How to Get Recruited for College Lacrosse

The biggest thing that keeps great lacrosse players from playing on great lacrosse teams is the academic portion of college. If you can’t cut it in the classroom, they don’t let you even try to cut it on the field. Some teams have more stringent academic standards than others, but a good rule of thumb is to keep yourself up around that 3.0/B average range if you want to have options when being recruited for college lacrosse. If you want to learn more about your grades, check out our Educational Tips for Lacrosse.

If you don’t have all of your credits, don’t complete the requirements for your specific high school, don’t take the ACT or SAT, and don’t properly apply for college, you won’t be heading there just yet. There are multiple requirements that must be met before being eligible to attend college that you must complete. You should be able to talk with a guidance counselor or academic advisor at your high school to make sure you are on the right track to graduate and then attend college.

Most college coaches aren’t able to watch all the recruits they want to scout in person, and most coaches actually see film of a player before considering whether to recruit them further. So if you don’t have a highlight tape yet, you should work on getting some film from live competition games that you can cut into a highlight tape. Begin with your strongest plays and try to keep the tape short enough for the viewer to retain attention but long enough to showcase all of your skills. You’ll then need to make sure that college coaches are actually viewing your highlight tape by sending it to them or directing them to where you posted it. The Stringers Society Lacrosse Showcase is another resource you can use that helps you with submitting your highlight tape and getting it in front of college coaches across the country.

Playing some off-season lacrosse and attending camps, tournaments, events, or showcases will allow you to be in front of college lacrosse coaches when it matters most. These can be on the expensive side, but finding a great fit that helps you get recruited is priceless. Just be sure to notify coaches that you’ll be attending certain events and check to see which coaches are attending so that they know how to find you and see you play.

Reaching out to the programs you’d most like to play for is a great way to get ahead of the game. You also can apply to schools before being recruited to give the coach an indication of how serious you are about attending that school. Putting yourself out there can be intimidating, but a respectful email letting them know how much you can can go a very long way.

Make sure that you have all of your transcripts, academic records, and letters of recommendation ready for when coaches contact you. It’s a good idea to keep all of these readily available during your recruiting process so you can quickly get them where they need to be. And you shouldn’t be afraid to have a consistent attitude and approach when you really are interested in a school. Coaches will generally make it very clear to you when they don’t have interest in you as a prospect, so a coach who doesn’t respond may have just forgotten or never saw your initial method of communication.

Don’t give a coach a reason to not be recruiting you. It’s silly to let an off-field issue restrict your on-field future. Keep your nose clean and you’ll be fine.