Don’t forget the GP grad going to play football and lacrosse at Middlebury

STA has one 2019 graduate recruited to play college lax (Brown).

In comparison:

Gonzaga has 12 (Princeton, Johns Hopkins, North Carolina, Tufts, Penn State, Trinity, Furman, Lafayette, St. Joseph's, and Colorado College).

Prep has 8 (Dartmouth, North Carolina, Virginia, Navy, Georgetown, Villanova, Colgate, Fairfield).

Landon has 6 (Harvard, Tufts, Colby, Colorado College, Richmond, and Gettysburg).

Bullis has 6 (Penn, Colgate, Washington, Towson, Jacksonville, and Hamden-Sydney).

St. Stephens/St. Agnes has 5 (North Carolina, Penn State, UMBC, and Hamden-Sydney).

SJC has 3 (Air Force, McDaniel, and UMBC).

Episcopal has 1 (Duke).

None.

How many top players play for STA?

Anonymous wrote:If a star STA lax player also plays for one of the best club teams in the area, does it really matter where STA lands in the IAC in a given year?

Rhetorical question.

It really comes back to club lax.

Most cognoscenti know the IAC with Bullis and Landon and Prep sport the best lacrosse in the country. That STA gets tested by them is actually what’s important. If a kid who plays for STA also happens to play for a national club, that’s all that really counts for the college coaches.

But all things considered, sure a talented lax player would rather play for a winning team than a losing team. Won’t really affect their ability to get recruited though.

It's not all about where they end up in the IAC every year, although that does factor a little. It's the coaching and team quality over a four year period. You practice, play, and train with your school almost daily. Club team really only twice to three times a week in fall, winter, and part of summer. In high school spring lax season is all about the school team.

If a star STA lax player also plays for one of the best club teams in the area, does it really matter where STA lands in the IAC in a given year?

STA has been recruiting pretty aggressively for the past 4 years since Colin Heeter arrived on their coaching staff a few years ago.

The only problem issue I see, most star lacrosse players in the area, don't seem to keen on looking at the school as their program is routinely at the bottom of the IAC.

To STA's credit, they have been much more competitive in the past two seasons than they were 4 - 5 seasons ago.

Those dudes have been recruiting soccer players for a decade. Hence their collection of championship trophies. Started with the AD who was the head soccer coach. When the replacement AD was a Yalie laxer, everyone figured he’d do the same for lax. Problem was that college recruitment was so much better at every other IAC school, and STAs emphasis on grade deflation scared recruits away. The new AD is a non-athlete. Ironically, he may overcompensate and give athletic prowess some due in the admissions process. That’s the hope anyway.

And please don't come back with the worn out statement that STA doesn't lower their standards for sport recruits. First of all, not all athletically strong kids are academically challenged. It is offensive and close minded to think so. That being said, I know several athletic boys who applied to 9th last year and were admitted if they agreed to repeat 8th, which they did. Schools like Mater Dei get a lot of flack on this board for this practice, but schools like STA do it also. Glass houses, people, glass houses.

STA is starting to roll up its sleeves and most recently has increased its recruiting efforts in "some" sports, lacrosse and soccer certainly being the biggest culprits. Please STA boosters, don't deny this.

With that being said, I don't think STA will go to the level of recruiting of what Bullis and others are doing in the IAC.

+1
STA does accept kids who aren't stellar students, whether they're from wealthy/connected families or strong athletes.

Don't kid yourself. STA tries, unsuccessfully, to get kids who are strong in sports, but boys who are really strong in sports want schools with great athletic reputations and records of success. They may have the potential to be an athletic star at STA, but not many will be paying attention. Not to mention that coaches and teammates will not match their talent and move them in a positive direction forward. Lots of teams have loosing records at STA and don't garner the respect of the recruiting world. Boys will be far more successful if they attend Prep, Landon, Gonzaga, SJC than STA.

And please don't come back with the worn out statement that STA doesn't lower their standards for sport recruits. First of all, not all athletically strong kids are academically challenged. It is offensive and close minded to think so. That being said, I know several athletic boys who applied to 9th last year and were admitted if they agreed to repeat 8th, which they did. Schools like Mater Dei get a lot of flack on this board for this practice, but schools like STA do it also. Glass houses, people, glass houses.

And for this reason STA maintains its national reputation as an academic powerhouse.
I want my son to go there and he will apply for ninth.
He is extremely bright but I still don’t get my hopes up - I know how hard it is to get in.

I don't think the PP was assuming kids from other schools aren't bright. Of course there plenty of bright kids everywhere! I think the point being made was that STA doesn't lower its academic standards in order to accept a lacrosse player who isn't otherwise ready to take on the academic challenges.

why do STA parents just assume kids from other schools are not that bright.

We didn’t even consider STA for our son, because their lacrosse program was pretty awful during that time. He is currently at Amherst and is doing just fine.