The three primary avenues for high school lacrosse players to get noticed by college coaches are playing for a club team, attending recruiting tournament showcases, and going to a recruiting camp.
Even if you are on a club team, attending a recruiting camp can still be beneficial for you in the recruiting process. There are a lot of established camps out there that vary in level of play and the types of college coaches that attend. The key is to chose camps early based on your ability and what schools you are looking at.
Remember, there are more and more high school lacrosse players each year trying to earn a college roster spot. That means there are more and more kids signing up for these camps. So it is imperative that you sign up early to secure a spot at the camp of your choice.
Benefits
The recruiting scene in the summer and the fall has become more and more about being on a club team and attending tournaments. Nonetheless, a lot of more traditional recruiting camps still exist and are a great way to get recruited.
Recruiting Camps are a tried and true solution for players who need exposure. Historically recruiting camps such as Top 205 had been “1 stop shopping” for college coaches. Players also could attend only 1 or 2 camps and get all of the exposure they needed. More recently athletes choose to join a club team and play in a number of tournaments throughout the summer (a recruiting model much more similar to that of soccer). Yet coaches still love attending camps.
Camps are great for a number of reasons. First of all, any good recruiting camp has coaches on the staff at the camp. That means that players are receiving coaching from a variety of college coaches. Players are drafted to teams that are balanced. This is good for two reasons: 1) that team is usually coached by a couple of college coaches and a college player, so you have close contact with a coach; and 2) the teams are balanced so you don’t have to worry about getting schallacked every game by your opponent and being put at a disadvantage to highlight your skills in front of coaches on the sideline.
Recruiting camps also usually have drills and instructional sessions in the morning led by the college coaches. As a result, players learn throughout the week and a lot more player development takes place than at just a regular tournament where the player is being coached by the same club coach who coached them at the last tournament. Lastly, players at recruiting camps play with new kids from different parts of the country who are often future teammates or opponents in college.
Chosing a Camp Based on Schools
Recruiting Camps vary in level of play and types of schools that attend. Some camps are great if you want to play at a high level in Division 1 because all Division 1 teams scout at that camp. That same camp may not be beneficial for an athlete who projects to the Division III level and as a result has trouble showcases his/her strengths against more elite competition. A better option for that athlete would be to attend a recruiting camp where a lot of Division III schools like to recruit.
So, it’s important to know where you stack up, what schools you are interested in, and what camps those schools attend.
Sign Up Early
After you have chosen a camp (or 2 or 3 or 4) that would be a good fit for you, it’s important to register as quickly as possible. These camps fill up fast in the next couple of months, and you don’t want to be left scrambling next summer trying to get to multiple venues to play in front of the coaches of the schools you are interested in.
if you have any questions about which camps you should be attending, or how to prepare for a camp, please feel free to email us at info@empowertheathlete.com
