In case you weren’t aware, the NCAA Division I Council has recently passed Proposal 2017-1, a new rule that will take effect immediately, that prohibits Division 1 coaches from any recruiting contact with prospective student-athletes until September 1st of their junior year. This is a change that many have called for, but how will it impact the recruiting landscape for men’s lacrosse?
Intent
For almost 10 years, many coaches have called for reform in the recruiting process, citing many of the issues that they say can be attributed to early recruiting. Among these are an increase in college transfers, burnout in both players and coaches, and a leveling off of participation, likely due to the costs involved with year-round club lacrosse. Proponents of the landmark legislation also say that the pressure and early focus on recruiting has taken much of the fun out of youth lacrosse. Many college coaches will also admit to an increase in recruiting mistakes since the race to verbally commit freshmen and sophomores began.
IWLCA Division I Legislation Committee Chair and Duke women’s lacrosse head coach Kerstin Kimel told IWLCA.org, “We are thrilled that the NCAA Division I Council recognized the need for this legislation and all of the support behind it. Early recruiting in lacrosse has spun out of control and now we have a chance to restore some sanity to the process”.
In short, this new rule allows for player maturation prior to commitment, which benefits coaches as well, along with refocusing younger players on skill development, teamwork, and the FUN of the game. This is truly groundbreaking legislation for all NCAA athletics, as lacrosse will serve as a pilot program for these recruiting reforms.
Recruiting Impacts
While this has been generally accepted as a victory for the game and its new generation, it will certainly change the recruiting landscape for all of NCAA lacrosse. Simply put, it’s now even more important to formalize a college game plan and organize for a more condensed and competitive recruiting timeline.
2020/2021
If you are a rising freshmen or sophomore, you can get back to making decisions based on having fun and what will improve your game. Showcases and recruiting camps may still hold some value in terms of competition, but you can rest assured that none of your classmates can get ahead of you in the recruiting process, so take the time to get some good skills training in as well. You may be breathing a sigh of relief, but don’t procrastinate until your junior year to start researching programs and sending coaches your information. You really need to plan now because it will be even more important to be prepared and on your target coaches’ radars when September 1st of your junior year arrives.
2018/2019
If you are a rising junior or senior, coaches will now be focusing on these classes in their recruiting efforts. You want to make sure you are prepared for their scrutiny when they do. Have all your information updated, your most recent statistics and highlights, and have a targeted list of schools to which you’re interested in attending. Coaches’ time will soon be dedicated to just two recruiting classes, so they will be able to be more thoughtful and diligent in their screening process, no longer being required to make a judgment call on the potential of a freshman.
Going forward, everyone gets to the starting line together. You now have the opportunity to be as prepared as possible, both as a player and a recruit, for contact with college coaches. Your organization and readiness for the recruiting process is more important than ever. Make some decisions on your college goals (locations, majors, size of schools) and focus your contact on those schools, as you’ll now have less time to waste once your recruiting window opens.
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