Coaches, players face unique recruiting challenges
Lacrosse players around the state have been stuck in recruiting limbo in the wake of precautions due to COVID-19.
From spring high school sports being shut down to NCAA dead periods, athletes have not been able to take the field or get in front of college coaches since March.
“There are a lot of variables that have changed the dynamics for college recruiting,” Darien boys lacrosse coach Jeff Brameier
said. “The first is the extra year that has been given to the kids who are in college. That goes without saying that the schools that are bringing those guys back will have less of a need for guys from the classes of 2021 and 2022. I feel bad for the young kids that are just being brought in because they are going to be affected by it.”
The NCAA has granted an extra year of eligibility for spring sport athletes who lost their season, and has given a one-year period in which scholarships will not be limited.
“This year the NCAA has said that the kids on can stay at their universities and their scholarships won’t count against the school’s equivalency,” Fairfield men’s coach Andrew Baxter said. “But starting next year that money is going to count against the equivalency, so what we are doing is starting to have conversations with the rising seniors right now about if they are thinking about staying because it will affect the scholarship money and the financial side of things.”
With less space to fill on collegiate rosters, the recruiting process is likely to become at least slightly more selective. But with the dead period factored in, the process has become extremely difficult.
“Our organization as far as on the women’s side has canceled all of our big recruiting tournaments,” New Haven women’s coach Jen Fallon said. “Once they made that decision, people started to panic. When I say people it is really the
Classes of 2021 and 2022 that were really hoping to get back out there and use this time to be evaluated by coaches and to see coaches and all of that stuff.”
The NCAA dead period is a time in which no coaches are allowed to watch live games, and was recently extended for both DI and DII schools until July 31st.
“One of the things we’ve been talking about is the 2022 Class . ... We felt as if they were going to be one of most under-recruited classes for lacrosse,” Baxter said. “September 1 is the first day that we can contact these kids, so this summer was going to be a huge evaluation time for these kids. June and July were going to be their time because last summer was a big evaluation for the 2021 class, so I haven’t seen many of these ’22 kids play yet. For our sport, figuring out what the plan of attack is come September 1 with that class is a difficulty.”
With sports slowly returning to Connecticut, some believe there will be a crucial window of recruiting in August if the dead period is not extended yet again.
“When the coaches are allowed to come around in August, that will probably be a very important few weeks of recruiting,” Brameier said. “With the dead period and teams not playing, even if a student-athlete has been staying in good shape, they aren’t in game shape yet. The closer they are to game shape, the more prepared they’ll be. You have to make sure you are doing the best you can to be in the best shape you can be in.”
Due to the growing uncertainty, coaches have been forced to devise new recruiting strategies.
“We came up with a list of guys that we had seen or had gotten recommendations on and we are just in the process of following up with club and high school coaches to see which kids on that list would be good fits for Fairfield,” Baxter said.
More so than in recent years, college coaches are relying on a players current coaches for honest evaluations.
“College coaches are going to be stuck with looking at film and trusting their relationships with high school coaches and club coaches,” Brameier said. “We will be going back to the olden days where the players won’t be seen by the college coaches as much, so they will have to rely on their conversations with us.”
The college and high school connection has become a crucial part of the current recruiting process, and those with coaches who have stronger connections may have an advantage.
“We have been spending more time on the phone and even involving high school coaches more,” Fallon said. “Trying to get a feel for the kid’s character, family and that kind of thing. That is the stuff you get to do when kids come out to campus, you get to meet them and sit down with them so not having the opportunity to meet them on campus has been different.”
It is also important for athletes who wish to be recruited to get their names out there in any way they can.
“We have seen coaches and clubs getting creative about things they are trying to do to provide some sort of an evaluation,” Fallon said. “There have been virtual camps and clinics but it is hard right now and everybody is in the same boat. When you can’t evaluate it is tough to offer scholarships and move forward with your class.”
Film is quickly becoming a factor in the recruiting process in a time where coaches have no other way of seeing athletes play.
“Kids do have some film available from either their sophomore year or last summer,” Baxter said. “And what is happening is with these tournaments that are going to be starting in July, they’re going to be filmed and sent out to college coaches. We are going to have some evaluations of these kids, but it is not going to be the same as getting that live evaluation.”
Video may help an athlete with the recruiting process, but coaches are hesitant to make decisions based on video alone.
Fallon said coaches are reluctant to make a scholarship offer without a live evaluation.
“I think it is a good opportunity to get to know them and see a little bit or even to just remind you of things you liked about a kid you have seen earlier,” Fallon said. “I just don’t know much how much stock people are putting into it as far as making the big decisions.”
In these unprecedented times coaches and athletes are being forced to adapt, but there will still be opportunities for those who work for it.
“The best advice I can give is two-fold. One is to make sure that you are continuing to play, and I think some of these clubs are already starting to open practices and things like that, but I think it is a great time for these kids to hone their skills and work on their weaknesses. If you are a strong right-handed player, then you should work on your left hand over the summer because you really have nothing else to do,” Baxter said. “The second thing is to try to keep college coaches posted as much as possible, if you do get new film send it our way so that we can have as much information as possible at our fingertips. If you feel really strongly about a specific school or schools, have your high school and club coaches reach out. If a coach reaches out to me and there is a kid I haven’t seen, that’s great.”