I also want to point out to the parent with the questions that if your goal is to see a scholarship package (discount on tuition, whatever) for your son then you need to focus on D1 schools since the Ivy league schools do not offer any scholarship packages to any athletes.

The rule change means that college coaches may not contact potential recruits or their coaches until 1 Sept of the boy's Junior year.

Do the high schools conduct performance training or conditioning during the off season when clubs are in action? I am concerned about my son staying in conditioning before the spring tryouts.

Are these camps the only way kids are noticed or do some coaches attend tournaments/games to find their recruits and then reach out to families?

Anonymous wrote:Thanks 18:05! Interesting info! What year in high school should you look into doing these camps?

No problem! And I agree with 18:15 that the summer between Sophomore and Junior year is a great time to start. I do know boys who have done camps as early as freshman year (or before) but the rule change may make that a moot point because boys change so much (bodies as well as playing) in those intervening 2-3 years. Good luck to your son!

The summer before Junior year begins is the most popular.

Thanks 18:05! Interesting info! What year in high school should you look into doing these camps?

Anonymous wrote:I don't think kids in the current 9th grade (incoming freshman) need to play club lacrosse. Its a complete money grab. Maybe when they are going in the summer of their junior year when kids really start getting recruited due to the new legislation club ball will become more important.

My son went to NESCAC, and quit playing club lacrosse due to the excessive weekend tournaments. He went to Landon so having Coach Bordley advocate for your son certainly goes a long way.

Bottom line, if your son is a strong player at a Landon, a GP, a Bullis or a Gonzaga, odds are, the college coaches will be calling the HS head coach.

The power is now back in the hands of HS coaches as it should be. Far too often, several of these club programs would just hype players up to make their club program appear more elite then the next club program.

+1 And now that all the schools are showing their games through live streaming it makes it very easy for college coaches from all over to see the boys in action.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, but what are the recruiting camps? How do you attend if your school's team does not?

These are the camps hosted by a school or a consortium of schools. Identify the colleges/universities your son is interested in and then go to the websites for the mens lax teams of those schools. Usually you will see camps listed somewhere on the school's lax site. You want to send your son to those "camps". Some/most of the camps are one-day or even half-day camps and they are not team oriented--your son goes alone not with his team. Your son will need to identify his position or his desired position when registering. The schools will run their camps periodically throughout the year, including the summer. The fees vary but they aren't really that high imo. When you get there you will drop off your son, he will register and then you let them do their thing. Usually they will have the boys run drills and sets for about half the day and then there will be a scrimmage or multiple scrimmages at the end of the camp day. A lot of times there will be the students from the current lax team there also working with the boys. Hope this helps. Post again if you have questions. I'm sure others will jump in with input, too.

I don't think kids in the current 9th grade (incoming freshman) need to play club lacrosse. Its a complete money grab. Maybe when they are going in the summer of their junior year when kids really start getting recruited due to the new legislation club ball will become more important.

My son went to NESCAC, and quit playing club lacrosse due to the excessive weekend tournaments. He went to Landon so having Coach Bordley advocate for your son certainly goes a long way.

Bottom line, if your son is a strong player at a Landon, a GP, a Bullis or a Gonzaga, odds are, the college coaches will be calling the HS head coach.

The power is now back in the hands of HS coaches as it should be. Far too often, several of these club programs would just hype players up to make their club program appear more elite then the next club program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DELETE THIS THREAD. There are other lacrosse message boards for parents. Or put this thread in the Sports forum like every other sports-related thread.

This just takes up room for threads that are directly related to Private Schools, not sports.

I just want the three overinvested dads who yap on this thread all day to get a room. A room far away from everyone else.....

I'm actually a mom whose son is entering 9th grade and am interested in knowing about the club vs. hs lacrosse play. The club tryouts are coming up in the next weeks and I want to know if it is worth the investment -- again -- now that he is going to high school But, back to PP and the DELETE THE THREAD gang, I agree with you that some of the negative back and forth and trashing of other school teams is extremely distasteful and not helpful to those who want to learn about high school and, perhaps, college level lacrosse. I actually wish those posts were blocked but then it probably does not violate the terms of use. I am hopeful they will take their discourse somewhere else.

Landon, Bullis, GP and Gonzaga are nationally known programs, you could argue that a player on these teams doesn't need a club program...

Anonymous wrote:Help me out....

If my son plays lacrosse for Bullis, GP, Gonzaga, or Landon, why would I pay to play on a travel club as well? Don't all of the top collegiate lacrosse coaches have relationships with the HC's at these schools? I can understand if you are a star on a mediocre team, and you want to play college lacrosse, but it seems like a poor use of money to pay the premium to play on a HS travel team.

Thoughts?

My son plays with kids who come from the schools you mention, on his club team. While it is true college lacrosse is a "small world" and coaches know coaches, typically that isn't going to be enough for a "top" collegiate team to recruit your son.

D1 lacrosse programs don't have the same budgets as the $ sports (e.g. football/basketball), as evidenced by both scholarships and staff size. If a D1 coach wants to see arguably the best players at a certain age group, logistically and budget wise it makes sense to attend the events that those kids play -- that ends up typically being the top club team tournaments. Sure, you'll get the once in a generation player that local coaches will stalk the sidelines for (luckily, some top programs are right in the backyard of the schools you listed). However, you're not going to get the level of exposure you would get at a showcase/top club tourney.

If your son is a top performer, he'll be on their radar. Getting him in front of the eyeballs is the key. Highlight tape is nice, but coaches want to see and get a feel for how your kid plays in game, how he carries himself, how he leads others, etc. etc.

Anonymous wrote:DELETE THIS THREAD. There are other lacrosse message boards for parents. Or put this thread in the Sports forum like every other sports-related thread.

This just takes up room for threads that are directly related to Private Schools, not sports.

I just want the three overinvested dads who yap on this thread all day to get a room. A room far away from everyone else.....

Sorry, but what are the recruiting camps? How do you attend if your school's team does not?