adam
03-02-2005, 08:58 AM
FROM INSIDE LACROSSE MAGAZINE:
subscription information @ www.insidelacrosse.com (http://www.insidelacrosse.com)
Name an All-Star Team … They Will Come
By Peter Lasagna (Inside Lacrosse Magazine, Sept. 30, 2004)
Jeb cinched down the weight belt. One more set of 400-pound squats would convince him that his disc was fully healed. Balance. Even and slow on the way down. Explode! Down again. Drive the hips forward. Explode! Jeb’s back felt powerful right on through his micro-surgically repaired L-7. Six tuck jumps told him that he was physically ready for full contact. Tomorrow he would fly from Minneapolis to the Battle of the Hotbeds in Delaware, the last chance of the summer for this rising senior to catch a college coach’s eye. His injury last June makes this Jeb’s one shot. One of Minnesota’s finest midfielders would at last find out whether or not Eastern coaches liked his game. Five days to make an impression or be scratched off the list.
For many of today’s high school lacrosse players, these are the best of times. Division I, II and III coaches travel to watch more high school contests than ever before. For those whose high schools are not on the beaten path, the number of quality, heavy-exposure recruiting camps has quadrupled in recent years. From June to August, players and coaches partner in their own Field of Dreams mantra.
“Print a roster with contact information…they will come. Name an All-Star Team…they will come. Gather recruiters and prospects in the same place…they will come.” Evaluators and evaluated enjoy an unprecedented variety of competitive venues.
The ultra-elite performers have different decisions. This tiny fraction of candidates narrow their search to one or two colleges long before their junior years end. They might seek one smaller, premier event, like Jake Reed’s STX Blue Chip Camp, because they enjoy playing with and against top players. Others understand that Free State (MD), Empire State (NY) or Philly Elite regional tryouts and medal games will speak loudly enough.
The ever-increasing volume of “everyone else” must make big choices and secure camp spots by February. Players and their supportive parents invest considerable money, forego non-lacrosse summer programs and balance employment obligations. They must determine the right number, locale and format of events.
Does a player maximize his personal law of averages by playing in as many scrutinized games as possible? Is he better off wowing scouts at one Top 205, New England 150 or Peak 200 and heading home with stock high?
Is he smarter to blend with a large group of similarly talented people or to stand out? Will he have more fun playing with hometown mates that know where he wants the ball or freelancing with new friends?
The long road challenges the stamina of participants on both sides of the whistle. Players push the throttle to “FULL!!!!” for game after game after game. They hurl themselves into the frenzied equivalent of lacrosse Groundhog Day—one or two games a session, three sessions a day times five days times number of camps. For some, factor in summer league games or practices between camps. Split dodges, shots and collisions commence each session with minimal time to refuel, hydrate and recover. The Cascade-clad gladiators attempt to block out the sunburned men and women with notebooks and portable chairs who might help determine their collegiate futures.
Coaches exhibit their own symptoms of Chronic Camp Syndrome. These nomads, especially young assistants and head coaches without the benefit of full-time helpers, follow the players. By the end of July they have lived out of their trunks for six weeks. Unmentionable fungus and 100 consecutive dining hall meals have devastated lower bodies and digestive tracts. Numbers and names swirl through their withering minds like Twilight Zone episodes. They cannot remember which midfielder they loved at Top Star and which defenseman they missed at Brown and Blue Chip. The good cheer and rapid-fire dialogue that mark the start of the camp season dulls to grimacing nods by August.
Underneath the crust and Gold Bond lives an unadorned love of the game. Yes, the young athletes who carry noxious, foul gloves to four straight camps want to be seen. Of course they want to play in college. But they also want to play today. They choose to risk success and failure by putting themselves out there and battling. They welcome All-Star recognition but survive without it. They realize that they will not all attend Syracuse on a full ride. They believe that they might earn a coach’s respect by riding their butts off in the 8 a.m. game on the final day.
Once in a while that last stop of the tour brings a gem that has not been seen all summer. A d-middie back home who gets to run offense with a pieced-together Champ Camp team.
Or a kid from Minnesota who has been waiting for a year to play with guys from Maryland and New York.
Jeb calmed his butterflies as he flew through line drills. Part of him could not believe he was finally here at Delaware. He had trained so hard to prepare for this camp a year ago, only to be crushed by that injury, when the piercing pain that never really left from sophomore hockey season announced a shredded disc and that lacrosse would have to wait.
Dr. Olsen said he would recover but that it would take time. Jeb logged a lot of miles in the pool visualizing this first face-off. In 10 seconds his big Eastern shot would begin. The wingman from Long Island told him to pull it his way, shouting, “Let’s go, Purple Rain!” at the first Minnesotan he’d ever played lacrosse with.
Jeb smiled and prepared to make an impression.
FROM INSIDE LACROSSE MAGAZINE:
subscription information @ www.insidelacrosse.com (http://www.insidelacrosse.com)
subscription information @ www.insidelacrosse.com (http://www.insidelacrosse.com)
Name an All-Star Team … They Will Come
By Peter Lasagna (Inside Lacrosse Magazine, Sept. 30, 2004)
Jeb cinched down the weight belt. One more set of 400-pound squats would convince him that his disc was fully healed. Balance. Even and slow on the way down. Explode! Down again. Drive the hips forward. Explode! Jeb’s back felt powerful right on through his micro-surgically repaired L-7. Six tuck jumps told him that he was physically ready for full contact. Tomorrow he would fly from Minneapolis to the Battle of the Hotbeds in Delaware, the last chance of the summer for this rising senior to catch a college coach’s eye. His injury last June makes this Jeb’s one shot. One of Minnesota’s finest midfielders would at last find out whether or not Eastern coaches liked his game. Five days to make an impression or be scratched off the list.
For many of today’s high school lacrosse players, these are the best of times. Division I, II and III coaches travel to watch more high school contests than ever before. For those whose high schools are not on the beaten path, the number of quality, heavy-exposure recruiting camps has quadrupled in recent years. From June to August, players and coaches partner in their own Field of Dreams mantra.
“Print a roster with contact information…they will come. Name an All-Star Team…they will come. Gather recruiters and prospects in the same place…they will come.” Evaluators and evaluated enjoy an unprecedented variety of competitive venues.
The ultra-elite performers have different decisions. This tiny fraction of candidates narrow their search to one or two colleges long before their junior years end. They might seek one smaller, premier event, like Jake Reed’s STX Blue Chip Camp, because they enjoy playing with and against top players. Others understand that Free State (MD), Empire State (NY) or Philly Elite regional tryouts and medal games will speak loudly enough.
The ever-increasing volume of “everyone else” must make big choices and secure camp spots by February. Players and their supportive parents invest considerable money, forego non-lacrosse summer programs and balance employment obligations. They must determine the right number, locale and format of events.
Does a player maximize his personal law of averages by playing in as many scrutinized games as possible? Is he better off wowing scouts at one Top 205, New England 150 or Peak 200 and heading home with stock high?
Is he smarter to blend with a large group of similarly talented people or to stand out? Will he have more fun playing with hometown mates that know where he wants the ball or freelancing with new friends?
The long road challenges the stamina of participants on both sides of the whistle. Players push the throttle to “FULL!!!!” for game after game after game. They hurl themselves into the frenzied equivalent of lacrosse Groundhog Day—one or two games a session, three sessions a day times five days times number of camps. For some, factor in summer league games or practices between camps. Split dodges, shots and collisions commence each session with minimal time to refuel, hydrate and recover. The Cascade-clad gladiators attempt to block out the sunburned men and women with notebooks and portable chairs who might help determine their collegiate futures.
Coaches exhibit their own symptoms of Chronic Camp Syndrome. These nomads, especially young assistants and head coaches without the benefit of full-time helpers, follow the players. By the end of July they have lived out of their trunks for six weeks. Unmentionable fungus and 100 consecutive dining hall meals have devastated lower bodies and digestive tracts. Numbers and names swirl through their withering minds like Twilight Zone episodes. They cannot remember which midfielder they loved at Top Star and which defenseman they missed at Brown and Blue Chip. The good cheer and rapid-fire dialogue that mark the start of the camp season dulls to grimacing nods by August.
Underneath the crust and Gold Bond lives an unadorned love of the game. Yes, the young athletes who carry noxious, foul gloves to four straight camps want to be seen. Of course they want to play in college. But they also want to play today. They choose to risk success and failure by putting themselves out there and battling. They welcome All-Star recognition but survive without it. They realize that they will not all attend Syracuse on a full ride. They believe that they might earn a coach’s respect by riding their butts off in the 8 a.m. game on the final day.
Once in a while that last stop of the tour brings a gem that has not been seen all summer. A d-middie back home who gets to run offense with a pieced-together Champ Camp team.
Or a kid from Minnesota who has been waiting for a year to play with guys from Maryland and New York.
Jeb calmed his butterflies as he flew through line drills. Part of him could not believe he was finally here at Delaware. He had trained so hard to prepare for this camp a year ago, only to be crushed by that injury, when the piercing pain that never really left from sophomore hockey season announced a shredded disc and that lacrosse would have to wait.
Dr. Olsen said he would recover but that it would take time. Jeb logged a lot of miles in the pool visualizing this first face-off. In 10 seconds his big Eastern shot would begin. The wingman from Long Island told him to pull it his way, shouting, “Let’s go, Purple Rain!” at the first Minnesotan he’d ever played lacrosse with.
Jeb smiled and prepared to make an impression.
FROM INSIDE LACROSSE MAGAZINE:
subscription information @ www.insidelacrosse.com (http://www.insidelacrosse.com)