BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Girls 2021-11th Grade Fall 2019/Summer 2020

I don't believe IL is ranking junior girls this year. The article that is on IL now is the same list that will be in the recruiting issue without rankings. Not sure why they decided not to rank the 2021 girls when they did the boys.

Full recruiting issue is available online. No rankings for 2021 girls

In the past, Inside Lacrosse has ranked the Top 30 and then they changed to the Top 40 girls (Young Gun Junior & Senior Rankings) the junior listing may have only been Top 30. In addition to the Top Players they have also in the past put out a "Watch List" and or an "On the Rise List" at each grade level. From year to year (junior to senior year) there is usually some movement but not too much. IL also Ranks the College Freshmen (Power 100) in the past they rank the Top 50 players and then list the "Watch List" or "on the rise" players. IMHO Inside Lacrosse does a very good job especially with respect to the Top 30 - 40 Players.
Congratulations to all who are recognized.

Likely because the college coaches don't want to brag about players that have not verbally committed to their programs yet. They want to keep having conversations with the players so they can fill their pockets (prospect days). Adults would ask too many questions coaches don't want to answer. Brilliant....or collusion or both??

Not sure what post you are responding to but I have been through the recruiting process a few times and the coaches were always very direct and answered all questions. I will admit that some do not like delivering bad news you do have to read between the lines.

From our experience:

* When a player is at the top of a coaches list the coach will tell player and parents and they will offer a spot. Coaches do not hesitate with players they want.

* When a coach has little or no interest in a player they will either tell them straight out or they will go silent. No returned calls, emails, texts etc...

* When a coach is communicating with a player but not offering a spot it is most likely because they have other players ranked higher and are waiting to see if they get them.

This system is far from perfect. My daughter is very fortunate to have heard from several schools this week. However, she did not hear from any of the schools she is most interested in. She is trying to be honest with the schools that have reached out but does not want to say no in case something comes together from one of her tops. Once the top 20 schools finish going through the top 100-150 girls and realize that they will still have many holes to fill, I assume they will contact the rest. I am starting to wish there was a contact period starting Sept 1 and an offer period after the fall tournaments were over. If she is forced to respond to the schools that have reached out, says no to all of them, and nothing materializes from her tops, she will be crushed. I was hoping this would be easier.

The best advice I've read recently is that Sept 1 is the start of the process, not the finish line. Coaches understand that players are considering multiple options, just like players need to understand coaches are considering multiple options. Are the programs that contacted your daughter similar in ranking to the schools she is most interested in that did not reach out? If so, I would suggest pursuing the options she likes best that reached out in addition to continuing to try to get on the other schools' radar. If not, she probably needs to reevaluate expectations. Your daughter can take time to explore options without telling coaches a hard yes/no within a week of Sept 1. Schedule phone calls, schedule a few visits this fall with the interested schools that most interest her. In the meantime, continue reaching out to other schools she didn't hear from and maybe things will change in a month or two if getting a spot at those schools is realistic. Good luck and hope you daughter ends up with some offers she is happy with.

Agreed

Agree, and sound advise. Make sure that your daughter is persistent without becoming a pest. Make sure the entire coaching staff at each of the schools she would really like to attend knows that she really would love to be a part of their program. Also, unless she really has no interest she should be talking with the schools that have expressed interest in her.

There will be several waves of girls committing and after each wave when dust settles the coaches re-evaluate and see what players are still available. Right now, 'especially at the Top Programs" coaches are going after the players they have ranked the highest. As players commit and coaches realize that they lost the recruit the coach has to move on. No school gets all of the players they want.

Thank you. Her list was likely too ambitious and she is trying to put a list of prospect days to go to this fall. The biggest issue with the schools that contacted her is that they are not schools she go to without sports.

Maybe too ambitious maybe not. The sands are constantly shifting and coaches have to keep revising their lists. That said, the recruiting process does tend to put things in perspective and really does let parents and players know where the player stands. Remember, recruiting does not take place in a vacuum, the decisions that other recruits make can affect your daughter. If one of your daughters dream schools has a hard time nailing down their top recruits the coach will have to shift focus to a new group of potential recruits. Make sure that every coach on the coaching staff knows just how much your daughter wants attend the university and be a part of their program (but don't become annoying). I would agree that your daughter should identify some other schools to pursue but pursue them in addition to her current dream schools.

I realize that we are only two weeks in but I am finding that the schools that claim to recruit from their camps are not really following through. My daughter and her friends are getting as much interest from schools they never reached out to compared to schools they contacted and where they attended events. This is not limited to lower ranked and obscure schools. Girls that never expressed interest in top 5-10 programs are hearing from them.

My family still has a long time to go until we get to this point but this is the most genuine thread on this board in ages. Thanks for your advice everyone!

My experience going through the process with a 2020 is that don't read too much into camp invites. Most are money grabs and are sent out in bulk to players. If a coach is interested, especially with the Sept 1 emails, they will ask for a phone call with your daughter or a specific invite to a Fall Play Day/Overnight visits. I do think Prospect Days were helpful. My daughter selected several schools she was interested in and attended their Prospect Days with interest and offers from each. If your daughter is not committed by November, Presidents Cup is a great Showcase for recruitment. Coach's will come out to see your daughter play if she emails coaches her schedule and they have a need at the position. Good Luck!

I see a few girls are starting to commit, that should start to get things moving. When a highly recruited player commits, 30-40 schools that were hopeful, all cross them off their list and 30-40 spots open up. That’s a huge trickle down effect from one player taken off the board, then apply that to 5 players, 10 players..... Coaches will hold out on offers that they put out on the first wave players as long as they can, but once the ball gets rolling, the whole process will open up greatly.

I think 30-40 schools is a bit aggressive, but we get your point...stay proactive.

I agree, 30-40 schools is a bit aggressive. Most of the top players will narrow it down to 3 - 5 schools. For the most part the top 30 - 40 players will be aggressively recruited by the top 10 - 20 programs. Not that all the other programs will not recruit the top players but what I have seen over the years is that the large majority of top players choose to go to the top programs.

If a school is talking to your daughter but not offering a spot it is most likely because the coaches have other players ranked higher than your daughter. This is not a random process, the coaches know how many spots they are trying to fill and they know what their priorities are Goalie, Lefty, defensive player etc... but for the most part the top programs are looking for the best athletes. Where a coach ranks your daughter on their list today can and will change tomorrow. Every time a player commits the other coaches have to move on to new players.

Yes - this!!! My daughter is a 2020 who committed before the rule change, but also familiar with friends who went through the Sept 1 contact and recruiting phase. In both scenarios, they all had interest and offers from schools where they never attended camp prior to a coach contacting them. Personally, I'd say the the best exposure my daughter got was playing recruiting tournaments. She plays for a good, but not great, club team that was often matched up against good teams but not the best of the best like top M&D and YJ teams. Still received unsolicited interest including from top 20 programs. Coaches do often like to see players at one of their camps or prospect clinics before making an offer, and those are worth attending if you know your daughter is being recruited (established by a phone call or specific invite for clinic/overnight visit, not a general "come to our camp" email) because she'll be placed in the group coaches are evaluating and watching the most. Keep in mind that more players are brought in than spots available, and calls and an overnight visit do not always result in an offer, but it is a better starting point than registering for as many camps as you can possibly cram into a summer. That sounds exhausting and expensive.

Just as the players have their top 5 schools and top 10 schools, the coaches have their top tier list, second tier list etc... And just as players will string along their fall back schools while trying to strike a deal with their top choices, the coaches do the same exact thing, stringing along interest of second and third tier kids while they try to land the top tier. It is a safety dance where players both win some and lose some and coaches win some and lose some.

. The same way some kids are not realistic, some coaches are not. And many coaches using this for a money making machine!

Please tell us what you are talking about when you say:

"The same way some kids are not realistic, some coaches are not. And many coaches using this for a money making machine!"

How are coaches not realistic?

I detest this whole process!!!! It's a lot of pressure on these girls!! I agree with an earlier post. There should be a blackout period of making offers. If September 1st is the start, how can we give our girls an opportunity to breathe and take the time to go to prospect clinics, official visits, really get to talk and communicate with the coaches and deal with offers all at once? They started their JR year, most play other sports, SAT prep classes etc. Hearing from schools that weren't on their lists that they have to get familiar with. Not enough hours in the day...

Some coaches are unrealistic that top girls will come to their program. This weekend will be the end of the 3rd week for the top girls to have taken visits. They will start committing soon and that will start to open spots at schools as they miss out.

For the most part coaches are allowing girls time to make visits and go through the process. I am very surprised that there haven't been more commits so far. Actually think the coaches are doing a good job with this so far. Things will start moving shortly.

There is no $ making with top tier. These girls are not being told to go to camps or clinics. The coaches do not need to see them play again. Vtrctb

I see many of the coaches "top tier prospects" at the camps and clinics. I thought those were the "top tier." im not sure i understand.

Correct. Some schools are having their top tier prospects come for a camp. Even when they get their lists cut down they may want to bring them in to play against each other to figure out the final group.

I think poster is referring to NOW after 9/1 and visits.

Yes. Agree. Thank you.

My daughter has been to a clinic since 9/1 where several girls there had been formally invited by the coaching staff. Some were on their visit. Is this typical? My 2c is that if you are a player they are focused on, going to a clinic is risky in case you have an off day.

Several more commits coming in, starting to move now. SBU, Virginia Tech, Dartmouth, USC and a few others. Stanford got another one, they came out of the gate fast and hard. Expect to see a bunch more this week from this past weekend’s visits, and should open wide after next weekend.

I have not seen that happening, time for camp and clinics for 21’s was the summer. All that the top players needed to do was attend summer tournaments. The top tier prospects have the coaches showing up at their houses, are being brought in on official visits, receiving love and praise, gathering offers, and now you see them making commitments. If coaches are asking players to attend a camp or clinic, they may be interested, but they are certainly not a part of their top tier.

Some players go to camps some do not. The coaches have watched and they all know who the top prospects are. Not sure what you mean by "top tier" are you talking about the top tier for the class or the top tier for particular schools?

I have been hearing there are a lot of girls travelling 3,4,5 weekends in a row for visits this fall including missing a day of school to be on campus for a class. Parents I know are coming back from the visits saying other prospect parents at the visits are saying the same thing. It's crushing their fall sports, school work, etc. not to mention very expensive. Anyone else experiencing this or seeing it with their daughter's teammates?

I hope they revisit the June 1 initial contact date so girls can knock most of it out over the summer through camps/tourney evaluations, at a minimum when there is no school work required. A short coming would be not being on campus when class is in session but that could be addressed with a fall visit before a commitment if that is on the critical path for family/player.

Seems like it could improve the experience while still "protecting" those handful of early commits.

The issue with 6/1, no classes are in session. Do not get to meet potential teammates, classmates, no support staff such as strength coach, nutritionist, athletic trainer, academic adviser, no faculty and no feel for the vibe of the school. Cannot attend a class, any athletic events, a practice, team lift, team meeting and I could go on and on. There is no perfect solution. We narrowed the list to 7, seeing all of them as quickly as possible, including 4 day trips when the schools were close together. Not ideal either, still trying to finish it all up and make a decision.

Experiencing ourselves and peers visits being made but even highest level recruits offers not being made “finish your visits” schools in no rush/taking time. Lots of stressed out girls.

I agree, no perfect solution. My daughter is a 2020 who committed before the rule change. It was challenging fitting in visits and prospect days, it was expensive, and this was as a freshman adjusting to high school. She narrowed her focus to four schools she thought were best fits overall - academics, anticipated cost, school size, campus life in addition to lacrosse program. There were some top academic/lacrosse schools she chose not to visit because, while those visits would have impressed others and are amazing options for some players, she (we) felt it was not the best fit in her case given intended major, cost, campus size and vibe. She's still really happy with her decision and so are we.

At the end of the day, no matter what the rules are, the recruiting process is time consuming. Try to enjoy it, know that you may not be able to visit every single interested school, and that's ok if you do your research and figure out overall best fit. My daughter knows players who wanted to play in college but were not recruited by many programs, or not recruited by programs where they wanted to go to school; so try to enjoy and appreciate the "problem" of so many opportunities even if it makes life really busy for a while and involves tough choices.

I see the difficulty in the Sept 1 of junior year rule change, but I also think there are downsides to June 1. Both are better than the recruiting of 8th graders. We can all thank the club coaches who promoted middle schoolers, the parents who were willing to be part of that process in middle school, and the college coaches who were willing to host and make offers to middle schoolers, for the recruiting rules intervention. Freshman year was too early, but once the craziness moved into middle school enough was enough.

Yep. And with some schools saying "finish your visits", you don't know how many or which schools to keep in play. Until your daughter gets an offer she likes, you feel the need to "stay alive" with more places.

Sounds like the coaches can't win. If they encourage players to take their time, people complain. If they want quick decisions, people complain. Coaches are not in a position to have a bunch of open ended offers hanging out there. If your daughter has told a coach his/her program is a top choice for her and communicates she is ready for an offer, and the coach is delaying making an offer, chances are the coach is waiting to see how things play out with girls higher on the list. Coaches should be honest about that if directly asked, but I wouldn't be surprised if some try to play it as simply avoiding rushing the process.

Stanford (new coach - Danielle Spencer) has 3 2021 commits already. 2 from YJs, 1 from Darien.