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Sunday, October 27, 2013

One and One Does Not Equal Two

As many of you gear up for the recruiting tournaments, the question inevitably arises...
 

How do we make sense of what is to come with respect to the process as it relates to our son/daughter?
 
The answer is that you can't make sense of it unless you study it and constantly re-assess what is or is not happening in the way of "communication."  You need to pay attention to every little detail, every correspondence, every phone call.  The devil is in the details so they say. This proverbial adage holds true for most things we do. Kind of like…take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves...
 
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! There is nothing logical about this recruiting process and the details and or little things can in fact be meaningless and or significant.  One thing means another and what you heard today, may mean something ELSE in two weeks...confused? Well, you should be.
 
The good news is that you are not alone.  Show me a parent who said that the recruiting of their child was a logical, easy to understand endeavor and I will tell you that they are in a very, very, small minority. This past recruiting year had me dealing with some extraordinarily complex situations.  The fact that the talent pool is exploding, made it even more difficult to make sense of where a student athlete stood with a particular school.  Then take into account the complexity of admissions jargon and obfuscation and...reach for the Tylenol.  Don't believe me?  Well, read this great article about the nature of "communication" the Ivy League schools offer up to potential recruits.
Talk about confusing...
 
 
 My experience in dealing with the recruiting process, from beginning to end, for multiple families, affords me an interesting vantage point.  I assume nothing in the way of success on the behalf of my clients until the acceptance letter is firmly in hand. At that point and ONLY at that point, should you and your FAMILY feel a sense of relief.

Who Do You Rely On?

I just finished the college recruiting process with my twin daughters. This will be the 7th time I labored through this crazy process in my own household.

The confusion, the ambiguity, the uncertainty is maddening.

Even though all my children were highly recruited, there was not one moment of tranquility until the acceptance letters arrived...or they signed the N.L.I. However, I knew I had a distinct advantage because I have gone through this with over 100 families as the Director of Everest Recruiting Consulting and The Sting.

One thing I was certain of during my daughter's recruiting...I could never let my guard down. The process simply does not lend itself to predictability...that much I was sure of.

People often ask me when they should begin preparing for the college search. The answer is absolutely the Sophomore year. Many of the most competitive recruiting LAX camps  now have sessions for rising Sophomores! Coaches are ever more aware of the need to identify talent earlier. The talent pool is so big and the sport is growing so fast on a national basis, that you would be hard pressed to find a reason to wait until your son's Junior year to begin making sense of what you are up against.

Read some of the testimonials from parents/players who have relied upon us. You will come away with a sense of how emotional the process is. You will also hopefully come away with a sense of how dedicated we are when a family retains us to be their advocate and guide in understanding the complexities of the recruiting process. These testimonials come from an incredibly diverse group of families and locations.  They are blue collar, they are Wall Street executives, they are Doctors, Lawyers, they are single parents. They come from Texas, New Hampshire, Carolina, New York, Maryland and more. They all came to us through referrals.

We are proud of our accomplishments in helping these Lacrosse families.  They knew they had an ally in helping their son make the most important decision in his life.

Start Early Or Arrive Late

We all wish we had more time. We live in a world of information overload and ever increasing demands on our families. We race from work to athletic events hoping to capture quality time with our children as they grow older. Then we race back to work the next day trying to ready ourselves for the next rush to the field or the next tournament or showcase.
 
As we do this , another race is gearing up around us. It is not a race for the faint of heart or the unprepared. It is a race packed with hypercompetitive families from across the country who are all determined to gain a competitive edge. It is a race that has no specified start time, no boundaries or course, no rules, no officials, and certainly no helpers lining the course when you need assistance.

There is one one rule that applies to this race...every man for himself.

Not a race you want to enter ? Guess what - you and your son are already participants.

This ULTRA MARATHON is the recruiting race, and it is in full swing as we speak. Those who wait for the the perfect starting point will lose valuable time.

"Too little, too late" is not a refrain you want to apply to this situation.

I believe early in the sophomore year is the best time to get active in the race. Trying to familiarize yourself with the process during the summer of the junior year is a major mistake. This is ever more evident with the increased number of sophomore DI commitments. This is not a trend that is going to abate...the landscape is changing before our eyes. I SUSPECT THAT IN SOME POINT IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, WE WILL SEE AN ACCELERATION OF THE D3 TIME LINE AT THE UPPER TIER SCHOOLS.

Campus visits are one important aspect that you need to address. Taking campus visits is a critical part in determining the environment in which your son feels most comfortable. In many cases these visits afford you the opportunity to meet a particular coach and his staff. You should also try and schedule a visit with an admissions counselor and or a school representative to get a better sense of the catalogue of studies offered at the school.

Pick 10-12 schools based on your son's academic profile and perceived ability and create a grid of potential schools. The next thing to do is call the coach at each school and let them know you are visiting on a certain date and ask if he or a member of his staff can spend a few minutes with your son before you tour the school.

Best case scenario, you will have the opportunity to actually attend a practice or a game.

One of my responsibilities when hired by a family is to help make sense of what schools to actually focus on. It is no easy task for any family to make this determination when looking at all the schools that offer slots for lacrosse players. As always, the focus should be the academics....lacrosse should be a secondary consideration. If positioned properly, your lacrosse skills can be an entre to a great school .

I have the advantage of being able to suggest certain schools based on my experience when considering the academic and athletic profile of a potential recruit. Often times, the hardest part of my job is telling a recruit that he is not likely to be recruited by a certain school[s] , either because of a lack of athletic ability or his academic profile. I believe that it is better to join this race with a realistic goal in mind. It is not often that I am wrong about the upside of a potential recruit as it relates to specific schools.

I try to be pragmatic rather than perpetuating unrealistic assumptions about where a player is likely to generate recruiting interest. I SUGGEST specific schools based on a grid that I have created. I have participated in this race time and time again over the last ten years.

I also encourage the player to take responsibility for the subsequent steps to follow. The sooner the student athlete accepts the fact that this process is about his future the sooner he will come to the conclusion that dedication in the class room will dramatically affect the choice of schools he can put on his grid. Coming to this conclusion during the junior year may not afford the student enough time to develop the habits he needs to raise his academic profile.

"Too little, too late" in the classroom is an unfortunate refrain.

There are no second chances in any race. Your status at the finish line is a direct function of how early you started serious training with a specific goal in mind. Don't make the mistake of watching the race pass you by. Enter it with the confidence that you are well prepared and have time to adjust your strategy if the unexpected occurs.


One thing I can assure you... the recruiting race is all about expecting the unexpected.  

Recruiting 101: The Arrival of The First Recruiting Letter

The letter arrives from a school that your son told you is his dream school. You dare not open it.  You, instead, hand it to him when he arrives home from school. You watch as his eyes light up and you know this is the beginning of something. You are just not sure what. Your son insists that the coach must really want him since he took the time to write him a letter. 
 
IS THIS IN FACT TRUE? Did he write other kids and if so how many. How would you know? So what do you do next? Do you call the coach?  Do you schedule a visit? Will he call us? The questions go on and on and on.
 
The simple fact of the matter is that you can read very little into that first letter. Coaches cast a wide net in the first few phases of the recruiting cycle. That letter may, in fact, be the first and last time your son ever hears from that particular coach. 
 
Think about it... if he has not seen your son's transcripts or his standardized test scores;  if you have not visited the school;  if he has no knowledge of your financial needs, can it be anything other than preliminary?
 
 There is a great divide between that letter or any kind of correspondence and an eventual offer of THE MUCH COVETED  'Slot."  Much in the way of confusing information may come your way before your son ascends to that final spot on a recruiting board in a coach's office. It is the nature of the beast.
 
So...how do you treat these letters or email? Is there some formula you can apply.?..say for instance...three letters mean real interest...or three letters and a call means a greater degree of interest? My experience has been that you have to become good at reading tea leaves. 
 
 
What Should You Do?  
 
Do your best at ascertaining from the coach the following: 
** Is my son a top recruit in your mind?
** When and where did you see him play?
** Are you aware of his academic profile?
** Will you be inviting him to a Junior Day visit? Or an official visit?
** How many players at his position will you be recruiting this year?
** How many players do you intend to bring in from his graduating class?
 
By asking these simple and direct questions, you, as a parent, will have established a dialogue and hopefully ascertained how much interest , if any, really exists. Here is the challenge. The impression you are left with, either good or bad, is a moving target based on the coach's success with the other athletes, who, in fact, received that same letter. One week your son may be number three on the recruit depth chart and the next week he could be number six and fading fast. The change will not necessarily be communicated to you, and the coach has absolutely no obligation to do so.
 
 In fact, why would he? He is fighting a similar battle ON MULTIPLE FRONTS. Recruits and parents are often intentionally vague with coaches about their intention and level of interest all the time. Remember that a coach often has to negotiate with admissions, and is often prevented from giving you the answers you may seek.  The coach's situation is no less confusing than yours. How can he gauge interest from a 17 year old who is possibly intimidated or unsure how to respond?  Would you like the coach's job? There is little clarity on either end.
 
Is this any way to begin a relationship? How and why does this incredibly inefficient system perpetuate itself? Guess what.. it is what it is. The sooner you as a parent assume that there are no guarantees and that this process will be long, confusing and drawn out, the better off you will be. Remember, you are your son's advocate. 
 
Commit to taking an active role in following all communications your son receives. And whether or not he likes it, you better get involved. If not, you run the risk of setting him up for heartache and confusion.  
 
Some of the inevitable confusion can be avoided by setting up a family email account dedicated to all lacrosse correspondence so everyone in the family has access. This will facilitate a team effort at home with your son taking an ACTIVE ROLE. THIS IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH AN AUTONOMOUS ROLE.  Remember: you are your son's advocate. 
 

Enjoy that first letter. Let's hope it is one of many, and let's hope you apply a bit of pragmatism with a bit of wishful thinking about how happy your son should be when this is all over. 

SAT VS. ACT

Time is of the essence…a refrain that applies to not only SAT/ACT, but also similarly to the consideration given to constructing your recruiting grid and timeline.

"Early and often" has been told to me by coaches when planning how athletes should integrate standardized tests into their hectic schedules. The priority for the athlete should be to make it easier for a coach to make sense of where you stand as a recruit by getting your tests in as early as possible. The longer you wait the more likely it is that another recruit reports in SAT/ACT scores that will allow the coach to formulate a favorable opinion of your competition.

ACT VS. SAT

Student athletes often ask us which test is better to focus on. There are sites that will give you SAT and ACT conversions, so you can tell which test would be more appropriate for you based on preliminary practice tests. It is important that you take practice diagnostic tests early enough to afford you the hard data to point you in the direction of the better format. www.act.org/aap/concordance
SAT Structure and Content
 
The SAT consists of 10 sections: a 25 minute Essay, 3 Critical Reading sections (two 25 minute and one 20 minute section), 3 Math sections (two 25 minute and one 20 minute section), 2 Writing sections (one 25 minute and one 10 minute section). The Critical Reading section is made up of 19 Sentence completions and 48 Passage-based reading questions. These sections test vocabulary and reading comprehension. On a given test, roughly 600 nontrivial words are tested in the questions, reading passages, and answer choices.
The Math sections are made up of 44 multiple choice questions and 10 free response questions. The content tested includes Arithmetic, Algebra I and II, Functions, Planar and Coordinate geometry, data analysis and probability. Calculators are allowed, including the advanced ones such as TI-89 and TI-nspire.
The Writing sections include 49 multiple choice questions. Twenty-five of these are sentence improvements. Eighteen are identifying sentence errors. Six are paragraph improvements. The writing score will also include the grade you get on your essay. Two readers will grade your essay. Your score on this can range from a 2 through 12. Many schools still put less emphasis on the writing section when doing pre reads on a recruited athletes file. It is incumbent upon you to ascertain what portions of the test a school may assign a higher priority to.
ACT Structure & Content
 
The ACT is made up of four tests with an optional Writing test (a 30 minute essay that you write at the conclusion of the multiple choice sections). The English Test consists of 45 minutes of 75 questions and it tests grammar, syntax, usage, and rhetoric. The Mathematics test consists of 60 minutes of 60 questions. The math content is a little more extensive than what is tested on the SATs, but the questions are much more straightforward. While the SAT Math has tricky, puzzle-type questions, the ACT Math section is more aligned with what you have done in school. Unlike the SAT, however, you cannot use the TI-89 or TI-nspire, although you may use other graphing calculators like the TI-84. The Reading section consists of 35 minutes of 40 questions split into four passages, each followed by 10 questions. Vocabulary is not tested as much on the ACT as it is on the SAT. This test requires the reader to search and find answers quickly. The Science test consists of 35 minutes of seven passages with a total of 40 questions. This section requires that you interpret scientific data presented in texts, tables, charts, and graphs, and that you analyze multiple hypotheses and points of view regarding those hypotheses. If you have done labs in science classes during high school, that work will be helpful for this section.
Recent Developments

Most colleges consider the SAT and ACT equally. What is changing, however, is that more and more colleges are now superscoring the ACTs, as many do for the SATs. This is a significant development for recruited athletes. Given that the ACT component tests can vary in difficulty from one administration to another, superscoring is a terrific benefit to you if you take the test more than once. Here is a list of some schools that now superscore your ACTs: Amherst, Brown, Duke, Franklin and Marshall, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Trinity College, and Tufts. This list is longer than last year’s list and the policies of the schools seem to change frequently. To be safe, call the admissions offices of the colleges recruiting you and confirm with the coaching staff that the policy is in place for your recruiting class. Grab every advantage that you can in attempting to secure a spot in this fiercely competitive world of lacrosse.

Good luck in your educational pursuits!

Early Commit- Making Sure An Early Choice Is A Good Choice - Reprinted From Inside Lacrosse

There are few subjects that seem to draw more vehement contrasting opinions than that of the trend of early commits.  Comment like "ruining the game," "the NCAA needs to stop this," and "foolish decision" are frequently heard. 

Quite frankly I am not sure I see the logic behind this criticism.  Most of the early commits are at some of the premier academic institutions in the country, namely Hopkins, UVA and UNC.  How can a student athlete go wrong accepting an opportunity to attend those great schools and to play under some of the most dynamic coaches in the game?  

But rather than guess at what drives the decision of some of the athletes who made early commits, I decided to drill down deep with the family of Bug Carper (2014) who was the first commit in his class.  His decision to attend UNC has lit up the boards at many of the lax websites.

When I spoke to the Carper family, their decision- making process appeared to be anything but a well thought out family decision.  Both Don and Rhonda Carper went through the rigors of recruiting with their older boy who is a scholarship gymnast at U. of Minnesota.  They did, in fact, consider much of what their older son had to say in helping Bug make his decision.  

The Carper family saw much in Coach Breschi and his staff at UNC that led them to believe that besides receiving a superior education, their son would be mentored by a coaching staff that shared many of the same priorities that they as a family did.  Another factor that made the decision a more logical one was Bug's desire to become a pediatrician and potentially attend UNC's top ranked medical school upon graduation.

All these factors were given consideration well before Bug attended a football game as a means to get a real feel for the UNC experience, subsequent to the football weekend the family all reconvened to share their thoughts.  Remember how this was a process that began in midsummer when Bug decided to attend the UNC tournament to get a better feel for the staff and campus.

Don Carper was well aware of his son's desire to realize his dream of getting a shot at becoming a Tar Heel.  He told me they have raised their boys to assume responsibility at an early age.  As a football coach, he brought a sense of being responsible for your own path, determined by hard work to plot your own course in life. Both he and Rhonda completely supported Bug's decision to commit early to UNC.

What seemed to many to be an impetuous ill-advised decision, was in fact a well thought out family decision predicated on the values that have been a part of the household for years.

So as this trend continues to gain momentum, I suspect that the athlete who is afforded this early commit option will often replicate the well thought out process that the Carper family relied upon.  

Show Me The Money - Reprinted from Inside Lacrosse

The days spent watching and traveling with my children on the recruiting circuit, were some of the most memorable days of my life. Care free days on the sidelines, eating out as a family, spending free time at a hotel pool, all are priceless memories, (excluding THE TRAFFIC on I -95.!!)
 
Much has changed in the years since I attended my daughter's and son's last tournament. Not only have the number of venues increased dramatically, but the costs associated with facilitating recruiting have sky rocketed. These expenses are no longer just incidental.
 
The recent prolonged economic downturn has SIGNIFICANTLY affected millions of families throughout the country. The gutting of the middle class has put tremendous pressure on discretionary spending. 
 
Yet, when you pull up to any tournament or showcase. you are still likely to see the Range Rover Sports, the BMW's and the Escalades. But, for every M&A Banker or every person employed by a hedge fund, venture capital firm or private equity fund, there are multiple families at these events who are struggling to meet the expenses associated with these recruiting venues. And this is not to say that those who are successful spend their money in a cavalier manner. They just as well may wonder what they get for all the money they apply towards "recruiting" events."
 
One of the biggest expenses a family is likely to incur is those associated with being part of a club team. Take the club registration fee and add in four to five tournaments and you are looking at close to $3,000. Then add in hotels, gas, tolls, restaurants, and a family could be out of pocket close to $ 5,000. Club teams undeniably play an important role in facilitating exposure. 
 
The problem many families now face is deciding which tournaments on a club schedule are worth their money. The tournament circuit has been watered down much over the last few years. At some of the tournaments you have a better chance of running into a cow on the sidelines than a college coach.
 
Additionally the growth of showcase events has made the decision where to spend your time and money even more confusing, yet no less critical to the process. There are a tremendous number of showcase events that are invaluable means of exposure for your son (Jake Reed- Nike Blue Chip, Blue Chip 225, Maverick, Peak 200, N.E. 150, Top 205, NIT 175, Amherst- Good to Great, Yale-Whiz Kids). All well organized and well run by dedicated lax afficionados. Add to this mix a somewhat new venue - the school specific combine. 
 
This recent addition to the recruiting schedule is also a great way for your son to be seen up close on the campus of a school he has on his list. I actually believe these on site venues might be the best way for a player to gain clarity as to whether he is on the recruiting grid for the school. These events should take priority over all others if you are being recruited by a particular school. A great performance at these events is likely to create stickiness with a coach and his staff. They may be even more inclined to follow you with your club team for additional looks if you make a great impression at their venue.
 
Not attending a school sponsored combine potentially sends a mixed message to a coach who you have been communicating with. Talk to any coach who runs these events on campus and they will tell you that part of their recruiting class is made up of a percentage of kids who they either discovered at the combine or re-affirmed the top tier status of a recruit they saw previously. And guess what?  They are relatively inexpensive.
 
Back to the club expense. First of all, you need to ascertain what coaches were at an event in previous years that your club is planning on attending. In many cases you can email coaches to find out what tournaments they or their staff plan on attending. If you find that the vast majority of your wish list schools are not attending an event, then you need to decide if this event is worth the cost. I tell my players just give me enough advance notice if they are not doing a tournament with us. I tell parents to do what's best for their son relative to specific school or conference exposure. Our club will survive without them.
 
As parents you also need to be cognizant of not burning your son out. Chasing the recruiting dream can literally wear a player down. Again, with all the showcase events popping up, players can end up playing from early June to the end of August. This is a lot of lacrosse especially given that many of these summer tournaments are held in 90 degree heat with oppressive humidity. You better give much thought to each venue and the yield on your dollar and the effect it has on your son. Sending him to a tournament or showcase when he is less than at full strength can have an irreversible negative impact on his recruiting grid status. 
 
As a means to avoid burn out and wasted money  have your son plot out his recruiting venues well in advance considering all the possible events, combine, club and showcase.  Work alongside him in determining the best use of his time and your hard earned money. Plan for breaks where he can recuperate and spend time communicating with coaches to ensure they are aware of his ongoing interest in their school. Check in with coaches to make sure they are still attending certain events. Coaches are like nomads in the summer; however, there is no excuse for lack of communication on your son`s part. Get some use out of that new IPAD he just had to have. Keep transcripts and updated standardized test scores on your device. Out of sight, out of mind.
 
If done correctly, you potentially can put your son in the enviable position of attending an elite academic institution because of his lax skills. But more so now than ever, it takes laser like focus and a discerning eye when writing out all those checks!!

Recruit The Player - Suffer the Parent - Reprinted from Inside Lacrosse

Spring is in the air. You can smell the freshly cut grass surrounding the field. The sun is strong enough to allow you to take your jacket off. You and your wife walk along the bleachers and find a spot down in front. You turn and acknowledge other parents who you have become close with through this great game of lacrosse. You grab your wife’s hand as you soak it all in. You watch your son doing line drills. You notice how quick he has become. You notice the crispness of his passes. Your wife comments on how big he looks in his uniform noting that all the weight training seems to be transforming his body. Yes... he is growing up... and how proud you are of his determination. "What a great day," you think to yourself.
 
And then… in the distance, you hear it. That unmistakable, ever so annoying voice of Mr. Testosterone Bomb Dad. You loathe the fact that he is an annoyance at every game. You have heard him carry on about how his equity portfolio has outperformed the S&P every year and of course he has taken less risk. You have heard him chime about the incredible deal he got on his new Range Rover Sport. He drolls on endlessly about his new beach house and the unbelievable APR he got on his mortgage. And of course you have to listen to him bore all the other parents about his recent golf game at his oh so exclusive club. But today is a new topic...he is now ever so loudly talking about his son. He states that everyone is recruiting his son…UNC, Maryland, Duke, UVA, Notre Dame are all after his son. He says to no one in particular, “We will probably want to see what the Ivies say before we jump,” and then he says, “We just had his growth plates checked, and the doctor says he will probably be 6’3." In fact he continues, “Our club coach says he is the best athlete he has ever coached."  Blah, blah, blah…

You so wish this guy would shut up! Doesn’t he know what a jerk he is? Why do you have to hear this crap every time he parks himself in the stands? You start to dream up ways to shut him up. Hesitatingly, you imagine reaching into your pocket and taking out the Power Bar you brought and just winging it at his head. Of course you wouldn’t, but it sure would be a way to shut him up...at least temporarily. You grit your teeth and mutter under your breath “What a jerk.” Your wife says, ” Just calm down, ignore him and enjoy the game. He is proud of his son just like we are.”

Yet, your pugilistic nature still has your hand itching to grab that Power Bar. So… you listen to your wife…. just in time to see your son pull off a great split dodge and release a laser right at the goal. You think to yourself that maybe the $300 you shelled out for those new super gloves he had to have may have been worth it. Mr. Testosterone aside, you think to yourself that there is no place you would rather be than at his game on this beautiful day. Well, Mr. Testosterone may rule the bleachers at local high school or club games, but his bloviating will give him little sway when he tries to pull this crap when he speaks to college coaches about their supposed interest in his son.

See, the one thing Mr. T. will likely overlook is, that although his son may be a very good player, he will not be the most important thing on that coach’s mind when they speak. The coach is likely to have spoken to a dozen parents and/or recruits that week. Yet, Mr. T is so self-absorbed that the he would never come to think that the coach may just be dealing with other important issues in his life. Maybe the coach is trying to re-finance his home, or he may e wishing he could catch his son or daughter’s rec game or he is dealing with an assistant coach who is complaining about his low pay or that his best middie is dealing with academic issues or he is being badgered by an alumni who wants to know why his business partner's son is not being recruited. Or maybe the parent of a player is ill. All these things fall at his feet: coach , administrator, recruiter, confidant, parent all rolled into one.

The pressures that coaches face on a daily basis are not unlike anyone else's in the workforce. Everything and everyone demands attention seemingly at the same time. As the game expands and the recruiting time lines compress, more and more pressure is brought to bear on a coach and his staff to juggle numerous variables. This is now a high pressured job with national exposure and high end expectations to produce.

So let Mr. Testosterone drone on to a well-known college coach about how his son is the next coming of Rabil, Bitter, Seibald , Danowski and C.J. Costabile all rolled into one. He will surely lose the interest of the coach in the first two minutes of the call. Coaches have a saying, “Recruit the player, suffer the parent."

In today’s day and age of tremendous talent spread out all over the country, coaches have the luxury of not having to reach for talent. As good as Mr. Testosterone`s son may be, there are 25 more players like him to be found in Dallas, San Diego, Orlando or Chicago. The coach knows he will see more than enough talent at Nike Blue Chip or Maverick or at the Brine Shootout or at the Hotbeds All Star Game. They will find another comparable player on the Green Turtles, or Black Wolf or Express or Dukes, or West Coast Starz. He can catch a Garden City or Manhasset game and view numerous skilled, team oriented college level players.

Finding talent is not the issue…finding compatible talent is . Mr. Testosterone will either drive the coach away from his son, or likely have the coach give pause to moving his son up the recruiting depth chart.

So in this competitive environment, how do you approach a coach, who does, in fact, potentially control your son getting a slot at a great academic institution? You don’t need to be a master at neurolinguistic programming to handle this call effectively.  When you get a coach on the phone, simply state the facts about your son. Stress his academic achievement and your family’s interest in your son getting a great education. Your ultimate goal should be to facilitate an unofficial visit to the school. Don’t get into a sales mode. Simple, basic information up front, all along being respectful of the coach’s time. Remember, this is not a marketing call...this is a gathering of pertinent facts call so the coach can form a basic understanding of you and your family. If there is interest, the coach will likely give you the additional time to share more information. If your son is legit , and he has the appropriate academic profile, then maybe the interest level will accelerate. Make no mistake about it, no degree of boasting or running on about how your son is the star or his elite club team is going to sway a coach. They don’t necessarily care who you know or how you think your son is better than another player who already committed. Your six degrees of separation to the former Athletic director or a former All American at the school will hold no substantive value as it relates to your son.

Either they want your son based purely on his lax and academic skills or they don’t. They will, if they choose, vet your son on the circuit or scrutinize his high light reel and then watch him a second or third time. Showing the coach respect on the phone will leave the impression that you are not an overbearing parent. Let the coach decide based on your call, that your son is one that they just might devote more time getting to know. Mission accomplished.

Now, back to the game….you are now at half time. Your son is having a good game, 2 goals, 2 assists so far. But of course, Mr. Testosterone is still droning on. Now he is talking about his college lacrosse career, and he segues right into how he can still run a 7 minute mile. And he states that he just had his body fat tested ,and he’s down to single digits.


You notice that your wife is starting to get annoyed. She rolls her eyes. You see her reach into her pocketbook, and you notice she has a cinnamon apple Power Bar in her hand. You see her move her body in a sight line toward Mr. T…. and you think…. maybe she is going to do it, nail this guy. She raises her arm up... ("Oh man this is going to be good ," you think to yourself) she turns, raises up her hand with the Power Bar in it and....she simply waves to the parents of another player whose son is having a great game of defense. She yells out congratulations to them on how well their son is playing. She turns to you and thanks you for stocking up on Power Bars on your recent trip to Costco. She says they came in handy today since she worked through lunch to make the game. You think to yourself, “Honey, if you only knew." You decide that before the next game, you will stop and get get a protein shake and leave the Power Bar at home. No need to tempt fate

Saturday, October 26, 2013

The Recruited Athlete's Advantage- Reprinted from Inside Lacrosse

In 2004, William Bowen (the former president of Princeton) and two other researchers persuaded 19 elite colleges - including Harvard, Middlebury and Virginia - to let them analyze their admissions records. They found, holding SAT scores equal, that a recruited athlete was 30 percentage points more likely to be admitted than a non-athlete.

Likewise, according to The New Yorker, "Recruited athletes have a distinct advantage in the admissions process," and "athletes have an acceptance rate to the Ivies at well over twice the rate of other students."

This distinct advantage applies to the vast majority of schools for the purposes of being a recruited lacrosse player. Talk about leverage!

Although this study was published close to seven years ago, the findings still hold true. What has changed, however, is the explosive growth of the number of athletes playing lacrosse. Seven years later, this advantage is much harder to realize for the vast majority of lacrosse players because of the ever-increasing pool of qualified student-athletes.

The most dramatic shift in the recruiting pool is not just the explosive growth. One trend that appears to be unstoppable is the type of athletes now entering the pool.

No one person is better suited to comment on this change than Jake Reed. For the last 10 years he has run what is considered to be the most selective invitational showcase for high school lacrosse players: Jake Reed's Nike Blue Chip Camp.

I recently spoke with Jake in an effort to gauge his observations about the type of athlete that now attends his camp. He said that he now has kids from over 40 states attending his camp in addition to players from Canada and Australia. But the one word he used to describe the most noticeable change is that the kids are now "thicker." He simply meant that they are bigger, more developed and more muscular than 6-7 years ago. Bigger, faster, stronger.

With the introduction of his 3D Lacrosse selection process, partnering with Jamie Munro's growing Denver-based company, Jake expects to draw even more superior athletes from a greater geographic pool. Many of the new kids earning an invite to his summer and fall venue will be bigger, faster and stronger than the previous years' talent pool.

This is the natural progression of any sport as it grows and attracts a larger contingent of athletes.

This trend has had a dramatic impact at both the DI and DIII levels. Many of today's DIII rosters contain players who possess similar athletic skills as their DI counterparts. The distinction is that there are fewer of those elite athletes on the DIII roster in comparison to DI. The effect at the DIII level will, over time, result in a similar trend at the DI level: bigger, superior athletes seeking roster spots.

A great equalizer in both divisions is speed. But the greatest equalizer is in fact performance in the

classroom.

More so now than ever, it becomes increasingly important to gain the edge in the classroom. A superior academic résumé is one of the few advantages that you can still control. And it just might get you that preferred slot over the better lacrosse player who you're competing against. You may lack superior speed and height, but you can certainly work at establishing a superior transcript. This, unlike the physical components of your counterparts, is something that is under your direct control.Coaches have varying degrees of leeway when submitting their 8-10 recruits to the admissions liaison.


Within each recruiting class, there needs to be an upper-tier student or two who balances out the superior lacrosse player who has grades on the lower end of the admissions continuum. Strive to be that player who is offered a slot because of excellent work in the classroom, and a history of A.P., and/or honors classes.

Remember, this whole process is about using lacrosse to get into a school where you would not otherwise be a candidate for admission. Why not dedicate extra attention to that one variable that you can control: your success in the classroom. That is in fact the real athlete's advantage.

Do You Need Help With the Recruiting Process?

Here are a series of relevant questions you need to ask and answers you need to find as your son begins the recruiting process. 
  
We have compiled over the course of nine years numerous critical questions that must be considered during the recruitment process.
  
However diligently a family researches the issues, it is extraordinarily difficult to understand fully all the issues and the factors to be considered as they relate to your specific situation.
  
Here is a sample of the issues and questions. How many can you answer?
 
What is the definition of a slot?
  
How does the slotting process work?
  
What is an index builder?
  
What is a band as it relates to slotting?

Do coaches recruit for specific positions or athleticism?
  
Are the admissions standards within Ivy League schools different?
  
How early can my son commit to a school?
 
How important are junior days?
  
What is E.D. II? What schools offer this?
  
What do I do if a coach is recruiting my son and he leaves for another school?
  
What Is the significance of schools now recruiting kids from the Midwest/West?
  
What if the coach of the school we're interested in has not seen our son play?
  
How do my personal finances affect scholarship money?
  
What is the Ivy League Index? Why is it so important?
  
What is the significance of E.D. I in the application process?
  
How important is the alumni interview process?
  
What about college club lacrosse ?
  
What is a P.G. year and why are so many kids choosing this option?
  
Will schools accept A.C.T. scores instead of S.A.T. scores?

When choosing a prep school, can you assume that attending certain schools will increase the chances of being admitted to an IVY League or a N.E.S.C.A.C.?
  
Do prep school coaches have any influence with respect to the admissions process?
  
Do coaches have the option of utilizing a legacy slot ?
  
Do coaches have the option of utilizing a diversity slot?
  
What if my son has a learning disability?
Should we make the coach aware of this?
 
What is the role of the athletic liaison?
  
What is a pre-read?
 
What role does our high school guidance counselor play?
  
What role does our high school coach play?
  
What role does the coach of our travel team play?
  
How many recruiting camps/tournaments does my son need to attend?

When should we consider a repeat year?
  
What is the difference between an official visit and an unofficial visit?
  
What is a likely Letter? Which schools offer this?
  
What if my son wants to play two sports in college? Is this an advantage?
  
If we have friends who are alumni or board members at a school our Son is considering, should we reach out to them in an effort to help our son?
  
Should we send out a full game DVD or just highlights?
  
What is a gap year?
  
How do we determine the level of academic support a particular school offers to athletes?
  
Do we limit our search if our son is intent upon a particular major, i.e., business, engineering, medicine?
  
Will the recent economic downturn affect the amount of financial aid, or scholarship money offered to recruited athletes?
  
  
There is no score for how many you got right and how many you got wrong. The point is that having a good working knowledge of these issues is key to getting the best setting of academic and athletic outcomes for your son or daughter.  You wouldn't buy a house knowing nothing about it. Don't enter this process unprepared and uninformed.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Recruiting 101- Zen and the Art of Coaching - Reprinted From Inside Lacrosse

Approximately three years ago while training for a triathlon, I was hit by a car while on my bike.  The injuries I sustained were serious enough to prevent me from working for six months. That six month period of forced inactivity resulted in more time than I wanted to dwell on the past and subsequently examine various parts of my life and core beliefs.
 
Almost as bad as the pain from the injuries was the fact that I was prevented from working out. Fitness, nutrition and training had always been a priority and an important part of my life.  Now junk food and a sedentary existence were the norm.  Even worse was dealing with the fact that 9 months of intense training for an upcoming race all went out the window with the accident.  My established routine of getting up at 5 a.m. 7 days a week to lift, run or ride, was now replaced by easy chair lounging while watching T.V.  I had little other to do than let my mind wade through and endless parade of mental chatter and annoying self-talk.
 
At one point during an endless loop of retrospect, I began asking myself why fitness was so important to me.  As much as I delved into the past, I simply could not surface what drove me to always try to stay fit.  And then one day, after watching a Gatorade commercial of an athlete doing stairs in a football stadium, it came to me….it was all because of my college lacrosse coach!!!  The commercial brought back memories of running steps at Fetzer field and more specifically, my first few practices as freshman at U.N.C.  Those first overwhelming lacrosse practices, running torturous 440 splits on the Carolina blue track quickly surfaced. Involuntary recall now surfaced one horrible split where I was one of the last players to finish.  As I finished the lap my coach spoke the words that effectively set a path for the rest of my life.  He stated simply and directly with a good amount of disgust, “Miller, you should be embarrassed. You have a long way to go to get in shape.”  And then, in an instant, all the assistant coaches piled on.  My ears were ringing; there was no place to hide; it was ugly, but deserved. The truth hurt.
 
Those words spoken to me by a coach that I admired and respected stung me. I was not only humiliated, but I was embarrassed in front of my teammates.  There was no escaping that moment, as we all stood gasping for air in the suffocating Carolina heat and humidity. My teammates were surely happy that they escaped the coach’s wrath and that I was the whipping boy for the rest of the work out.
 
I realized that it was that one exact embarrassing moment when I decided I would never be out of shape again. That frame of reference drove me to never miss a work out for the better part of my adult life. Those simple, direct and forcefully spoken words by my coach altered the course of my life.
 
My son in law, who played for Mike Pressler at Duke, shared a similar experience when we recently discussed coaching styles.  He told me his first season at Duke under Pressler was torturous.  Never had he been pushed so hard with so much expected of him. Eventually he understood and accepted Pressler`s demands as a test of his inner strength.  Pressler saw in him what he had yet to realize.  The lessons taught by Pressler about toughness and responsibility to his teammates, drove him to be the best player he could be. Eventually earning All American status on a team filled with superstars was due in great part to Pressler`s faith in him on and off the field.  To this day he states that, next to his Mom and Dad, Mike Pressler was the most influential figure in his life.  These stories probably play out at every level every year with positive benefits.
 
Let’s agree that the role of a college coach extends beyond the boundaries of the side lines.  When you consider that you are likely to write checks in excess of $200,000 for your son`s college, you should hope that lacrosse life lessons will be an integral part of the value proposition.  It is highly likely that you son`s lacrosse coach will be the voice of reason and pragmatism in his life away from you.  The liberal agenda espoused at many schools gives leftist leaning professors an open forum to demean much of what your son may have been taught at home.  I can only guess that maybe excluding economics professors, capitalism and meritocracy are not words of merit in the ever socialist leaning academic communities.  Maybe that coach acts as his anchor. Maybe that coach demands responsibility of your son, espousing competition as good.  And maybe these constant teachings from his coach help him avoid many of the temptations and illicit behavior on today’s college campuses.
 
There is a serious divide between what is taught as book knowledge vs. real life skills learned as a college athlete.  Numerous articles have surfaced about the hiring practices at many Wall Street firms, referencing a lacrosse pipeline.  The articles point to the beneficial skill set that athletes possess that translates well in the competitive corporate world.  College athletes learn that failure is an everyday event, while framing mistakes as only being temporary.  Additionally, the learned mandate of teamwork carries over to all levels at every corporation big or small.  That forceful and demanding coach can drill down deep into a player's psyche to create lasting values that keep the fire burning long after graduation.  I bet you, like me, remember every coach’s name from grade school through college.  l remember the names of but a few of my college professors as entertaining as they may have been.  Their classroom lessons have faded with time. This is certainly not the case with my youth and college coaches.  Their teachings, however harsh at times, created lasting impressions that have stayed with me.
 
So given the importance of a good coach, should your college search be predicated on the coach at your schools of choice?  It is certainly one of the many variables that you should consider.  The educational component should be the overriding concern with lacrosse as a secondary, yet important component.
 
Assuming you have alternatives, what attribute should you look for in a coach? How should you try and assess his communication skills, his leadership skills, and his ability to motivate?  The easiest way to accomplish this is to ask for face time with each coach. Coaches today are an interesting breed.  They are for the most part driven and focused, with unique and different approaches to the game.  The differences in style and demeanor are dramatic from school to school.  Some are enigmatic; some are capable of running a large corporation, some are task masters.  All want to win and stress the importance of becoming part of the fabric of what they are building.  How to get a glimpse of what they are really like away from a controlled recruiting visit?  Simply go watch one of their games!!  Observe their side line demeanor...are they screaming at refs and players who make mistakes...or are they calm and focused without the F bombs being dispersed? Watch how each communicates with his players during time outs and pressure situations.  With so many games now being televised this can easily be accomplished.
 
In a perfect world, they should all be like John Danowski.  Did you ever see him scream at a ref or one of his players?  Did you see how calm he was in the early season in the face of a struggling Duke team?  The camera always shows him speaking calmly to his players, no yelling, and no ranting.  He mirrors the behavior of a CEO of a large corporation. Inspirational without be overbearing.  He did a masterful job this past season.  Winning a national championship after a disastrous first half of the season was amazing.  His team`s success was due in great part to their willingness to believe in their coach and their teammates. Losses were simply temporary setbacks.  The players on that team will have that amazing season as a frame of reference for the rest of their lives.  You simply can’t put a dollar figure on that embedded experience.
 
That class in Quantitative Physics, or Macro Economics may have a practical application in your son`s major and subsequent job search.  However, I seriously doubt that the professor or teaching assistant will likely have the potential impact on your son in the way the John Danowski’s of the coaching world will.  The principles and values that you as a family hold true are more likely to be reinforced and strengthened on the field than in the classroom.  Writing those tuition checks may not be so painful if your son is lucky enough to be mentored by a coach who helps him grow into manhood, while making lifelong friendship with teammates who have all shared the demands of college athletics.
 

Recruiting 101: The Need For Speed

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the game of Lacrosse has gone through a radical change over the last 5-6 years in terms of the type of recruit who ascends to the top of the depth chart. Speed and agility are the common denominators amongst the top recruits.   

Lacrosse is no different than any other sport at the college level. The recruited athletes are bigger, faster and quicker today than they were 4-5 years ago. To a certain extent, the changes in the dynamics of the game of lacrosse are more dramatic as a result of the explosive growth. More and more talent is entering the pool.
 
Everyone is looking for the next Max Seibald, the former All American at Cornell. He stands about 6’1 and weighs about 190 and is powerful, fast, agile, and possesses great stick skills. Rumor has it that he has been clocked at close to a 4.5 in the 40. However, Seibald is at the top of the gene pool and as much as coaches are setting the bar looking for a Seibald type recruit, there are just not that many kids like him. So. in lieu of finding another Seibald, the coaches will look for the best athlete as defined again, by speed and quickness.
 
Although I am a major proponent of weight training, an increase in muscularity alone rarely translates into a higher recruiting profile versus that of an increase in speed. Yes, the players seem to be getting bigger, and yes they also seem to be more dedicated to weight training, but the ability to cut on a dime and change direction are ultimately what will distinguish one recruit from another.
 
There is a common misperception that speed can not be taught. In fact, studies have shown that you can in fact convert a preponderance of slow twitch muscles to fast twitch, with speed specific training. This conversion of muscle fiber can be accomplished through the use of plyometric drills and related equipment. The success of this conversion process is contingent upon consistent and regular training. Developing speed and quickness takes real dedication and determination. Of course there are limits to how significantly you can change the time in your 40 yard dash or your lateral movement.
 
The tremendous growth of speed training facilities and clinics is an out growth of the real results that these facilities produce for their dedicated athletes. We have all read the stories about the PRE COMBINE work outs that N.F.L. hopefuls subscribe to. For these elite athletes, 2/10ths of a second off their 40 yard dash can translate literally into millions of dollars in either a higher signing bonus or a dramatic move upward in the draft.
 
If in fact you are not in a position to take advantage of a speed trainer or a facility in your area, the next best alternative is self instruction. One particular video I have encouraged my players to purchase is:

The Freak of Training - Adam Archuleta

It is an absolutely invaluable video in terms of drills, technique and inspiration. Archuleta ,who is in the NFL, made himself into a true speed demon through a rigorous work out routine utilizing plyometrics. BUY IT TODAY! The recruiting circuit is around the corner...not a minute to waste. There are numerous clips available on you tube that instruct how to increase speed. Additionally, there are now  multitude of products available for speed training work outs.

Don`t let a minute pass on these work outs ..the recruiting season is now year round..so every work out counts!!