OT - Connecticut Lacrosse

[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