Letter of Recomendation

[CTLaxer]

Anyone had to write one for a player? I am in the position of having to write my first letter of recomendation for one of my players and quite honestly, I don't have any idea what I'm going to say. Apparently I will be provided with guidelines, but still am a bit unsure. Should I be dead honest? Overly supportive of my player?

Anyone have any ideas?

[RYU]

I've never had to write one either, but in general I think you should take the same tone as a former employer or a teacher would write about you. You can be honest & supportive of your player. Accentuate the positives (which BTW, does not mean exaggerate). When it comes to her weaknesses & drawbacks, you should avoid them or be dodgy about them all together unless something really specific is asked.

E.g. How is her offhand/non-dominant hand?
If she honestly has no left, don't lie about it or say, "She has none." You might say something like, "She is very fundamentally sound & demonstates advanced stick skills w/ her right, while her left she is still developing and works on persistently to catch up to her right."

If you have a former employer with whom you left on bad terms, and someone does a reference check w/ them, the worst thing they will say (from a professional & sometimes legal standpoint) is, "He is not eligible for re-employment here," not, "He was a terrible employee."

How is her speed?
Instead of, "She's one of my slower players," perhaps...
"She's no track star, but she out-reacts & out-hustles everyone to the ball. Her game speed is a lot faster than her straight line track speed."

Height? Build?
If she's 4'11", don't say, "She's short." Say, "You wouldn't know she was under 5' tall by the way she plays and the way her teammates look up to her. What she lacks in height, she makes up in awareness, hustle, and determination. You know the saying about 'not the size of the dog in the fight..."

If she's a little heavy and has a soft build... Instead of, "She could stand too lose about 20 lbs of baby fat." Perhaps, "She has a good, athletic frame that would respond well to a solid preseason collegiate strength & conditioning program."

Get the idea? When it comes to negatives, avoid them but don't lie about them. Is it dishonest? A little I guess. But it's a fact of life when it comes to this kind of stuff. You know, if you graduated college w/ a flat 2.0 GPA, you don't put that on resumes & applications unless the employer absolutely demands it.

[Lax101]

letters of recomendations usually don't ask specific questions. Its simply best just to avoid things above like you said. Its just slapping together a bunch of euphemisms.

Although i have never written a letter of recomendation (so if you don't agree with me you can completely ignore my suggestions), I think its critical to focus on a player's ethic and personality. Sure, theres plenty of players who have a pretty fast shot, or have track star quality speed or have a good array of stick skills. However, there are few players who really demonstrate a strong work ethic and agressiveness, that makes them better than their peers. Those players who leave their hearts on the field, are fearless at every groundball situation, will stay on the field even in utter exhaustion. And don't forget the leaders. Those players who are coaches on the field (in a good way), the players who make the entire team better. Those devoted, intelligent players are better than any kid who can rip 96 in the top left corner every time, or the freak who can run a sub 5 minute mile. You know why? Because those devoted players will make themselves better so they can rip that 96 mph shot and lower their mile time as best as they can.

[spenny]

ive written a few. you should be supportive, if you dont feel that you can be supportive, dont agree to write the letter.
it really depends on the letter, I've only written one letter to a coach, the rest were more general letters of recomendation. I didnt refer to lax in those letters except to illustrate an ability. the Lax specific letter, to a coach, was pretty detailed with good assesments of strengths and weaknesses. that's a pretty fine line. you dont want to over-hype a kid, leading to unrealistic expectations, but you cant undersell too much either.
my advice, after running my keyboard for a while now, do a google search for Letter of Recomendation and you will find tips to writing a good letter

spenny

[Thrillhouse]

ive written a few. you should be supportive, if you dont feel that you can be supportive, dont agree to write the letter.
it really depends on the letter, I've only written one letter to a coach, the rest were more general letters of recomendation. I didnt refer to lax in those letters except to illustrate an ability. the Lax specific letter, to a coach, was pretty detailed with good assesments of strengths and weaknesses. that's a pretty fine line. you dont want to over-hype a kid, leading to unrealistic expectations, but you cant undersell too much either.
my advice, after running my keyboard for a while now, do a google search for Letter of Recomendation and you will find tips to writing a good letter

spenny

I thought you died or something. Where have you been?

[CoachRob]

When asked to write a letter for a medical student applying for residency programs, I always had a discussion with the student and explained how I viewed him/her, and what I planned to write. I gave them the option of having me proceed, or they would just say "No thanks". I don't want them surprised, and five minutes can save 30 that it takes to write a good letter. It also allows us to discuss any perceived deficiencies that would allow them to focus on what, IMO, needs to be corrected in the future on other rotations (pediatrics, surgery, psychiatry, etc.).

[Jordy]

Write the letter honestly. If you cannot be supportive, let the player know. If the player has garnered awards, point them out. Do not go into specifics about size and speed, but support the players skills as they would relate to playing at the level for the recommendation. If you are talking blue chip D1, this would be a different type of recommendation than a middle tier DIII.

[Coach MacLax]

I've never written LOR's for lacrosse players but have written several for employment purposes and promotion recomendations (military and civilian) I think the key thing to remember is this - if you BS you will be found out. You will become known as a BSer and future LOR's for folks that you really like and who you really want to do something good for - won't carry any weight.

[prisoner]

Depending on the situation and the player you might also consider having them write the letter. Make sure you agree with it add in any comments to formulate the final draft and send it in. Although it seems a little unorthodox I have known many professors that have had their students write their own letters of recommendations. Don't look at it as passing the buck either, but an opportunity for your player to examine their skills and qualities as a player and write those down on paper. Most people will not sell themselves enough so they dont appear to be bragging. That is where you start to fill in the gaps going from a self evaluation to a letter of recommendation. In the end, you will learn a lot about your player you might not have known, their own self image, and the player will gain some experience that will help them down the road when they write their first job resume and when they fill out self evaluations for the company they work for.