lax culture from an insider

[Anonymous]

To the PP who asked if there was a sport other than lacrosse where local boys play at the college level: why yes; many boys from DC play college basketball and football. But those boys are often, (gasp!) black!!!

[Anonymous]

Why would you want your kid playing this sport anyway. Lacrosse and the culture surrounding it is nauseating.

[Anonymous]

Will lacrosse every become an Olympic sport?

[Anonymous]

How many middle school lacrosse players now play year-round (as opposed to just in the spring)? Our son wants to drop all other sports to focus on lacrosse. I want to do whatever my son wants. My husband thinks too much lacrosse at such a young age is not necessary and not productive. He would like him to play a different sport each season.

[Anonymous]

If you want to be recruited for college and/or play on your HS team (if it is a good lacrosse school) then yes he should only focus lacrosse.

Most top schools for lacrosse are getting commitments for kids by their freshman or sophomore years.

This means playing on a good team in the summer, going to tournaments or camps that have lots of college scouts.

If you don't get good experience in MS, this won't happen. Playing one season won't do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to be recruited for college and/or play on your HS team (if it is a good lacrosse school) then yes he should only focus lacrosse.

Most top schools for lacrosse are getting commitments for kids by their freshman or sophomore years.

This means playing on a good team in the summer, going to tournaments or camps that have lots of college scouts.

If you don't get good experience in MS, this won't happen. Playing one season won't do it.

Though well-intentionted, this is bad advice. If your son wants to get serious about lacrosse, of course he should play more than just the spring season. No coach wants kids, let alone kids in MS, to only play one sport. Coaches wants multi-sport athletes, though lacrosse should be his #1 sport (and that's what he wants). One, it prevents burnout from doing the same thing year round. Two, playing different sports works different muscles, teaches concepts that can translate to success in lacrosse, etc. Many top lax kids play football, soccer, basketball, etc.

Also, while recruiting is getting younger, nobody is getting commitments by their FRESHMEN years. These days, you are seeing rising sophomores and juniors getting commitments (which is disturbing enough), but nobody is getting recruited until after their freshman year.

Again, keep in my that your kid is in MIDDLE SCHOOL. Recruiting tournaments and stuff like that happens later, not now. Just encourage him to have fun. If he's good and wants to play also in the summer, fall or winter, that's fine. But dropping all other sports is an awful idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to be recruited for college and/or play on your HS team (if it is a good lacrosse school) then yes he should only focus lacrosse.

Most top schools for lacrosse are getting commitments for kids by their freshman or sophomore years.

This means playing on a good team in the summer, going to tournaments or camps that have lots of college scouts.

If you don't get good experience in MS, this won't happen. Playing one season won't do it.

Though well-intentionted, this is bad advice. If your son wants to get serious about lacrosse, of course he should play more than just the spring season. No coach wants kids, let alone kids in MS, to only play one sport. Coaches wants multi-sport athletes, though lacrosse should be his #1 sport (and that's what he wants). One, it prevents burnout from doing the same thing year round. Two, playing different sports works different muscles, teaches concepts that can translate to success in lacrosse, etc. Many top lax kids play football, soccer, basketball, etc.

Also, while recruiting is getting younger, nobody is getting commitments by their FRESHMEN years. These days, you are seeing rising sophomores and juniors getting commitments (which is disturbing enough), but nobody is getting recruited until after their freshman year.

Again, keep in my that your kid is in MIDDLE SCHOOL. Recruiting tournaments and stuff like that happens later, not now. Just encourage him to have fun. If he's good and wants to play also in the summer, fall or winter, that's fine. But dropping all other sports is an awful idea.

For a different perspective

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/08/14/lasagna
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/08/14/jiloty


It really depends on if your son wants to be recruited. If yes, then focusing on getting on a good travel team means playing, fall spring and summer. The question you posed was your husband wants your son to only play one season. His skills will just not develop compared to others. It will become harder to make better teams even in MS. Yes if they can play one other sport it is good, cross country really helps with stamina. Unfortunately we live in an age where it is very hard to play more than one sport well or have the time to do it. If he is in 6th grade, then you probably have one more year but by 7thgrade, you need to decide what his goals are with regard to sports and at what level he sees himself playing at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

For a different perspective

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/08/14/lasagna
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/08/14/jiloty


It really depends on if your son wants to be recruited. If yes, then focusing on getting on a good travel team means playing, fall spring and summer. The question you posed was your husband wants your son to only play one season. His skills will just not develop compared to others. It will become harder to make better teams even in MS. Yes if they can play one other sport it is good, cross country really helps with stamina. Unfortunately we live in an age where it is very hard to play more than one sport well or have the time to do it. If he is in 6th grade, then you probably have one more year but by 7thgrade, you need to decide what his goals are with regard to sports and at what level he sees himself playing at.

I bit and read the first one, because DS is interested in lacrosse. It's dated 8/22/2012 and talks about recruiting kids who are set to graduate HS in 2013 and 2014. So, rising seniors and juniors. It also talks about some aggressive parents pushing their middle schoolers on the recruiters -- but this is key, there's no evidence that the recruiters are biting, or that Ms. Freckelsmon got anyone to sign up her tween kid.

So then I went to the 2nd article. It said that 13 sophomores had given verbal commitments. Presumably, though, these depend on achieving GPA and SAT targets. So, not a huge number of sophomores.

Did I miss something?

[Anonymous]

For club lacrosse at the middle school and mostly even high school level, a boy should also be able to play on his school teams for other sports--plenty of Landon, Prep, Bullis, and STA lax players also play football, for example. Could this change so that club lacrosse eats up school sports like the high level club soccer (google "Academy soccer")? Yes, but it's not there yet.

So, for club sports and the summer, probably it is correct to focus on lacrosse. But your son should be able to play other sports at school in fall and/or winter for now, and maybe into high school--it shouldn't directly conflict with club lacrosse.

Lastly, yes, for Division I colleges are looking at rising sophomores/sophomores during the summer and at fall weekend showcases. The Ivies are still trying to wait until early junior year. The college coaches bemoan this trend but they say they have to do it to compete in recruiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For club lacrosse at the middle school and mostly even high school level, a boy should also be able to play on his school teams for other sports--plenty of Landon, Prep, Bullis, and STA lax players also play football, for example. Could this change so that club lacrosse eats up school sports like the high level club soccer (google "Academy soccer")? Yes, but it's not there yet.

So, for club sports and the summer, probably it is correct to focus on lacrosse. But your son should be able to play other sports at school in fall and/or winter for now, and maybe into high school--it shouldn't directly conflict with club lacrosse.

Lastly, yes, for Division I colleges are looking at rising sophomores/sophomores during the summer and at fall weekend showcases. The Ivies are still trying to wait until early junior year. The college coaches bemoan this trend but they say they have to do it to compete in recruiting.

Thank you for your response. I'm not sure I understand your (and a few other pps) reference to colleges "looking" at rising sophomores/juniors at summer and fall weekend showcases. Aren't there rules prohibiting contact between these college coaches and players?

[Anonymous]

Coaches may not call sophomores but the kids can call/contact coaches, and pay for their own "unofficial" visits to college campus. Sophomores can go to camps at the college. Top coaches will also be at the elite recruiting camps where they see the players. College coaches can also contact the club or high school coach as a go-between.

Collectively, these loopholes overwhelm the prohibition on coaches directly contacting the athletes.

[Anonymous]

19:56 again. But again, the link above said that only 13 sophomores had made some sort of verbal commitment, not even a formal commitment. This doesn't seem like a tidal wave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:19:56 again. But again, the link above said that only 13 sophomores had made some sort of verbal commitment, not even a formal commitment. This doesn't seem like a tidal wave.

http://forums.insidelacrosse.com/showthread.php?t=245098

Here is the link to sophomore commits for 2015. There are actually 21.

Here is the link for the 2014 class.

http://forums.insidelacrosse.com/showthread.php?t=226045

You can see how many there are. This is before junior year starts so you can see how many committed as sophmores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:19:56 again. But again, the link above said that only 13 sophomores had made some sort of verbal commitment, not even a formal commitment. This doesn't seem like a tidal wave.

An Inside Lacrosse article said that by May 2011, there were 12 reported commitments by sophomores; a year later, in May 2012, there were 76, and the trend line is still up. Understand also that there would be many more commits at the very start of junior year, after the summer season. Just a few years ago, it was the summer after junior year that was the big recruiting season. This is still the top Division I schools we are talking about, but the early-career recruiting pressure is gradually being ratcheted up across the board.

[Anonymous]

http://www.gazette.net/article/20120822/SPORTS/708099915/1023/1023/fewer-african-americans-play-baseball&template=gazette

Interesting article. Part of the article talks about how specialization is happening younger and it is affecting participation in more than one sport. (mostly baseball)

“Because of other sports becoming a year round process, kids aren't playing two, three sports anymore,” he said. “They're focusing on one and they're doing that year-round. I think that's really what the decline is: A lot of those kids sticking to their primary sport rather than branching out. From early on, they find a sport they like and stick with it. There's so much pressure on kids so if they see a sport they have a little bit of talent in, they push everything to that sport.”