Anonymous wrote:Denver, Hopkins and Syracuse all rostered over 69 players and Syracuse redshirted another 15 first years. So Syracuse is actually over the 75 number.
The growth rate you quoted for high school varsity lacrosse participation is misleading and is not growth. For example, lacrosse became a sanctioned varsity sport in Georgia this year. The number of programs didn't increase by a huge rate, before those same teams were high school clubs. Just like ice hockey in Maryland. There is no such thing as a varsity public high school ice hockey team in Maryland, but public high schools have teams and they have players make All-MET. Those are all high school club teams literally not sanctioned by the schools, but they exist. The growth of lacrosse last year in the U.S. was 3 something percent according to U.S. lacrosse. I don't know of another source or how accurate that is, but what you pointed out is not accurate.
Statistics don't lie, but people do. Looking at an annual growth rate does not do justice to how much lacrosse has grown in popularity and participants over the last 5 -10 years. After those years of incredible growth, then at some point the sport has to plateau in terms of year over year increased participation. The next hot areas for the sport are still building an infrastructure and finding qualified coaches and officials.
As for the practicality of focusing on lacrosse as compared to any other sport, there is no way to paint broad brush here. For some players, the goal of playing in college is all-consuming. Others leverage the sport for academic opportunity. Still others want the lacrosse experiences after high school days are done. Many players see the commitment required in terms of time and lost social/academic opportunity in college and simply drift away from the sport. Others find that they will not get substantial playing time and opt out of continued participation. Still others will play for all four years of college because the experience is worthwhile.
As a sport, lacrosse is still considered "new" except in the established hot beds of Long Island, the Mid-Atlantic and upstate NY. If the interest in the sport holds over the next 10 years, there will be a lot of competition for limited Division 1 opportunities. Title IX has done a lot of great things for women's sports, but it is a major obstacle to the growth of a new sport like lacrosse. With only 12.6 scholarships per team, it is not a realistic expectation for most lacrosse players that lacrosse will pay for college. So, if your player "loves" the sport, it is wise to look at the lacrosse endeavor as one that has positive benefits beyond just the college admissions process.