The Changing Face of Lacrosse Recruiting

By Kiel McLaughlin

Around this time of year, Baltimore-area college lacrosse coaches are inundated with e-mails. At 8 a.m. their voicemails are already full. Luckily for them, these aren't telemarketers looking to sell credit cards or spam from dating services trying to set them up with the perfect girls. 

Instead, these messages are left by high schoolers trying to sell Johns Hopkins University, Towson University, Loyola College, University of Maryland, the Naval Academy and UMBC on their skills. In addition, parents and coaches are trying to set these programs up with what they deem to be the perfect recruits for their schools. 

Towson coach Tony Seaman's desk is cluttered with odds and ends. He has folders and binders overflowing with forms and write-ups on potential players. There are DVDs of game film falling off Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala's shelves. His phones are ringing off the hook. 

"This is a really big time of year for us," said Pietramala, who led the Blue Jays to the 2005 national title. "The level of commitment that college coaches are making to recruiting is greater than ever. It is a year-round job; it never ends."

Baltimore and Long Island, N.Y. have been the primary lacrosse hotbeds for generations, but things are changing. From California to Florida and Colorado to Texas, youngsters are beginning to pick up lacrosse sticks. 

"In the last 10 years we've seen such a growth in youth lacrosse. There are a lot of areas stepping up to challenge Baltimore, Long Island and other parts of New York," Seaman said. "I had a player starting for me from Salt Lake City, Utah. Ten years ago, who would ever have thought that would happen?"

With the spread of the sport, the talent pool has grown, leaving coaches with a welcome problem. With so many new players, more intense recruiting must take place. 

Juniors making a move NCAA regulations forbid contact with high school recruits before July 1 of the summer leading into their senior year. In an attempt to reach these players sooner than the competition does, coaches have diverted their attention to each year's batch of rising juniors. 

"Everybody is doing more," Pietramala said. "College coaches are trying to do a better job at getting out there. We are recruiting more efficiently and more intensely. High school kids are visiting colleges earlier so they can make decisions at an earlier date. Coaches are willing to offer commitments at an earlier date."

In this day and age of heightened exposure and strong recruitment, players are making a name for themselves sooner. "Kids are committing earlier and earlier," Seaman said. "I'd have to say we'll have next year's class set in August. I know the group we have coming in this fall we had set in the middle of last August."

Seaman has been beating the recruiting trails for more than 25 years at the Division I level, making stops at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins before Towson. Over the years, he has seen great change in the process.

"We used to always keep our eyes open for the juniors and recruit the seniors," he said. "Now we keep our eyes on the sophomores and recruit the juniors."

It has reached the point where coaches attending camps are crossing off seniors from their list entirely, only focusing on underclassmen. Rising seniors who aren't already in deep conversation with coaches are not going to land a spot on the roster of a top Division I program. 

Greater Supply, No Greater Demand

Lacrosse is still not a money sport. Lacrosse programs do not bring in the same money as basketball or football and therefore the sport is not growing rapidly at the collegiate level. 

Only 56 schools play Division I lacrosse, compared to 119 Division I football programs and 327 Division I basketball programs. 

The sport has spread through grass roots, though not through colleges, leaving a deeper pool of talent to choose from at the elite level. 

"We are finding more good athletes playing lacrosse than ever before," Seaman said. "I don't think there are any more great ones. There still aren't that many Kyle Harrisons moving around, but the depth is definitely greater than ever."

The advent of television coverage for Major League Lacrosse and the NCAA Championship could help develop some more Division I programs, but until more schools jump onto the bandwagon, it will be difficult for players to distinguish themselves. 

Bigger, Better, Stronger

With the rising popularity, the raw talent and physical stature of today's players are improving. Production may have once been the key factor in a coach's decision-making, but not now.

"Athleticism is No. 1," Seaman said. "I want the best athlete I can get on my team. It's always a big determinant for me. And then if I can get two kids with the same athletic ability, I'm taking the taller one. Then I'll take the taller one who is stronger."

More and more two- and three-sport athletes are adding lacrosse to their repertoire. The strength and physicality of football, the footwork of basketball along with the knowledge and feel of a field sport are creating a more well-rounded lacrosse player.

Aside from all these variations, the biggest change is the size of players. Weight training has become a mainstay in a high school athlete's regimen. Now players are entering their freshman year of college in better shape than ever before. 

"These athletes are just different," said Pietramala, who was a three-time All-American as a player at Johns Hopkins. "I know what I looked like as a sophomore in high school, and I didn't look anything like those kids I was watching the other day. I know I didn't look like my guys look when they arrived here as freshmen. Before I got to college I didn't have a weight-training program. Most high schools have that now. These young men are now better prepared for the college game, physically, than when I was playing." 

Academics and Character

In many cases, lacrosse-playing institutions require strong test scores and high grade-point averages. Johns Hopkins, Loyola College, UMBC, Virginia and all the Ivy League schools are part of this group. 

"UMBC is an honors college, so obviously, grades count," UMBC coach Don Zimmerman said. "If a player can't get his grades up, he'd never be able to make it here even if I got him in. It's terrible, but there are cases when he'll be a great talent, but he just doesn't have the scores to play here."

Along with grades, a player's reputation remains important. College coaches often rely on high school coaches for an honest assessment of a player's character and work ethic.

"The intangible qualities they have are vital," Pietramala said. "Do they congratulate their teammate when they score a goal? Do they hustle? Do they run to a huddle and listen to the coach? Is there a positive attitude out on the field? These are all important things."

The relationship forged between college coaches and a recruit are vital to a player's chances for a scholarship. Players who show little interest in a school will probably receive little attention in return. High enthusiasm toward a particular program, as well as strong communication with a coach, will build a beneficial relationship. 

A Cruel Reality

Again, lacrosse is not a money sport. Even fully-funded programs are unable to offer enough grant money to supplement some of the players' educations. 

A Division I coach has 12.6 scholarships at his disposal. Depending on the university, that scholarship's nominal value could differ. In order to determine how much a program has to offer, the athletic department takes tuition and room and board costs and multiplies that by 12.6. 

Rosters often exceed 40 players, many of which receive some sort of aid, whether it is a half-scholarship, a quarter-scholarship, or just a few thousand dollars. 

"When you look at a football team, they have 85 scholarships," Pietramala said. "I think just about everybody on a basketball team gets a full scholarship. This isn't the case in lacrosse. You'll see coaches breaking up scholarships. We may give enough to cover room or board. It makes it difficult because schools that are playing lacrosse are mighty expensive."

Several coaches pointed out that a player's grant can be changed during the student's tenure. What the student has in freshman year can be improved pending performance. 

This also goes for walk-ons who initially receive no aid to play on the team. Generally, if a walk-on breaks into the regular rotation, he will receive a portion of a scholarship. 

Issue 1.16: August 10, 2006