games that must be followed at ncaa level?

I think the jist of the post it was that the top D2 and D3 schools are committed to winning and put all the effort in to be contenders year in and year out just like top D1 programs (within the rules set fro D2 and D3) but if you don't think the top schools are bending rules with weight training and captains practices you are kidding yourselves. The same D2 and D3 schools are at the top just like UNC and Maryland are in D1.

As far as the perks and swag, that really has nothing to do with the play on the field

Practice rules are different for D 1 vs. D3, D1 basically goes all year long, D3 practice schedule is restricted around the actual season.

Engineering degree at Tufts vs History/Criminal Justice degree elsewhere in top D1. Hmmm, it's a hard decision.

Swag is meaningless. I'm talking about the fact that these top D1 teams have staff on hand who's sole job is to find paid summer internships for the players. Have a separate staff member that is solely responsible for assisting in finding team members jobs post college. The academic support available at these schools is heads and shoulders above their D2/D3 peers as well.

There are some great schools that play D3 lacrosse. Tufts for instance is one of the best schools in the country. There is a place for everyone pretty much. Kids should do what makes the most sense for them. But the experiences are completely different. I've had kids at both.

In the perfect world, I would agree, but for some families the cost of a school like Tufts is out of reach. While I realize that athletic scholarships are limited at D1 schools, a larger state university can offer academic money and grants more readily than a D3 school. The NESCAC schools like Tufts and Wesleyan are top tier academically, but they are much more expensive. That being said, many of the D1 schools discussed above offer a comparable academic experience, nobody is looking down on a degree from Notre Dame, Duke, Hopkins and the like, their names alone carry a lot of weight after graduation, and they have huge alumni networks. Bottom line is that everybody's situation is different.

I'd be interested in those schools where the team finds you a job post college because all the big name girls from our town are back living with their parents and are assistant HS coaches for $3k a year and still coaching summer lax because they don't have JOBS!!! We also know of 1 who is going back to school to be a nurse because the coach preferred she took an team approved major. It all depends on the school and what you are trying to get out of it.

I have a 19 daughter going to a top d1 school. For her, she wanted to play lax not for recruitment but because she loves it.
In my opinion if your deciding about wheather the cost is worth it, the better question. Is would your kid miss playing
Many sacrifices are made not just financial. I

I do not know what rock you are living under but all schools help students find jobs not just lacrosse players. "The team" does not find kids jobs but schools help and have career centers. The finals this year was Yale over Duke not a lot of future unemployment checks on that roster. If you know a few girls living at home and are assistant coaches for $3k that is by choice. They are probably going to grad school. Unemployment is at an historic low. Lacrosse can be a means to get access or early looks to a school that is very competitive in admissions. Other than that, it is a great activity for college and should be no more or no less.

If you think that the value of service provided by the college career center as opposed to a dedicated person who's sole job is to find internships and jobs for the 35 girls on the team I don't know what to say.

just read the post above as well as all of the other posts. The post states: "The top team in D2 and D3 treat their programs like a D1 team does." - No, they do not. There is not a single D II or D III that treats their Lacrosse Team the way those schools do. Academic Support, Facilities etc .

Also, as usual there is a proponents of D III insinuateing that D III student athletes will attend a school like Tufts, study engineering and go on to be extremely successful and D I Student Athletes are dopes who will not amount to much in life.

Many many very successful alumni from all of the Ivy's , Hopkins, Georgetown , Duke, Notre Dame, Virginia , Michigan , North Carolina, etc....

There is a fit for everyone .

UNC and Maryland treat their programs very differently than Deleware State, LIU Brroklyn, Gradner Webb and Central CT which play very low level lacrosse at the bottom of D1. Same hold true of the Adelphi's of D2 and the top programs in D3.

The top teams are all business all the time. The bottom teams, not so much regardless of finacial support and swag.