My stance on November youth lacrosse tournaments and early recruiting
Paul Rabil
Co-founder of the PLL, Author of The Way of the Champion, Producer and Investor
Note: this is an excerpt from my weekly email newsletter, opining hot lacrosse topics and highlighting the week's top content. You can subscribe, here.
As privatized youth lacrosse continues to sweep the nation, we've noticed a new trend in tournaments. Traditionally, tournament season for club programs was a Summer gig. Not so fast. November is the new July.
Dozens of tournaments are being hosted across the country this month, with the primary focus of players getting in front of college coaches. The National Lacrosse Federation, 3D Lacrosse, Adrenaline, Aloha Tournaments, Prime Time Lacrosse, IMG, Dynamic Sports, and NXT Lacrosse are all a part of the action. The action, as many operators will suggest, is created from the demand of the players, parents, and college coaches. For the record, I don't think the operators are the disruptors. They're fulfilling the demands of the marketplace. Moreover, many of them are rolling out a terrific product.
Due to a lack of regulation from the NCAA and IMLCA on early recruiting, there's an insatiable sprint from families to claim their kid has committed, and a competitive jockey in every college coach to outperform their peer by snagging the next best 8th grader. If you're someone who criticizes the modern movement of early recruiting, than here's a way you can help. Be an educator. In subsequent Rabil News! editor notes, my business partner, Mick Davis, will help illustrate the road to both a scholarship and/or school admission. Because it's not just about a scholarship. Assuredly, we'll place a value on admission to a top institution that otherwise might have been a statistical impossibility for a family. Will those limited opportunities be worth the investment?
Until then, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Email us, here.
Partnership Advisor - Stand Together
8 年Steve Jewett with some truth! As an educator, a coach, an athlete, and a parent of athletes you bring great perspective. While my 4 kids are younger we are emphasizing a similar approach.
Integrated STEM Curriculum Specialist and Instructor
8 年The panic that presently exists regarding college commital is obscene. It is my firm belief that parents are the "driving" force here. Clubs and tourney directors are running a business, and it is good business to provide a product. College recruiters will do what they feel is best for their program. I have athletes in my family, 6 of them, and fortunately, they are students first. They (three now) have not been offered D1 scholarships (though outstanding athletes), however, they have done very well with academic merit scholarships and grants. Additionally, they have, per their choice competed at the highest level in their schools in synchro skating, Diving, and now lacrosse. It is my HS junior's dream to "go D1" in gymnastics, but multiple injuries in the past 3 years have slowed that process. Our advice to her, "get your homework done". Our freshman lax player is a D1 prospect who recently changed to a private school to increase his academic choices when it comes to college. He will have less visibility as a lax player, but will learn how to learn. We counsel our kids to increase their opportunities through their educational experience, not their athletic prowess, while providing them with avenues for their athletic passions.
Capital Markets and Investment Professional
8 年There is a proposal in front of the NCAA to cut off communication until they are Juniors (11th Grade) in High School. My understanding is they are going to pass it. I think it's a good idea who's time has come.
Vice President, North America Sales
8 年Good piece, Paul. A big key for my son - and for our sanity as parents - was to find a club that made available all kinds of options throughout the year, but genuinely encourages multi-sport athletes and never holds it against him if he focuses on football or hoops during those seasons. He comes into lacrosse season (spring, with summer tourneys) refreshed and fired up, and if in the off-season he gets a hankering for a workout to shake off the rust, as he sometimes does, it's there for him. As for recruiting, it's not about a scholarship for us. It's about opening a door to an educational opportunity that may otherwise not have been open. That could never be a bad thing.
President, Benepath, Inc.
8 年Its a joke that colleges recruit kids in 8th grade - I thought this was going to be stopped soon. Boys develop at different rates, so the kid who is great today could very well be out-placed by someone who hits their physical and developmental maturity a bit later. While its not the same, I never picked up a stick until I went out for the team in college. Further, I don't know a single 8th grader who really knows where he's headed in life. To commit to one school or another in 8th grade is a huge mistake. Its great to hear top coaches talking to the kids in groups, letting them know what to expect, how to prepare, etc. but the recruiting frenzy really needs to end.