I will explain why the last poster is off the mark.
As you spend more time in the advanced lax years you will begin to hear the stories of coaches who pursue players and sign them and discover it's not a good fit for any number of reasons. These players end up miserable and often times drop out or transfer. Also, look at the coaching carousel currently in view at the women's D1 level and the amount of transfers taking place. I can not stress how important it is to choose the school FIRST. Lax is important but it must be secondary. This way if the coach leaves or they don't gel their love for the school will make their experience great.
Regarding the highlighted comment : BOTC agrees with this view and as a parent, the phone call will most often come home to you in this situation. This is why it is so critically important for the parents, not Carol Rose, Shannon Smith, or any of the other players, to be the critical contact point along with your student-athlete. When you get that first freshman year home-sickness call (and you more than likely will get that call), you will understand all you need to know.
Weighing as a parent of a D1 player (not lax), loving your school is the way to go. My daugther loved her school and came to really dislike her coach. Her collegiate athletic experience was pretty negative and she came to hate the sport she loved. I asked her more than once if she wanted to transfer but she refused -- because she loved her school and her teammates/friends. She stuck it out on the team for four years, her choice (and not one I probably would've made if I'd been in her shoes), but she did it because she was happy with everything at college except her coach.
She also had HS friends who played D1 lax, coaches left , one after recruting but before freshman year and another partway through college. Never make a choice based on the coach alone. Like your school first and foremost.
I commend and respect your daughter. I have heard so many times parents speak of "the best deal" rather than the best school. Also, don't push for the best academic school if your child doesn't has the smarts. That is a real recipe for disaster.
My daughter had great grades/test scores. She was contacted by great schools with lousy lacrosse programs; she was contacted by so-so schools with great programs. You ultimately have to make the choice academically and what is best for your child five years from now. We are all passionate about lacrosse, but lets face it, it's a niche sport. As with most female sports the college years are the last hurrah.
Bottom line is if your kid is lazy and dumber than dirt, none of this matters, because she won’t be accepted to any decent college. If by some chance she is, there is a 99% chance she won’t make it through the first semester because she won’t be able to keep up with the academic portion of the deal or handle the work load that is involved.
Yeah an when your princess gets to school and realizes you're not around to push her relentlessly, what then? Maybe she rebels, hangs out with the football team and gets a great education in bong hits and keg stands. Don't be so condescending, be a little humble and grateful for your good fortune. Many kids work real hard and may not get the same results as you're super kid. Be careful, life has a way of leveling the playing field. Remember, if it wasn't for lax your kid wouldn't be getting into most of these top schools. I assure you. 80 percent of non-athlete applicants to the Ivies have perfect SAT score and the highest GPA you can calculate at their HS.
best post ever. and remember this super parents, this is a excerpt of an interview with one of those lesser talented players that you look down your nose at
Pannell failed to make varsity as a freshman at Smithtown because at barely over 5 feet he was too small and was a late bloomer three years later. If anything, he's the perfect example of how early recruiting by college coaches can sometimes really backfire.
''I matured late physically,'' said Pannell, who was 17 when he graduated from high school. ''In my junior year in high school I had 70 points, which was a pretty good season, and then my senior year I had 130. I turned into a completely different player, but with recruiting these days, by the time you're a senior everyone knows where they're going already.''
Pannell thought he knew where he was going, too - Quinnipiac had offered him a partial scholarship. He committed, changed his mind, then was stymied when Quinnipiac wouldn't release him.
''He was a home run for them,'' Pannell's dad, Robert, said. ''We tried everything, but they were not going to release him.''
So the family turned to prep school, and by chance Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts had one bed available - for a point guard in basketball. Pannell, who had been the starting point guard at Smithtown, was given that final slot and played nearly every minute of every basketball game. He also set the school record for points in a season with 99 for the lacrosse team.
Two of Pannell's Deerfield classmates signed with Cornell, and former Big Red head coach Jeff Tambroni had room for one more player. They suggested Pannell, he sent a highlight tape, and a week after watching it Tambroni signed Pannell without ever seeing him play in person.
That tape sure didn't lie.
