I am a 2027 LSM and am currently uncommitted. I have one offer so far from a decent D3 school that was ranked around #130 last year. I know I am not a bad player, and that is something I have struggled with in the past. It's hard not to think you suck when you see little to no results from all the work you have put in. I am one of the best players on my HS team; we are just a public school that used to be really good. I was on an AA team this past summer and was one of the better players, but we really didn't have many coaches watching our games. I am obsessed with lacrosse and have my stick in my hands every day. I also have always been undersized, so I am always in the weight room (I am 5'10" and recently hit 160lbs which is a big milestone for me), but I am very lean, so all my weight is muscle.

I really just wanted to play at the highest level I could, but as I get older, the academics of the schools start to play a big role, which really narrows down the schools that fit my criteria. My top schools right now that have majors that interest me, good academics, and competitive teams are:

Drexel, Connecticut College, Trinity College, RPI, Salisbury, Lynchburg, and Denison

I know it's a short list, and maybe I am being too picky. I have reached out to all these schools and tons of others as well; these are just my top choices. They also have pretty shallow recruiting classes so far and are still looking for players.

The reason I am so upset is that I play so much lacrosse and I am so passionate and focused on getting better, and then I send out tons of emails just like I am told to do, and I get nothing back at all. Nothing. The most I will get is an automated reply saying the coach is out of office. The one school that replied to me was Stevens Tech (which I really wanted to go to), and I ended up having a great conversation with the coach, just for him to say they finalized their recruiting class and wouldn't be moving forward with my recruitment.

I am so lost, and part of me just wants to quit, but I can't give up everything I have spent the past 5 years building. Maybe I should play MCLA club at a nice school? I really don't know anymore. My summer season is pretty much over except for Drexel and Salisbury's prospect days. I have a bit of hope because I have heard stories that sometimes all it takes is one good prospect day. I have a teammate who is a pretty good player and ended up committing to a decent D1 school, all from one prospect day.

But at this point, I really don't know; the path forward is so unclear. I hate it when people ask me where I am going to go to college, and I have to explain to them, "Oh, I am waiting to see where lacrosse can get me." This whole process is so aggravating and dream-crushing if you aren't a top recruit. It's not that way for everyone because most of the players like me don't care for the game as much as I do; they don't care where they end up playing or if they play at all in college.

I am so lost, and I hate it. If anyone has any advice, it would be so greatly appreciated.

I am hearing super low numbers at many clubs that were expecting higher numbers. What are you seeing? What age group?

I coach both youth rec and youth club. My town has multiple teams at our age levels. He is not in my sons school (elementary, MS, HS) - they will be playing against each other after youth ends.

-- A player from my rec program (not on my team) tried out for my club team. I offered a spot, (but he was going to be a project). The family did not accept the spot and chose a club that I will be playing against in tournaments. We see each other a lot and I made it clear, club lax does not affect rec and I wish nothing but the best for the kid.

-- During lax season, I offer free shooting and skills clinics. But that is only during the season.

-- my son is friendly with the kid, but not friends. Meaning if they see each other at a field or somewhere, they will hang out, but they do not go out of their way to hangout or play online together.

-- On a major field in our area (local to both of us), I will often use the cages to work with my son or a couple of his teammates (from rec, club or both). The family is involved in local sports and I will run into them a lot at the fields

-- Parents inquired about me "letting them know" when I'm heading to the field and they will bring their son. I sort of just left it alone, saying "Its always last minute."

-- The club they chose is not very good. Its getting better, but the coaches are not overly dedicated and if they were, they would need to travel 20+ minutes to work with them.

With those details in mind, how do I say no without sounding like a jerk? I mean when I do my rec clinics, I hope the kid comes, but when I am working with my son or a few of his teammates I don't want to coach my competition - especially for free. But I feel weird about it as if I am taking it out on the kid that he does not play for me (I am, but I think I am justified).

thoughts?

***Edit, some of his friends play on other clubs, but they are kids my son is actually friends with.

I’m hoping lacrosse fans are the ones who’ll be able to help me with this. There’s a book I really enjoy that has a made up sport in it, but they use sticks like lacrosse. I want to customise figures for the characters, but I can’t seem to find any sports figures that are lacrosse? Do they not exist? Or are they just really rare?

On a whim I submitted my 2027 LSM/D son's virtual application to USA Lacrosse NTDP. In the past he attended one of the regional tryouts. We are in Chicago, kind of a lax dead zone, so there were no tryouts near us. He received an invite this year based on his virtual application. Is it legit? Can a relative unknown be invited and do well? He has not even committed to a school yet, though he has had offers. I don't know if this is real or for lack of a better term, a money grab. Thank you!! (For those who have already responded with money grab, can you chime in why? is it because the team is already chosen? There were 80 invites so it is a reasonable size group)

Their roster seems unfair at this point.

Hey everybody, I have an issue that I know has been pretty common, but I thought I would see what the response is here would be?

My son is a rising freshman, class of 2030. He has spent the entire summer and various camps and trying to up his game. Last year he played on an A-level team, but they had a rough year and that team folded. With that said, he has now tried out for six other teams over the course of the summer in addition to those camps. Of those six teams, he has received two offers.

One of the offers was from a club. He played on a while back. They are a B level team, but they ended up having a winning record. The second team that he has now gotten an offer from is AA level team, but they had a losing record last season.

I am not sure which way I should advise my son to go. Play at a higher level for a team that could lose more? Or play at a lower level on a team that could win more?

Any thoughts or advice would be helpful.

Please keep your kids away from this program! In my opinion, they are not an organization with high moral ethics and a true desire to coach the kids to their full potential. That is all I can say in writing. I wrote a whole bunch more details about our experience but I had to delete it. Stay away!

Hello! I am in the (possibly rare?) subset of people who prefers the original gait glory goggles (from 2023 ish) to the new Gait Glory 2 goggles. Recently my current pair broke, and I cannot find the OGs anywhere, especially in white! I hate the padding on the 2s, and even with it removed they do not fit my face the same!

Does anyone know where I can find these goggles, or have a pair they’re willing to sell?? I’ve looked on EBay/Sideline swap for a few months and nothing.

ISO reviews for practice planning apps. These are what I've found thus far, but please feel free to add more. I'm looking for something where we can draw plays, practice plans, etc.

PowLax
Labrador Sports
LaxLnk
Praktice Plan

Will it hinder your site for a goalie to wear or not specially wearing glasses?

Drop your favorite offensive set, man-up play, defensive scheme, or ride and I’ll draw it up.

Send a screenshot, whiteboard picture, or just explain it in the comments. I’ll turn it into a clean working set.

Havent gotten a response from them but trying to get an idea of what the tryout consists of for that particular club.

is Eastern Mass Hawks beginners lacrosse club or is it an elite club. Same with Topgun Fighting Clams. Looking for clubs that aren’t elite and good for beginners who want more play time so feel free to drop beginner clubs as well. He is Class of 2032. In the Massachusetts area (Dedham, Norwood, medfield, Walpole, Westwood, Wellesley, natick, Needham, etc)

The hooplah around lacrosse in HS in places like NY is so parent driven. My friends and I who attend college have noticed that the only people in the stands at games are parents. It’s the same in HS. Students attend colleges that are way beneath their academic stature so they can play.. for their parents. D3 is no money. For any student caught up in this I would say if you are very passionate great. If not, most students who attend highly ranked schools are doing so via their academics. No one outside of your own parents really care about lacrosse or watch it. Focus on going to college where you want to go.. don’t accept Flagler in FL just to throw a ball into a tiny net.

First post here! Little about me 35 male. I have very little experience with playing lacrosse I played a season with MDLL up in Frederick about a year ago and absolutely loved it. I will probably join a league in the fall but am hoping to find some pickup games or ways to get better/learn in the mean time. Thanks for your help!

Hello,

My son recently finished his high school season of lacrosse this year and broke his stick in the second to last game. He played midfield all season, but is also being groomed to take face offs next year. He spent lots of energy last season taking face offs and then running to the sideline to switch out sticks. We've heard about FOSO sticks that are becoming more popular. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with them? I'm assuming that the FOSO stick is a middle of the road combination of the two? Do you think the performance of a FOSO stick is significantly lower than a dedicated face off and midfield stick? I appreciate any info you are willing to offer. Thanks.

Hey all currently looking to move to Oklahoma around January/February. I’m looking to see if there are any club teams for men around the Lawton area or even if there are any coaching opportunities as I’ve been coaching a college team for around three years.

I don’t understand how professional teams in the pll can be so inconsistent on a week to week basis. I mean the defenders make so many errors because they just stick chase and offences commit so many unforced errors. I understand that these teams would beat d1 ncaa teams, but those ncaa teams just look 100x more structured. It’s even reflected in their records, where all PLL teams are all sitting around .500 without any clear runaways or losers. How can this happen when there’s teams like the outlaws who have 4 tewartaan winners on offense and defenders like terefenko and piseno? my guess is that it’s not the players’ full time jobs because of the low play, so they don’t have much chemistry beyond game day. it could also be the heat due to the pll taking place during the summer, but i don’t feel like that’s a big enough excuse.

I played for a small Highschool in rural New England and now live with a view of the Denver University lacrosse field. There’s always local club teams using the facilities so once or twice a week I’ll have a beer on the porch and watch what’s going on. It’s a good time but what surprises me is after two years of spectating I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of these teams practice any of the drills we used to. They basically warm up then get into 6v6 or man up/ man down while the goalies and the fogos go down their own thing with an assistant coach. I’ve never seen a ground ball drill or a breakaway drill, and I could probably count on one had the number of times I’ve seen teams practice anything like 3v2 or 3v3. Even the middle schoolers could have absolutely dusted any time I ever played for, so I’m wondering if the expectation is kids will practice skills on their own so coaches will focus on game situations while at practice, or if teams practice that stuff at other times and use the “nice” field for putting it all together.