Lacrosse recruiting plays important role

CHRISTOPHER R BLAKE STAFF WRITER CRB724@CABRINI EDU

Whether they are sitting in lawn chairs every June and July constantly reapplying sun block and suffering from the sweltering heat or layering their clothes each November dressed in parkas and finding a way to take notes on players after shaking their frozen pens, the life of a lacrosse coach is more than a full time job; it’s a lifestyle.

Lacrosse recruiting is a complex process as colleges and universities compete against one another to sell their program to the most talented players across the nation.

At Cabrini College, the men’s lacrosse program has been extremely successful, winning seven straight Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Championships and earning six straight National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament bids.

“Recruiting is probably the most important thing we do. I could have the greatest playbook in the world but without talented players that would mean nothing,” head men’s lacrosse coach Steve Colfer said.

As the game of lacrosse continues to grow in popularity across the United States more and more players interest of college coaches.

“The majority of the players we are going to see are at lacrosse tournaments during the summer but now as the game is growing we attend tournaments in the assistant men’s coach Brian Felice said.

These tournaments usually run on a Wednesday through Saturday basis at high schools, colleges and other sites with multiple fields where the majority of lacrosse talent is found in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and New Jersey.

“You have to have a good strategy going into a tournament. First, you want to see the players you already know and judge their play. From there our coaches will split up and cover other games. In one hour two coaches can watch eight games going from field to field,” Felice said.

With players running up and down several fields, lacrosse balls flying in every direction and players laying picture perfect hits on their opponents, it’s difficult for coaches to judge talent.

“It is important to make an accurate assessment of high school players. Being able to calculate a player’s ability and seeing whether they can fit into our program is vital,” Colfer said.

“The number one thing we are looking for is athleticism. Then we need fundamentally sound players either offensively or defensively with field smarts. Each position (attack-man, defensiveman, midfielder and goalie) is looked at differently but good stick skills and vision are vital,” Felice said.

After scouting a player live the financial aid packages.

“Every school has its advantages. There is no one thing you can say to get a student to commit. We face the same challenges ever college has. Winning helps and in result our record has helped us recruit higher level players that maybe in the past would not have chosen Cabrini,” Colfer said.

“If you are honest and informative to others about Cabrini College then they can make up their mind distinguishing Cabrini lacrosse from other programs,” Colfer said.

As colleges compete to find the best and coaches face immense pressure to earn success on the field unfair recruiting techniques occur including under the table incentives such as money, talking to a player during an inactive recruiting time, even sending players constant text messages showing interest in their game. e want to be available and honest to our recruits. We want them to come for the

“Coach Colfer was very professional while recruiting me. Everything was very business like but he was welcoming at the same time,” sophomore Dan Drudi, a elder, said.

“He didn’t really have to sell Cabrini to me. Winning wise this was the best school recruiting me. Other schools including a Division I and II program were interested in me but Cabrini has been nationally ranked for the past few years and that’s success by working hard day by day. To be successful you have to have a building block mentality by not looking to far ahead,” Colfer said.

The 2008 season kicks off on Sunday, March 2 in Roanoke, Va. with Cabrini facing Roanoke College.

“We are as talented as we have ever been. Our strength of schedule and traveling is very tough this year. We are excited to see what we are made of,” Colfer said.

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