Reading this thread with interest. Comparatively, what does it take for a D1 school? Assuming a stronger academic school, recognizing that varies with interpretation, if college thread is any indication.

You should be having this conversation with your son's coaches--both club and HS. They should help your son set realistic goals and develop a pathway to reaching them.

There are lots of paths to being recruited by NESCAC schools. You absolutely do not need to be a four-year starter, or even four-year varsity player, if you're coming from a top WCAC or IAC program but also have a strong club player profile. For example, there are two current sophomores at Hamilton who are recruited players from Sidwell and who played for Next Level. One of those guys plays Attack (the other is a goalie) and was part of the rotation this year and scored some key goals including the goal to beat Tufts in the conference tournament. So if you can get interest coming from a poor-to-mediocre program like Sidwell, there are obviously a lot of different ways to end up being a recruited player at a NESCAC school.

OP, if I were you I would look at the recruiting experiences and outcomes of the older boys over the past few years who play for your son's club, and compare your son to them as players. And then go from there.

Anonymous wrote:"While there is a lot of debate, the top ten D3 Schools would be very competitive with bottom half of D1 schools. Often an Amherst or W&L will have more 3 star recruits that half of D1 schools"
There is not a lot of debate and this is just not true. Not one D3 school would make the tournament and the top 5 D3 are better than the bottom 10D1 but let's not push it. RIT and W&L are not beating a team like Ohio State, UMBC, or Marquette on a regular basis and those teams are in the bottom half. And please spare the 3 star player that is just a joke. Inside lacrosse sells a three star ranking for $299. I also love the kid had multiple D1 offers. That is not true an offer is only made after player makes a verbal commitment. Getting invited to camp is not an offer. Finally really does not matter how much HS time the player has played as a freshman or sophmore. They can ball out and get noticed this summer at the events but also do the prospect days as well.

The point was not that top 10 D3 schools would stand a chance in the NCAA D1 tournament, but that they would be very competitive with the bottom Half of D1 schools. If you don't think that the top 8-10 D3 schools wouldn't run the bottom 10 D1 schools, you are kidding yourself. There is much greater depth in D1, but there are some really bad D1 teams. Do you think that Bellarmine, Queens, Lindenwood,Hampton, UMassLowell, etc would beat Tufts or Salisbury?

The same 3 stars must be being purchased by D1 schools as D3.

A huge point of this debate is why go to #119 Regional North D1 University to play lacrosse when you could go to a top 50 liberal arts college with a decent lacrosse team. it may be a better experience and outcome for your son.

Pick the best school for the kid and hope they have a good lacrosse team. Not the other way around.

Anonymous wrote:It is much more likely that a kid looking at college lax recruiting ends up at a worse college than just general admission would have yielded. That is, kids go to lower ranked schools to keep playing. I am not knocking this at all. But unless your kid is a true stand-out, lacrosse isn’t going to help with admissions at the more competitive D1 or D3 schools.

Agree with this, or else the kid decides to attend a better college and not pursue lacrosse recruiting. D1 club lacrosse can be a good option, if available, and also is frequently competitive.

It is much more likely that a kid looking at college lax recruiting ends up at a worse college than just general admission would have yielded. That is, kids go to lower ranked schools to keep playing. I am not knocking this at all. But unless your kid is a true stand-out, lacrosse isn’t going to help with admissions at the more competitive D1 or D3 schools.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone on this board who has had a son go the D3 route? If possible my guy would like to get looks from high academic type schools, think NESCAC schools but not necessarily limited to that particular conference. Son was JV 9th/10th at a high-end WCAC/IAC type program, if all goes well should make varsity next season (junior year) and get some PT in games where the team has a nice lead. Not a starter/superstar (hence D3) but certainly a nice little player who's still growing and can use both hands. Currently on a top club's second team. 3.7 GPA and will be working to maintain that or improve it if possible.

I've heard/read people recommend Lacrosse Masters this summer, are there any other events to look at in summer (and this fall and winter)? Is summer after junior year most important for these types of players?

lolol! you seem to think D3 play is like joining intramurals

Anonymous wrote:The number of boys each year that use lacrosse to get into a better college than they would have gotten into via just grades is small. In the entire DMV area, it will be less than 2 dozen and some years an even smaller number than that. Unless your kid is starting on a top club team, it is very unlikely your son will be son of those. Not impossible (there are a small number of exceptions), but rare enough that it isn’t a strong angle for college admissions.

Parents are the WORST judges of their kids athletic ability.

If your son or daughter is not clearly one of the better players on their high school or club team, it’s highly unlikely they will play meaningful minutes on a college team.

Better players on high school or club teams have outsized statistics. Goals, assists, ground balls, turnovers, saves, etc. are indicators. They have a huge impact on games.

Coaches who want to stock their rosters with kids who can contribute at the college level know this. They are friendly to everyone and encourage application to their schools. But they are interested in those that have the stats, the size, the speed, the toughness and the skills at a superior level. That’s superior not average or slightly above average.

When I listen to parents talk about recruiting, I am surprised at the lack of reality they seem to be embracing. But wanting to believe something is a powerful incentive.

Anonymous wrote:In my mind athletic "recruits" are those that the Athletic Department "sponsors" during the Admissions process. The AD goes to the Admissions department with a prioritized list applicants across all sports. Not all sports are equal. Some sports are, like football, advantaged in this.

Getting letters or even phone calls is just window dressing. And it is unlikely the coaches are going to tell you where you are on their "list".

If you were not "sponsored" by the AD but the coach was sending you letters and phone calls, and you are admitted, then are you "on the team" or what? The coach clearly knows who you are and (to some extent) likes you. Or are you just like any other "walk on" at that point?

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, F&M, Dickinson

These schools popped into my head for your kid. I think you're in the right territory, just need to be realistic and build in academic safeties.

The number of boys each year that use lacrosse to get into a better college than they would have gotten into via just grades is small. In the entire DMV area, it will be less than 2 dozen and some years an even smaller number than that. Unless your kid is starting on a top club team, it is very unlikely your son will be son of those. Not impossible (there are a small number of exceptions), but rare enough that it isn’t a strong angle for college admissions.

Anonymous wrote:"While there is a lot of debate, the top ten D3 Schools would be very competitive with bottom half of D1 schools. Often an Amherst or W&L will have more 3 star recruits that half of D1 schools"
There is not a lot of debate and this is just not true. Not one D3 school would make the tournament and the top 5 D3 are better than the bottom 10D1 but let's not push it. RIT and W&L are not beating a team like Ohio State, UMBC, or Marquette on a regular basis and those teams are in the bottom half. And please spare the 3 star player that is just a joke. Inside lacrosse sells a three star ranking for $299. I also love the kid had multiple D1 offers. That is not true an offer is only made after player makes a verbal commitment. Getting invited to camp is not an offer. Finally really does not matter how much HS time the player has played as a freshman or sophmore. They can ball out and get noticed this summer at the events but also do the prospect days as well.

Totally agree on attending prospect days (particularly for the D3s). In my 2 DS's experiences, the D1 prospect days are bigger and are often money grabs/income generators for the assistant coaches. Your DS would have to stand on his head to get noticed. D3 prospect days tend to be much smaller and incredibly valuable. I seem to recall one of my sons telling me that on his NESCAC team, 85% of his class went to a prospect day (and some crazy high % attended at least 1 Lacrosse Masters). My kids found it helpful to have one of their coaches (HS or club recruiter) reach out to the school before a LM or prospect day event in order to help them on their radar.

"While there is a lot of debate, the top ten D3 Schools would be very competitive with bottom half of D1 schools. Often an Amherst or W&L will have more 3 star recruits that half of D1 schools"
There is not a lot of debate and this is just not true. Not one D3 school would make the tournament and the top 5 D3 are better than the bottom 10D1 but let's not push it. RIT and W&L are not beating a team like Ohio State, UMBC, or Marquette on a regular basis and those teams are in the bottom half. And please spare the 3 star player that is just a joke. Inside lacrosse sells a three star ranking for $299. I also love the kid had multiple D1 offers. That is not true an offer is only made after player makes a verbal commitment. Getting invited to camp is not an offer. Finally really does not matter how much HS time the player has played as a freshman or sophmore. They can ball out and get noticed this summer at the events but also do the prospect days as well.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone on this board who has had a son go the D3 route? If possible my guy would like to get looks from high academic type schools, think NESCAC schools but not necessarily limited to that particular conference. Son was JV 9th/10th at a high-end WCAC/IAC type program, if all goes well should make varsity next season (junior year) and get some PT in games where the team has a nice lead. Not a starter/superstar (hence D3) but certainly a nice little player who's still growing and can use both hands. Currently on a top club's second team. 3.7 GPA and will be working to maintain that or improve it if possible.

I've heard/read people recommend Lacrosse Masters this summer, are there any other events to look at in summer (and this fall and winter)? Is summer after junior year most important for these types of players?

Here is one data point to help answer your question. There is a player graduating from Yorktown HS this year who was a four year starter, racked up over 300 points (goals + assists) in four years, made all-district and all-region for all four years, was voted player of the year in his district as a senior, who is attending Bowdoin to play lacrosse. His GPA is well over 4.0 due to AP classes. I don't know the kid personally, but this info is on his recruiting video on YouTube, and my son is a 2026 and is tracking players such as this to set his own expectations as to where he can expect to be recruited. If a player is halfway through HS and not yet set foot on the field in a varsity game, and he cannot make the top team at one of the higher end travel programs (keeping in mind that those teams are money grabs and carry something like 27-30 players on their top teams) he is nowhere close to the trajectory to play at a NESCAC school.

There's some confusion on here between "recruited" players on NESCAC (and similar schools) rosters and players that were not really recruited but are on these rosters. NESCAC lacrosse teams have both players who were "recruited" and those who were not. Those who were not "recruited" gained admission to the school through the regular process. That they played a sport like lacrosse wasn't a factor in their admission any more than having written for the school paper would have been.

We have had a lot of contact with both the coaching and Admissions staffs at NESCAC schools. Two of our sons were multi-sport athletes at an IAC school and during their senior years it seemed that every time the phone rang it was a coach from Williams, Amherst, or Bowdoin and the mail frequently contained letters from the coaches at these and other NESCAC schools along with Haverford. There was so much energy exerted by these coaches that we actually had the boys visit these schools on recruiting trips (on which travel is not paid for by the schools unlike D-I school recruiting trips)

It's easy to see how parents can get confused about what is "recruiting" in these schools.

The key thing to understand in this is that these schools have adopted the Ivy League "Academic Index" approach. The Academic Index profile of the incoming class of athletic "recruits" must mirror the Academic Index profile of the entire school.

The Academic Index uses test scores and class rank. The "normal distribution' of these index scores allows them to divide students into "bands" the mean average of the distribution of athletes must match the mean average of the rest of the student body.

In my mind athletic "recruits" are those that the Athletic Department "sponsors" during the Admissions process. The AD goes to the Admissions department with a prioritized list applicants across all sports. Not all sports are equal. Some sports are, like football, advantaged in this.

Getting letters or even phone calls is just window dressing. And it is unlikely the coaches are going to tell you where you are on their "list".