College Recruiting Guide

Expectations & Realities

Most players will not play NCAA Division 1 lacrosse. In the men’s game, there are only 73 D1 lacrosse programs with about 900 total spots per graduating year and about 46,000 graduating seniors playing lacrosse in high school. This means that only about 2% of boys high school lacrosse players across the country will get the opportunity to play D1 lacrosse. 

In the women’s game, there are only 116 Division 1 lacrosse programs with about 1160 total spots per graduating year and about 35,000 graduating seniors playing lacrosse in high school. This means that only about 3% of girls’ high school lacrosse players across the country will get the opportunity to play D1 lacrosse. 

Most players who end up playing in college will play at Division 2, 3, or MCLA level where there are many more opportunities across the country. 

Lacrosse is a means to an end, not the end itself. Lacrosse is a vehicle to help players: 

• Gain admission to colleges and universities they may not otherwise be admitted to, institutions that offer education, and an opportunity to set that player up for a lifetime of fulfillment outside of athletics. 
• Create and engage in deeply meaningful, personal relationships that will last the rest of their lives. Develop character traits that will serve them well as professionals, friends, spouses, parents, and community leaders. 

There are only 12.6 scholarships available for a varsity lacrosse team per NCAA rules, and varsity lacrosse teams carry ~50 people. That being said, your chances of getting help with paying for school are much better with merit and academic-based aid. 

Roles

The player needs to drive their own bus. A spot on a college roster cannot be bought by parents, nor can it be retained without a burning desire to stay in the fight. As such, the player needs to own each step of the process (building a highlight film, making your player resume, contacting coaches, etc.) and put in the work towards their goal. Parents and coaches are here to support you, not do it for you. 

Shoreline Lacrosse is committed to supporting players and families with recruiting advocacy, advice, and development. Additionally, part of our support means having some hard conversations with players and parents about where players can realistically expect to play in college. 

There is a college lacrosse home out there for everyone and it is our job to be honest with our players and to help them find the right home. 

Recruiting Process

The recruiting process, from a player’s perspective, is as follows: 

• Get smart enough to earn and maintain admission to the schools you wish to attend by focusing on your academics. 
• Get skilled enough to play at the schools you wish to attend by focusing on your athletic development. 
• Prepare to contact schools by doing your research and preparing resources to advertise yourself. 
• Get noticed by college coaches by playing well with your team at quality recruiting events. Make contact with the schools who noticed you, and make sure those who didn’t notice are aware of where they can watch you play in the future (Sometimes this can occur before getting noticed). 
• Secure an offer following contact with coaches, visiting schools, and attending camps at those schools which interest you. 
• Develop your edge even further through individual work and competitive play until your freshman year of college. 

Everyone’s recruiting timeline varies slightly, but most follow a similar path. Completing each of the steps in order is critical to earning a spot on a college roster. To reiterate: you can spend WEEKS on your recruiting portfolio and write PERFECT emails, but there will NEVER be a substitute for being great in the classroom and great on the field. 

• Athletic Development 
• Academics 
• Recruiting Profile 
• Visits and Camps 
• Contact Coaches and Get Noticed 
• Offer 

Academics

The importance of academics in the recruiting process cannot be overstated. 

Performing well in the classroom is critical in the recruiting process for several reasons. 

• Playing lacrosse in college is a way to earn a degree that will help the player prosper in adult life. Typically, it’s a player’s contribution to society which will put food on their table and a roof over their head. In other words, you are going to “go pro” in something other than lacrosse, and a quality college education can set you up for success in the professional arena outside of your sport. 
• Knowing this, excellent grades need to be a top priority. The first question a college coach will ask is whether or not a prospective athlete has the grades needed to be admitted into their school. If the answer is no, then the process with that school will end immediately. One more time: THE RECRUITING PROCESS WITH ANY GIVEN COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY WILL NOT PROCEED IF THE PLAYER CANNOT MEET THE ACADEMIC STANDARDS OF THE INSTITUTION. If you don’t have good grades, it does not matter how good you are at lacrosse. As such, since lacrosse talent does not matter when you have poor grades, homework always comes before shooting, wall ball, and/or any other lacrosse training. 
• College coaches look for players who can successfully handle a challenging academic course load while playing sports in high school because this is exactly what is asked of student-athletes at the collegiate level. Not only do good grades make you eligible for recruitment, but they also provide another point on which a coach can assess your character, ability to follow directions, punctuality, and other traits which they will require if you join their program. 
• Another important aspect of the academic picture is standardized testing. Being well prepared early for the ACT/SAT is critical, and will take some time. We recommend starting test prep no later than the summer between your sophomore and junior year of high school. 

Athletic Development

The exact skills, techniques, and strategies required for actually playing lacrosse at a high level are outside the scope of this recruiting-focused guide and should be discussed and developed on the field under the guidance of a qualified coach. With that said, here are some things to consider in the realm of development: 

• You must be a student of the game and consider your lacrosse IQ as well as skills. 
• Your “coachability” is key. The ability to listen and apply a coaches advice to your game is something that is incredibly important. Every coach runs their own version of an offense or defense and your ability to adapt your play style with theirs will show in every aspect of your game. 
• As the game has evolved and stick technology advanced, the general level of play has increased substantially. Thus, being satisfactory in areas of your game is no longer enough. Coaches need to see some “wow” factor in order to notice you at an event: an unstoppable outside shot, vicious 1:1 defense, remarkable vision, a vacuum on ground balls etc. Without something to make you jump off the page, you may be passed over. That said, you cannot put all of your eggs in a single basket at any time. You must continue to work on all areas of your game while developing that signature strength such that your specialization does not transform into a limitation. 
• Do not count yourself out if you are not the fastest or the strongest. Proficiency comes in many forms, and most often originates in the mind. Excellent decision making, hustle/toughness, and communication require zero physical attributes and each can be a differentiating skill. 
• Why is this section called “Athletic Development” instead of “Lacrosse Development”? Well, because college lacrosse coaches don’t only recruit lacrosse players. As lacrosse becomes more specialized and the bar for talent pushes upwards, your overall athleticism and athletic IQ can be a differentiating factor, as many athletic traits are transferable between sports. 

School Contact Prep

It’s been said that “The separation is in the preparation.” As with most tasks, preparation can make the path to success much easier and give you an advantage over the competition. 

• The first thing that every recruit must do in order to prepare for their recruiting journey is understand the rules of college lacrosse recruiting. 
• In April of 2017, the NCAA reached a decision to prohibit D1 college coaches from contacting potential recruits prior to September 1 of the recruit’s junior year of high school. Previously, there was no defined contact window. 
• Though the NCAA decision limits direct contact between a D1 college coach and a recruit, D1 college coaches may begin evaluating and tracking recruits as early as the start of their freshman year. In many cases, D1 coaches will have an ongoing dialog with the players coaches prior to being able to reach out to players directly once the recruiting window opens on September 1st of the recruit’s junior year. 
• Despite D1 coaches not being allowed to contact players, players are allowed to contact coaches. A good way to think of this rule is that recruiting conversations are a one way street until September 1st of a recruit’s junior year. D1 coaches can read a player’s email and watch their highlight video, but are not allowed to reply prior to September 1 of the player’s junior year. 
• There are some limited exceptions to this rule; D1 college coaches are allowed to talk to players directly at instructional camps/clinics and college prospect camps/days. 
• Starting September 1st of a player’s junior year, D1 coaches can begin communicating with the recruit. This includes direct contact through phone calls, emails, IM, and text. 

PERMISSIBLE RECRUITING CONVERSATIONS: 

• A D1 coach MAY confirm their general interest in a recruit to a HS or club coach 
• A HS or club coach MAY provide an evaluation of a recruit’s academics, athletic skills, character, etc. 

IMPERMISSIBLE RECRUITING CONVERSATIONS: 

• D1 coach cannot confirm if a recruit is ‘on the list’ or their rank on the list 
• D1 coach cannot provide an evaluation of the recruit 
• D1 coach cannot request the recruit’s coach to instruct the recruit to send transcripts or test scores 
• D1 coach cannot request the recruit’s coach instruct a recruit to attend a camp where the college coach will be present 
• D1 coach cannot ask if the recruit is interested in the school and how interested the recruit is in the school 
• D1 coach cannot discuss potential financial aid or scholarship offers with a recruit’s coach 
• D1 coach cannot schedule further visits or calls 

Portfolio

With an understanding of recruiting rules in place, the recruit can begin working on his or her recruiting portfolio. When it comes to recruiting, a player that develops a recruiting portfolio will have a much greater chance of attaining their goal of playing lacrosse in college. 

Here are some items to add to your recruiting portfolio: 

LIST OF TOP SCHOOLS 

Researching schools is hard. There are many out there and each is different. As a player, it is tempting to guide your search based on the athletic performance of schools. Instead, as you evaluate schools, we suggest you ask yourself the question: “Will I like it here if I never get to play lacrosse?” In other words, school selection is about so much more than lacrosse. 

Ultimately, you want the school you attend to be a good fit in every aspect: academics, athletics, social environment, extracurricular activities, proximity to home, etc. 

Another way to put yourself in the right mindset for school research is to break down a typical day at the school. Depending on the athletic caliber of the school, there may be anywhere from a two to a four hour daily time commitment for lacrosse. At the high end, this still only represents 1/6 of your day, so make sure you have narrowed your list down to universities you would love if lacrosse were not a factor. 

While many factors contribute to the experience at a university, the focus will be on academic and athletic factors for this discussion, operating under the assumption that families will do their research and filter out schools which are not a fit due to other, non-academic and non-athletic factors. 

As you research schools, try to understand whether or not each school fits you academically and athletically. Whenever you think a school’s academics or athletic factors are out of reach given your current capabilities, make note of those. We will call them “stretch factors,” and they will help you build a diverse list of schools. 

If you are not sure whether a school is realistic or is a stretch for you academically, do some research to determine the average GPA and test score performance of students admitted last year. If you are not sure whether a school is realistic or is a stretch for you athletically, reach out to your coach. 

Broadly speaking, based on historical performance: NCAA D1 schools are realistically accessible to less than 10 Seattle players per graduating year, but most NCAA D2, D3 schools and all MCLA schools are accessible to Seattle players. 

Players and families should identify 20 schools that interest them, using stretch factors as a guide: 

5 SAFE SCHOOLS: 

Schools which have no stretch factors. Schools to which the player could realistically expect to be admitted given their academic performance and places where they could realistically expect to be a key contributor to the lacrosse team. There should be no NCAA D1 lacrosse schools in this group. 

5 ATHLETIC STRETCH SCHOOLS: 

Schools which are a stretch athletically, but are places to which the player could realistically expect to be admitted given their academic performance. There should be no MCLA lacrosse schools in this group. 

5 ACADEMIC STRETCH SCHOOLS: 

Schools which are a stretch academically, but are places where the player could realistically expect to be a key contributor to the lacrosse team. Of all of these groups of schools, this is the most important because although lacrosse will be a big part of your 4 years at school, it is ultimately your academics which will drive quality of life in the many years after school ends. If you had no trouble finding 5 schools you love in this category, keep hunting for more! There should be no NCAA D1 lacrosse schools in this group. 

5 STRETCH SCHOOLS: 

Schools which are a stretch both academically and athletically. Think of these as the dream schools where, if the opportunity presented itself to earn a degree while playing lacrosse there, you would immediately commit without a second thought. 

Once the player has a list together and if time and finances permit, we encourage players to visit as many schools as possible so that they can have a better understanding of the differences between them. 

This is not a “must-do” experience, but if there is a way to work a school visit into an existing trip (such as visiting family in a different state), it is encouraged for families to consider taking the time to get on campus. 

School visits can make for fun outings with family during winter, spring, and summer breaks from school. 

Again, factors to consider on your trip: 

• Academic programs 
• Location (in state vs. out of state, rural vs. urban) 
• Size 
• Student body (school spirit, clubs, leadership, community service) 
• Graduation rate 
• ROI (return on investment) 

Note: this list is for personal use only and should not be posted online or given out to a college coach in writing. This list is intended simply to guide your efforts as you reach out to schools. 

Player Resume

The purpose of a player resume is to compile information about you to share with coaches. 

It’s a way to have all of your necessary info in one place so that coaches can learn about you from a concise and convenient package. 

College coaches want to know about you as a player, as a student and what extracurricular activities you participate in. Your resume should develop and change over time based on your success on the field, in the classroom and as your outside interest evolve. 

Format it so that it’s easy to read and easy to update. Like any resume, it’s important to fit all of the information onto one page. 

It is suggested to use an established resume template as a starting point. 

QUESTIONNAIRES 

• Most programs will ask interested recruits to fill out an online recruit questionnaire. These forms only take a few minutes to complete and provide coaches with important information such as your graduation year and your email address. Filling out a questionnaire will also show a coach that you are serious about being recruited and will take the time to do what has been asked of you. Most questionnaires/player profiles are also places to update your test scores, links to films, etc. 
• Since these are free and take little time, you should proactively complete these before contacting coaches at schools on your list. 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

• A huge piece of the recruiting process is getting to know who you are beyond the lacrosse field. This includes researching you on social media. Make ALL of your social media accounts private AND clean up what you post. One negative post can be the difference between being offered a position on a roster or not. Coaches do not want to recruit a media liability. 

ONLINE RECRUITING PROFILES 

• An online profile to host your film, player resume, and endorsements from coaches can be useful, as coaches can access all of your recruiting information from a single web page. Think of an online profile as a LinkedIn page for recruiting. Examples are connectlax.com and NCSAsports. org. 
• BEWARE! Do not use sites/services which send emails to coaches on your behalf. Coaches do not look at these and this approach indicates that you do not care about playing for their school. Take the time to personally email each and every school you are interested in, rather than having a mass email system do it for you. 

Highlight Film

Highlight films are extraordinarily useful assets for players outside of traditional lacrosse hotbeds, since they enable a coach to see you play without them having to travel a long way. West coast players need to make it as easy as possible for a coach to see them by developing a high quality highlight film. 

Here are some guidelines for your highlight film: 

• Give your name, position, GPA, height, weight, and contact information for you and your coaches at the beginning of the film. 
• Put your best highlights first. If the first 30-45 seconds aren’t great, the rest of the film does not matter! 
• Do not waste a coach’s time. They do not need to see the lead in, the celebration, or the slow-motion replay. Give them the goal, assist, hit, etc. and move to the next clip immediately. If you want to give your highlight tape a soundtrack, be aware that your song choice is also a message you are sending to the coach. It is recommended to pick something without lyrics to be safe. 
• Make sure to use the best quality raw footage you can. Most cam-corders provide decent quality footage at a reasonable price. Use a tripod so that the footage is smooth and not shaky. Phone video works, but is typically not the best quality. 
• There are many video editing programs costing between nothing and a few hundred dollars. Apple’s iMovie is free and easy to use, Filmora has a few versions with moderate prices and Adobe has Premier Pro as a top tier choice. They all have their pros and cons and are fairly straightforward once you learn the basics. 
• You can also find video editing services if you’re willing to pay for it. You will need to supply footage for them to work with unless it’s an outfit that’s at a tournament filming your team. 

Getting Noticed

• Making contact with a coach and getting noticed by them can, in some cases, switch order. However, since the process cannot proceed until a coach is convinced of a player’s talent, we will discuss getting noticed before we discuss making contact with the coach. 
• Review from the athletic development section: Getting noticed is about putting your skills on display for a college coach and standing out from the crowd because of a signature strength. Whether through a highlight film or a live event, potential recruits are initially identified because they exhibit some “wow” factor on the field that attracts the eye of the coach. 
• While a highlight film is a great first step in the recruit identification stage, the player will need to be seen live in order to advance in the recruiting process. For West coast lacrosse players this means attending tournaments and showcase events several times per year. Why? 
• Coaches like to watch full games in person to determine your versatility and to make sure your play through an entire game is consistent with what they saw on your highlight film. In other words, coaches know that the highlight tape only includes the best 20% of your play, and they need to know what the other 80% of your play looks like. 
• When a coach comes to watch you at a live event, they will be looking for more than how you play during the game. Coaches also need to see how you are as a teammate and how you conduct yourself beyond the play. What is your warm up like? How do you react immediately after a mistake? What is your sideline behavior like? How do you react to a coach subbing you off of the field? How do you treat your teammates after they make a mistake? All of these pieces inform the coach about who you are as a person and how you are likely to fit within their program. 

Events

There are three types of live events for a player to be seen in: Tournaments, Showcases, and Prospect Camps. Each event has its unique advantages, and which option makes the most sense will depend on where you are in the recruiting process. 

RECRUITING TOURNAMENTS 

• Recruiting tournaments are events where club lacrosse teams from around the country compete in pool play and a championship bracket for 1-3 days in front of college coaches. 
• The advantage of recruiting tournaments is that they provide a player exposure to a large pool of college coaches while allowing that player to play with familiar teammates against high-caliber competition. Playing within a system with familiar teammates allows you to showcase your team play, coachability, chemistry, and team spirit in ways individual showcases and prospect camps cannot. 

INDIVIDUAL SHOWCASES 

• Individual showcases are events where individual players (most often, by invitation or recommendation only) do small-group training and play in scrimmages with and against other showcase players in front of college coaches. 
• The advantage of individual showcases is that they provide a player exposure to a large pool of college coaches in a (relatively) smaller setting than a recruiting tournament. The coach:player ratio at individual showcases is often higher than at recruiting tournaments, though the total number of coaches may be smaller. 

PROSPECT CAMPS/DAYS 

• Prospect camps/days are recruiting events held by a single university to examine potential recruits closely in small group training sessions with the coaching staff and in scrimmages with and against other prospects. 
• The advantage of prospect camps is that they connect recruits and coaches from a single university in a small setting with a fantastic coach:player ratio. 
• However, the danger with prospect camps is that not all who are invited are being actively recruited, and they only provide exposure to one university at a time. Generally, a college will directly/personally invite 12-25 of the players they are currently recruiting and then send generic emails to random other players in their database to fill up the event with enough players to run drills and scrimmages. 
• So, prospect camps are a great option if you are in direct contact with a college coach and are actively being recruited by them and have a strong desire to attend that college, but they are not a good idea if you have never made direct contact with the coach or have no interest in attending that school. 
• With the new recruiting rules, prospect camps are becoming increasingly important in later recruiting years (end of sophomore, duration of junior, and start of senior years), especially for NCAA D1 lacrosse programs. For prospective D1 players, attending prospect camps for your top five schools sophomore through junior year is a good approach. Again, make sure to be realistic about the schools you are targeting and weigh the financial component of attending a prospect camp against the likelihood of being a key contributor on that college team. 
• Any time you attend a Prospect Camp or a coach comes to watch you play personally at a tournament or showcase, you should send the coaching staff/individual coach a “thank you” email within 1-2 days after the event to let them know how much you appreciate their taking time out of their day to watch you play. 

School Contact

• Players are encouraged to reach out directly to schools that they are interested in, but should not expect to hear back from them, especially prior to September 1 of their junior year for a D1 program. An introductory email is an important first step in beginning the recruiting process, as it can help create awareness of a player and make it easier for coaches to find them at live events. However, players and parents need to be realistic about the overall effect these emails will have and the level of engagement they will generate. Just because an email goes unanswered does not mean that it was unread, but players and parents must understand that coaches receive many emails year-round from eager and capable players across the country. 
• Proactive email outreach to coaches is most effective leading up to recruiting seasons (fall and summer), as it puts you in their minds as they are planning their recruiting trips. This strategy is typically more effective leading up to the fall season, as coaches have very limited free time during the spring lacrosse season leading up to the summer recruiting months. 

When emailing a coach directly, your message should include: 

• A quick introduction of yourself 
• A detailed, personalized description of what attracts you to that particular school and lacrosse program. 
• Your most up-to-date academic information, including test scores and any advanced curriculum (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate) 
• HS/Club coaches contact information 
• Upcoming recruiting events you will be attending (including full details- team name, team age group, dates, event name, event location/address) 
• Link to most up-to-date highlight film and/or your online recruiting profile 

When sending an introductory email make sure to address the head coach and CC the assistant coaches as well as your Program Director/HS Coach. 

Any time a college coach emails you directly, you should respond within 1-2 days and always thank him or her for their time. 

Note: this rule does not apply to non-personal, mass-market emails requesting that you sign up for a camp or prospect day, unless you have full confidence that school would be a great fit and you are certain the coach has personally seen you play. 

Visits

Once a recruit has been noticed by a coach at a recruiting event and they have made email contact, it is time for the recruit to get on campus for a visit. 

Types of visits: 

• Unofficial Visit: the college cannot pay for anything on the visit. 
• Official Visit: the college can pay for some specific things, such as transportation to and from the campus, lodging throughout your visit, three meals per day and three tickets to a home sports event for you and your parents. 

Players are allowed an unlimited number of unofficial visits to all schools but are limited to one official visit per school to no more than five D1 or D2 schools. There are no restrictions on the number of visits to D3 schools. 

Given the current recruiting timelines coaches are designing and operating unofficial visits to run and feel like official visits. Players will have the opportunity to meet with current team members, meet coaches, and attend classes. 

Visits will almost always involve talking with coaches directly. When speaking with coaches, make sure to use more than yes and no answers as they want to know who you are and what you are interested in. 

Speak with confidance and make eye contact when talking with a coach. This will show them that you will be a welcome addition to their team. 

Be prepared with well thought out questions. Here are some potentially valuable questions you could ask during a visit: 

• What sort of academic support does the school offer? 
• Where do you see me fitting in? What role do you anticipate for me on the team? 
• How much will you be able to help in the admissions process? 
• How does the program use strength and conditioning? 
• What does the program do to help players connect with alumni and help advance players professionally? 
• Does the team do any community service? 
• How do the members of the team like to spend their free time? 
• Does the team allow study abroad in fall?

Offers/Scholarships/Committing

OFFER 

• If you have made it this far in the process it is still not a guarantee you will receive an offer. There will be other players who play the same position who will be going through the same process simultaneously. If and when a school does make an offer, be honest with coaches about what your timeline is and ask if they do the same for you. Different schools will approach the commitment timeline differently. Some will give you an open timeline and others will ask for a decision within a week or less. 

SCHOLARSHIPS 

• Lacrosse is not like football and basketball; there are only 12.6 scholarships available for a varsity lacrosse team per NCAA rules. Different schools will allocate their scholarship dollars differently. Approach the recruiting process with no expectation of a scholarship. If you are fortunate enough to get one, be prepared for it to be a partial scholarship. Your chances of getting help with paying for school are much better with merit and academic based aid. 

COMMITTING 

• A verbal or written commitment is a very serious action which should only take place if the recruit is fully confident that the school to which they are committing is the best fit for them academically and athletically. 
• Waiting for better options? Don’t commit. It is your responsibility to do your research on schools and understand yourself well enough to know whether a commitment to a school can be upheld through your remaining years of high school. If you are not sure, the better option is to wait, as retracting a commitment reflects poorly on you as a person and indicates that your initial decision was made too hastily. Do not do it. 

Developing Your Edge

Once you commit to a school, what’s next? 

You developed your skills and talent by playing high quality lacrosse against high quality opponents. Don’t stop now! Shoreline Lacrosse is happy to continue coaching players after they have committed. 

Your success on and off the field can give you great influence over your teammates and other players in your community. Lead by example and encourage others to work hard on their skills as well! A great way to do this is by getting involved as a youth lacrosse coach in your community during the offseason. 

Just because you were good enough to get an offer from a school, doesn’t mean you are ready to play at the college level or even step on the field for that program. You are probably a long way from earning playing time on a college roster and continuing to develop your skills is an important step in your preparation for college lacrosse. 

Unfortunately, playing only HS lacrosse in Washington is not competitive enough to fully develop your gameplay to where it needs to be to play at high levels in college. To prepare for college lacrosse, you need to continue to push yourself by playing with and against the best players you can find. That is where a travel team can fill the role by providing extremely competitive teams, top level coaching and exposure to top-tier competition at tournaments where your skills will be tested and developed. 

Note that there are many schools that have club teams that will allow you to have a normal life since they don’t require the time commitment that the upper level teams do. Most have competitive teams and schedules so you still need to have a decent level of skills to make the team. It’s best to research the team and league they play in to see if you are a good fit for their program

FAQs

WHO IS THE MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING YOU A COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC OPPORTUNITY? 

Getting successfully recruited is a part-time job- your part-time job. No one wants you to achieve your dream of becoming a collegiate athlete more than your coaches. Unfortunately, they don’t have the time or bandwidth to manage the recruiting efforts of every player in the program. Each player needs to drive their own process and take ownership for it to be successful. Shoreline Lacrosse is an important cog in the wheel, but there will never be a substitute for your hard work in the classroom, your investment and consistency in individual practice time, and your diligence in researching and emailing collegiate programs. 

WHERE DO COLLEGE COACHES GET INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL RECRUITS? 

College coaches depend on verified information from reliable sources about prospects. When coaches attend tournaments, games and camps, they come with a list of student-athletes they know they want to evaluate – their focus is not looking for new ones primarily but seeing the players that are on their list. Most coaches that are interested in players reach out to their coaches to help “vet” the player. They should be providing fair evaluations and be careful not to “oversell” a player. A coach’s reputation for player evaluation is based upon trust and accurate player assessments and we take our role seriously. 

WHERE DO I GO TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT SCHOOLS AND/OR THEIR SPORTS PROGRAMS? 

There are online recruiting sites that offer connections between players and coaches. Most have the player setting up a profile with information about themselves and links to highlight films. Some offer information about the schools academic side as well as the sports aspect. Most offer free (basic info) and paid (more involved info) profiles. 

A few standouts include: 

• NCSASPORTS.ORG – site for both girls and boys and handles all sports (not just lacrosse). 
• IMLCARECRUITS.COM – lacrosse specific site for boys only.
• IWLCARECRUITS.COM – lacrosse specific site for girls only. 
• NICHE.COM – focused on information about schools (no sports content). 

These sites can be used on their own or together to gain insight into what life at any particular school might be like both athletically and academically.

WHERE DO COLLEGE COACHES EVALUATE ATHLETES THEY ARE LOOKING TO RECRUIT? 

College coaches do most of their initial evaluation by looking at video, almost always delivered online. Once you find your way onto the radar screen of a coach, getting them to find you at a tournament you are attending is much easier and provides an opportunity to interact with the player and the team’s coach. 

WHAT TYPE OF MAIL MEANS YOU ARE BEING SERIOUSLY RECRUITED? 

Personal correspondence from college coaches is a great sign that an athlete is being actively recruited. Other recruiting materials like questionnaires, brochures, and camp invites are only important if you are able to turn them into relationships. Respond to all mail from coaches and make introductory telephone calls when appropriate. This is a great way to get ahead of your competition and get your recruiting profile in front of college coaches. Many of you will get generic invitations to camps and clinics. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT MOST INVITATIONS YOU GET “OUT OF THE BLUE” ARE NOT INDICATIONS OF RECRUITING INTEREST, BUT RATHER AN OPPORTUNITY TO INVITE YOU TO THEIR CAMP OR CLINIC SO THEY CAN MAKE MONEY. If you have trouble deciphering an invitation you receive, please ask your coach and they can help you evaluate the invitation and can reach out to the college coach if necessary.

WHAT IS THE ONE QUESTION ALL COLLEGE COACHES WILL MAKE SURE TO ASK A RECRUIT ON THEIR INITIAL PHONE CALL? 

College coaches will always want to know what other schools are recruiting you. This will tell the coach how much attention they should give the recruit and possibly how early they should offer a potential scholarship. How you respond to this question is very important in building leverage for yourself in the recruiting process. If a rival university wants to recruit a student-athlete, his or her stock will likely rise. Let them know your top choices and obviously include the schools you are talking to. This will likely trigger a stronger response and sense of urgency for the coach to evaluate or seek a player out at a tournament. Never, under any circumstances, lie to a college coach. 

WHAT DOES RECRUITING COST? 

Many recruits and families wrongly assume recruiting will be free and easy – nothing could be further from the truth. Recruiting will cost a significant amount of time, effort and money. The investments in compiling highlight films, playing for a competitive non-school team, training and travel can add up hundreds of hours of time and thousands of dollars. Simply put recruiting is hard work…but it’s worth it. 

The opportunity to play college sports is a life-changing experience and can set an athlete up for success long after their playing days are over. Don’t miss out on the chance of a lifetime because you expected the process to take care of itself.

Email Template

EXAMPLE EMAIL TO COLLEGE COACHING STAFF: Use the following as a guide when you reach out to college coaches via email. Do not just copy/paste – make your own! 

TO: [head coach email]

CC: [assistant coach email(s)], [travel team coach], [shoreline head coach] 

SUBJECT: [your name] Interested in [school name] Lacrosse Program 

—————————————————————————————————————————— 

Dear Coach [head coach last name], 

My name is [your full name] and I am a [your height], [your weight] [current year in school] at [high school name] in [school location], Washington. I currently have a [grade point average] GPA and have attached my transcript for your reference [attach it]. I play [position] on the [high school name] Varsity team. I also play club lacrosse for [club team name(s)]. 

I am very interested in [university/college’s name]’s lacrosse program and would be honored by the opportunity to play under your observation at a recruiting event this upcoming recruiting season. I am interested in your program because [why are you interested in their specific program]. I want to make you aware of my upcoming tournament schedule, which has me attending: 

[tournament 1 name] in [tournament 1 location], [tournament 1 dates]

[tournament 2 name] in [tournament 2 location], [tournament 2 dates]

[tournament 3 name] in [tournament 3 location], [tournament 3 dates]

[tournament 4 name] in [tournament 4 location], [tournament 4 dates]

Last recruiting season, I attended [events you attended last recruiting season] and was fortunate to [accolades, accomplishments, highlights from last recruiting season]. With my [school name] team this spring, I [accolades, accomplishments, highlights from spring season].

I keep all of my recruit information, including my player resume (current version attached) [attach it] and highlight film ([link to current highlight film]) up to date on my recruiting profile on [online recruiting profile website] here: [link to your profile]. Additionally, I would like to provide you with the contact information for my coach below in case you have any questions about my character or play. 

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I hope to be a proud representative of the [university/college mascot] one day! 

Sincerely, 

[your full name]

Coach Contact Information: 

Resume Template

[Your First & Last Name]’s Player Resume 

Film: [link]

Personal Information 

• Name: 
• Email: 
• Cell Phone: 
• Coach Name: 
• Coach Email: 

Academic Information 

• High School: 
• Graduation Year: 
• G.P.A. 
• Academic Honors: 

Physical Stats: 

• Height: 
• Weight: 

Lacrosse Team Information: 

• High School Program: 
• Select Lacrosse Program: 
• Position: 
• Stats (most recent season): 

Stats (Separate by HS Season) 

• Goals: 
• Assists: 
• Ground Balls: 
• Caused Turnovers: 
• Face-Off Wins / Draw Controls (FO/Draw players only): 
• Saves (Goalkeepers Only): 

Extracurricular 

• Other Sports and Athletic Honors: 
• Extracurricular Activities: 
• Community Service and Volunteer Work: