OT - Connecticut Lacrosse

[BigErnMcCracken]

Still seems crazy that they canned Starsia. I don't know if Pressler would go to UVA. He seems to feel a loyalty to Bryant after they were the only ones to give him a look in the aftermath of the Duke nonsense.

Starsia was lucky to survive the Love thing, and it's a measure of the respect they have for him that he did. From a PR angle his departure was handled horrendously. He's a good man.

Pressler will definitely listen to Virginia, and would relish the opportunity to win the ring that's eluded him while beating his former employer. Those kids must be ecstatic that Corrigan passed.

 

[shizzle787]

New 2016 Men's D1 Program:
Hampton

Starting Men's D1 Program in 2017:
Cleveland State


Lot's of budget, Title IX considerations at UConn. Would love to see it and I think it would be a 'sleeping giant' in the sport. Just not sure the timing is good.

We can't afford adding it + plus a woman's team to balance it for Title IX. If we had P5 revenues and at least broke even on the athletic budget, I would say go for it; but, we are $27 million short so we have to take it out of student fees. If anything we should cut men's and women's tennis and cross country and men's golf to get down to the minimum 7 male sports (almost all of which we are good at) to cut the amount of money students have to pay.

 

[UofCT]

Big HS lacrosse showcase at Wesleyan on Sunday. 50 schools all coming to CT to watch some lacrosse. UConn needs to get on it! I'm sure most these kids would prefer to state in state.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I'm sure most these kids would prefer to state in state.

Why? Just out curiosity. Top flight kids want the ACC, the Ivies or, now, the B10. I don't know a ton about Connecticut HS lacrosse, but what I do know is that the premium programs still tend to be rich kid publics like Darien and Greenwich or prep schools where most of the kids aren't going to be dying to get that in-state tuition.

 

[uconnphil2016]

You must be pretty young. Didn't RHAM only start a team about 6-7 years ago?

Yep. Just turned 23. We only had a varsity team my junior and senior year. My freshman year was the first year that we even had a club. We got good fast and almost beat Guilford in states my senior year but since then have been less successful

 

[uconnphil2016]

Why? Just out curiosity. Top flight kids want the ACC, the Ivies or, now, the B10. I don't know a ton about Connecticut HS lacrosse, but what I do know is that the premium programs still tend to be rich kid publics like Darien and Greenwich or prep schools where most of the kids aren't going to be dying to get that in-state tuition.

Very true. Tuition doesn't matter in any case--they're scholarship athletes. Doesn't help that all the best programs are also incredible schools. You'd have to be dumb to turn down Brown or Hopkins for a start up program at a state school--unless you're looking for playing time

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Very true. Tuition doesn't matter in any case--they're scholarship athletes. Doesn't help that all the best programs are also incredible schools. You'd have to be dumb to turn down Brown or Hopkins for a start up program at a state school--unless you're looking for playing time

My understanding from high school friends who played at scholarship schools like Hopkins or Virginia is that even those schools can offer full boat only to their A#1 recruits. Most of those kids are still coming out of pocket at least a bit so it helps that they're usually from affluent families.

 

[Northbound]

Very few true full scholarships for lacrosse, lots of partials. I was just talking to a HS AD recently and they told me about a scholarship that one of their students got and had to do a signing event for......the amount of the scholarship $300 - but you can say you're a scholarship athlete and Mom & Dad can say the same thing. Things have gone so far off the rails it's comical.

 

[hexlub]

Very few true full scholarships for lacrosse, lots of partials. I was just talking to a HS AD recently and they told me about a scholarship that one of their students got and had to do a signing event for.the amount of the scholarship $300 - but you can say you're a scholarship athlete and Mom & Dad can say the same thing. Things have gone so far off the rails it's comical.

I'd imagine it's similar to how baseball works.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Very few true full scholarships for lacrosse, lots of partials. I was just talking to a HS AD recently and they told me about a scholarship that one of their students got and had to do a signing event for.the amount of the scholarship $300 - but you can say you're a scholarship athlete and Mom & Dad can say the same thing. Things have gone so far off the rails it's comical.

At least from a lacrosse perspective, the early recruiting is out of control and the single thing I'd most like to see change.

 

[Fishy]

My understanding from high school friends who played at scholarship schools like Hopkins or Virginia is that even those schools can offer full boat only to their A#1 recruits. Most of those kids are still coming out of pocket at least a bit so it helps that they're usually from affluent families.

I think you're limited to like 12 scholarships for a roster of 40+ players - it's really hard to give anyone a full ride at those numbers.

That would tend to favor an in-state public school.

I don't think we're going to get a lacrosse upgrade in the near future, but I'm sure there's a feasibility study in a UConn file cabinet somewhere.

 

[Northbound]

At least from a lacrosse perspective, the early recruiting is out of control and the single thing I'd most like to see change.

Yup, it's a complete S*&t show and these "early commitments" mean zero. It's beyond stupid.

 

[intlzncster]

At least from a lacrosse perspective, the early recruiting is out of control and the single thing I'd most like to see change.

Doesn't help that the norm is for kids talented at lacrosse to be held back in 8th grade, so that they have more time to develop physically before playing at the high school level.

 

[dennismenace]

Doesn't help that the norm is for kids talented at lacrosse to be held back in 8th grade, so that they have more time to develop physically before playing at the high school level.

That is truly crazy. How important is it?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Doesn't help that the norm is for kids talented at lacrosse to be held back in 8th grade, so that they have more time to develop physically before playing at the high school level.

I wouldn't say it's the norm, but I get your point - you look at the MIAA schools in Baltimore or the Founders league-type schools and you get plenty of kids who are a year ahead from a development standpoint. I think what people are starting to see, though, is that while Hopkins or Virginia can crow about signing the 10 best 9th graders in America every year, the odds that those kids are still that good relative to their classmates by the time they're ready to enter college is pretty low. There are plenty of programs whose benches are full of kids who were superstars in their early teens and now can't get off the bench. And the schools that are smart can put together a nice roster with the leftovers. Dylan Molloy, the kid from Brown who just won the heisman trophy of college lacrosse, was bound for Tufts before he picked Brown.

 

[shizzle787]

I wouldn't say it's the norm, but I get your point - you look at the MIAA schools in Baltimore or the Founders league-type schools and you get plenty of kids who are a year ahead from a development standpoint. I think what people are starting to see, though, is that while Hopkins or Virginia can crow about signing the 10 best 9th graders in America every year, the odds that those kids are still that good relative to their classmates by the time they're ready to enter college is pretty low. There are plenty of programs whose benches are full of kids who were superstars in their early teens and now can't get off the bench. And the schools that are smart can put together a nice roster with the leftovers. Dylan Molloy, the kid from Brown who just won the heisman trophy of college lacrosse, was bound for Tufts before he picked Brown.

This is exactly why NCAA schools shouldn't be allowed to contact or recruit players before July 1 of the year an athlete is a rising senior.

 

[intlzncster]

I wouldn't say it's the norm, but I get your point - you look at the MIAA schools in Baltimore or the Founders league-type schools and you get plenty of kids who are a year ahead from a development standpoint. I think what people are starting to see, though, is that while Hopkins or Virginia can crow about signing the 10 best 9th graders in America every year, the odds that those kids are still that good relative to their classmates by the time they're ready to enter college is pretty low. There are plenty of programs whose benches are full of kids who were superstars in their early teens and now can't get off the bench. And the schools that are smart can put together a nice roster with the leftovers. Dylan Molloy, the kid from Brown who just won the heisman trophy of college lacrosse, was bound for Tufts before he picked Brown.

Good call; it's not universal, but it's at least a recognized issue. I would add that the 'year ahead developmentally' thing probably makes that early identification process even more difficult. Are these kids excelling in early high school because they are actually more talented? Or is it because they are physically superior (and have had an extra year of seasoning)? Once other kids catch up, relatively speaking, these older guys don't have that same advantage.

 

[intlzncster]

That is truly crazy. How important is it?

http://deadspin.com/why-rich-lacrosse-parents-are-making-their-kids-repeat-1570381983

I'm not a big deadspin guy, but this is a nice summary. It's indeed a thing, but as BigErn mentioned, certainly not universal.

Heck, US Lacrosse even adopted a new segmentation policy this year attempting to address (not explicitly), among other things, this situation.

US Lacrosse Adopts New Player Segmentation Policy