BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Lacrosse Mag article about club lacrosse

Read and discuss:

http://laxmagazine.com/college_men/DI/2014-15/news/112514_dom_starsia_a_second_letter_to_parents

What do you think he means by "an 11-year-old boy should be able to play with his buddies in a lacrosse event that may fall outside the parameters of his club commitment."?

Is he saying that kids should still play Rec along with Club?

Or is he saying the "old rec team" should be allowed to get together for a tournament or two?

What do you think he means by "an 11-year-old boy should be able to play with his buddies in a lacrosse event that may fall outside the parameters of his club commitment."?

Is he saying that kids should still play Rec along with Club?

Or is he saying the "old rec team" should be allowed to get together for a tournament or two?

I find the comments to be more on spot than the article. I like Starsia but much of what he ambles through he and other coaches validate through their behavior. Having gone through the recruiting process with our son who is now a sophomore I am still quite astonished these recruiting cycles wind up when these kids have barely played out fall ball in their 10th grade year. Parents chasing elite clubs for their kids to play on is sensible and is overtly encouraged by the recruiters. Look at where commits come from: a concentrated group of elite clubs and elite prep schools. I have been to a lot of tournaments and have never seen a college coach make a point of doing anything but flocking to see the good teams on this predictable list. Kids are dropping out of other sports to focus on lacrosse too early because recruiting is too early and that is the fault of the college coaches who control the inventory of D1 opportunities having it that way. Starsia is on point with his concern. If your little Johnny doesn't go to showcases and prospect days in abundance at many thousands of dollars a year over club fees, then little Johnny may just be prejudiced out of the looks needed to get an opportunity at the schools he aims for. Yes, lacrosse remains a rich kid sport that dilutes merits Starsia tries to celebrate in what he wrote for as long as that remains the status quo.

I am amazed this has run amok so far and this early recruiting hysteria has not been curbed. It appears to be a game for the sake of gamesmanship and just absorbs so much out of the kids emotionally to be social media addicts on who is getting shout outs or committed and to be public figures themselves. Lacrosse has one problem noted which is the high costs associated with clubs + showcases + prospect camps none of which is focused on player development of skills, and also has another in that the sport really is no fun anymore for kids in 7th grade or so up. My younger son is not going to be a recruit, we know it and he knows it, and moreover he just likes to play to have fun. Already he seems more detached from enjoyment of his club because this is the age where the daddies and the club operatives start going crazy and it permeates down to the kids.

Hey Starsia, nice article. Now grow a pair and be a leader in your sport and curb this. You guys will be better off evaluating recruits until they are juniors (just my suggestion) for their skill and better maturity to handle this. Early recruiting isn't entirely everybody else's fault -- pushy parents, prep coaches, club coaches showcase guys. It is partially the college coaches fault because at bottom they control the allocation of the opportunities. I personally find that level of hypocrisy very tiresome now and it is time for those guys to reform.

I heard Dukes coach talk about this. They all wish the NCAA would stop it. They cant do it themselbes. If Duke stops but Maryland and NC does not, they will lock up the best players and Duke will be lookin for a new coach. . The only ones that benefit are the smaller schools who may benefit from a late bloomer who come son the scene late.

Excellent point! Wonder what percentage of 9/10th grade verbals change their mind by senior year? Or how many universities rescind their verbal? How can a 14/15 year old know where they want to spent 4 years of there life so far down the road? Anyone with experience on this?

Dom also came out last year about how he was "sick to his stomach" being on the sidelines recruiting 9th graders" and took a 9th grader within a day or two of his statement. Talks out of both sides of his mouth. UVA has enough issues of their own that they should be focusing on.

The NCAA has shown they have no issues going well beyond their "core values of fairness, safety and equal opportunity for all student-athletes." by imposing penalties for criminal infractions and other absurd activities conducted by athletes/coaches unrelated to fairness & safety. Actually, in the interest of the NCAA's core value of "fairness" to the student athletes, the NCAA should limit the recruiting windows to the times when athletes are on a common ground of semi-equal maturity at the senior or at least junior year to be awarded scholarships.

Read and discuss:

http://laxmagazine.com/college_men/DI/2014-15/news/112514_dom_starsia_a_second_letter_to_parents

He calls 91, Express, Dukes, Crabs etc... and asks the directors to send their top 9th grade kids to his prospect camps.

Check UVA Roster, I bet 75-80% of the kids come out of Private Schools and the others come from Publics located in affluent communities.



He is one of the Top 5 early recruiters.

Look at what he does do not listen to what he says.



I think he is full of S---.

That is the most lucid and intelligent lacrosse comment ever. Thank you and amen. Someone send this to Ty Xanders, Jamie Munro and the other cheerleaders and the NCAA. It is time to take the youth game back and return it to the kids. Let this be competitive but also let this be healthy, safe and fun for the kids. Their lives are long like ours but their youth is brief. We owe this to the kids.

I heard Dukes coach talk about this. They all wish the NCAA would stop it. They cant do it themselbes. If Duke stops but Maryland and NC does not, they will lock up the best players and Duke will be lookin for a new coach. . The only ones that benefit are the smaller schools who may benefit from a late bloomer who come son the scene late.

If you are recruiting 8th graders then expect families and clubs to start grooming the kids to recruiting polished starting in 6th grade. Talk to any club coach and they will tell you player development needs to be far along by 8th grade in a sport that commits kids based on summer after 8th grade and the fall of 9th grade. Sure that stokes the money grab but it isn't misleading advice. NCAA coaches preaching the balance of multiple sport athletes are recruiting so early that they themselves are at fault for kids not playing other seasonal sports in their middle school years. There is also enough scientific evidence that youth single sport training focus raises tissue and other overuse injury rates, saying nothing of mental burnout. So while the moral debate on early recruiting ethics rages we at least know this trend is harmful to the health of boys.

I find the comments to be more on spot than the article. I like Starsia but much of what he ambles through he and other coaches validate through their behavior. Having gone through the recruiting process with our son who is now a sophomore I am still quite astonished these recruiting cycles wind up when these kids have barely played out fall ball in their 10th grade year. Parents chasing elite clubs for their kids to play on is sensible and is overtly encouraged by the recruiters. Look at where commits come from: a concentrated group of elite clubs and elite prep schools. I have been to a lot of tournaments and have never seen a college coach make a point of doing anything but flocking to see the good teams on this predictable list. Kids are dropping out of other sports to focus on lacrosse too early because recruiting is too early and that is the fault of the college coaches who control the inventory of D1 opportunities having it that way. Starsia is on point with his concern. If your little Johnny doesn't go to showcases and prospect days in abundance at many thousands of dollars a year over club fees, then little Johnny may just be prejudiced out of the looks needed to get an opportunity at the schools he aims for. Yes, lacrosse remains a rich kid sport that dilutes merits Starsia tries to celebrate in what he wrote for as long as that remains the status quo.

I am amazed this has run amok so far and this early recruiting hysteria has not been curbed. It appears to be a game for the sake of gamesmanship and just absorbs so much out of the kids emotionally to be social media addicts on who is getting shout outs or committed and to be public figures themselves. Lacrosse has one problem noted which is the high costs associated with clubs + showcases + prospect camps none of which is focused on player development of skills, and also has another in that the sport really is no fun anymore for kids in 7th grade or so up. My younger son is not going to be a recruit, we know it and he knows it, and moreover he just likes to play to have fun. Already he seems more detached from enjoyment of his club because this is the age where the daddies and the club operatives start going crazy and it permeates down to the kids.

Hey Starsia, nice article. Now grow a pair and be a leader in your sport and curb this. You guys will be better off evaluating recruits until they are juniors (just my suggestion) for their skill and better maturity to handle this. Early recruiting isn't entirely everybody else's fault -- pushy parents, prep coaches, club coaches showcase guys. It is partially the college coaches fault because at bottom they control the allocation of the opportunities. I personally find that level of hypocrisy very tiresome now and it is time for those guys to reform.

I want someone to do an analysis of this early recruiting and the transfer rate. 9th graders choosing colleges, when they have absolutely no idea about what they might major in, whether a large or small school is the best fit, whether that coaching staff might still be there in 4 years, if they are still a fit for that school by their senior year, whether or not they will get any playing time. I think this early recruiting suits the college coaches and more importantly the parents who want proven that the tens of thousand of dollars spent on club teams has been a good investment. The answer to that question is not going to be revealed in 9th grade, but when "little Johnny" is holding his college diploma, most likely from a school that wasn't the one that secured him as a high school underclassman.