How important is it to play other sports?

[questionguy]

This is something I've been wondering about; for somebody from a non-hotbed state, how important is it to play other sports in order to get recruited? And if it's important, how important is it to be good?

Also, what sports are the best? My impression is football and either hockey or basketball. Does it matter though? And does playing these sports help your lacrosse at all?

[chsattack22]

dude, did you not watch the NCAA D1 Championship. Virginia won am i correct? Almost all, at least the majority of the Virginia lax team also plays football now or did in high school

[ilaxitup007]

coaches definitely prefer scouts with backround in other sports because it proves that you are athletic, but you don't have to play more than one sport, especially if you are mad good at lacrosse.

[questionguy]

dude, did you not watch the NCAA D1 Championship. Virginia won am i correct? Almost all, at least the majority of the Virginia lax team also plays football now or did in high school

That's what I was thinking. Every time I go through a roster it seems rare to find a guy who didn't play football, let alone didn't play anything besides lax. The guys that don't are always from Long Island or Maryland it seems.

[GAlax3]

dude, did you not watch the NCAA D1 Championship. Virginia won am i correct? Almost all, at least the majority of the Virginia lax team also plays football now or did in high school
thats more of uva's philosophy of recruiting tho..it is pretty well known that thats what they do and that its an orthodox method....they look more for the athletes with some skill than the skilled players that are athletic.....because u can always teach a kid to throw, but u cant teach a kid to be 6'3" and run a 4.6(according to the coach)

[claxbucky]

Other sports are helpful in some things. Though now, a lot of kids play just 1, maybe 2 varsity sports in highschool. Playing different sports shows that you are athletic and easily adapt to change/are more coachable, since you go from one to the next, with a different coach (usually) and have to play with a different set of rules and skills.

As for which sports are good with lax... Football, basketball, hockey, soccer, wrestling, xc. They all have their pros and cons. Find something that's fun, and that you can compete in. A lot of kids on my highschool team ran xc to help stay in shape for the games with long forth quarters.

[Kleivonen]

how would basketball help... cuz i was thinking of quitting it next year (freshman year of highschool)
but if it may help me further my lacrosse career i might stick with it untill after my senior year

[fenwicklax89]

i run xc, and the stereotype there is that you are all skin and bones and noodle armed. i quit football after freshman year in hs because the summer workouts conflicted with summer travel teams. i decided to take up xc and i think that improved my game more than playing football did. after the xc season, i did an intense traingin program with high speed treadmills, weight lifting, plyometrics, and agility training. being a middie, xc gives you a cardio traingin unlike any other sport, benefitting me in a huge way. if you are looking for an offseason sport, take a look at xc. you dont hafta even be good at it. the cardio training and endurance you get pays for it many times over

[chsattack22]

lax is a combo of most sports that people play in hs. you can then incorporate what u learned in those sports into lax, therefore making you a better lax player.

and what coaches say,"its easier to make an athlete into a lacrosse player, than a lacrosse player into an athlete."-or something along those lines.

[wolflax]

My son played football his freshmen year until he was hurt early in the season and was out for the entire season. Has not played football anymore. In his Soph. year he went out for swimming and stayed with it, didn't like the swim meets mostly because he was not very good. He loved the workout and was in great shape when lax started right after swim season. Last year he played only lax and will like do so this year.

What I can say is he has played for at least 6 different lacrosse coaches outside his high school coach on select and fall ball teams. At least one was a coach at a D1 school and the others were high school coaches within 50 miles of us. We are not in a hotbed state, being from North Carolina. I think playing for a several differnt lax coaches will benefit him just as well as playing different sports.

[smooth87]

Basketball is very similar to lax. The offense is quite similar, with pick and rolls, triangle offense, etc. Same with defence. Helps you play with your feet and not your stick and helps with help defense, when to help and when not to.

[1wonderattack]

i don't want to hijack this thread but does it matter if the sport is a school sport or not
i play on a travel soccer team in the fall because our school has boys soccer in spring

[tang]

how would basketball help... cuz i was thinking of quitting it next year (freshman year of highschool)
but if it may help me further my lacrosse career i might stick with it untill after my senior year
Basketball can benefit you a lot in lacrosse. Even looking past the fact that it's a winter sport that is intensely cardiovascular, meaning you'll be in good shape for lacrosse season, you can draw a lot of parallels between basketball and lacrosse. Defense and offense are somewhat similar in both sports. The same basic structures are there in both sports. Any sport can help you in lacrosse, I know I have become a much better defender in other sports after learning basic defensive principles in lacrosse.

[chsattack22]

a sport is a sport, u still learn the same skills that you need for lax. it just depends on the level of competition. play as many sports that you possibly can

[DukeLax2]

dude, did you not watch the NCAA D1 Championship. Virginia won am i correct? Almost all, at least the majority of the Virginia lax team also plays football now or did in high school
i dont any of them play football now actually. they were talking about how they played in hs. it would be way to hard to play football and lax

[lilaxgurl23]

Like someone mentioned earlier, a sport is a sport. Coaches like multisport athletes because it shows them that they are well rounded and are probably more athletic. It doesn't matter if you play tennis or football, it all helps. You don't have to be serious about another sport, but I would definitely reccommend you stick with something. It will not only make you look better, but it will keep you from burning out as well. Not to mention you could gain some new friends or just keep in shape while having fun. All in all, it's not going to keep you from being recruited if you only play lacrosse, but coaches definitely like it.

[ishhey]

Playing more sports also goes beyond just showing your athletcism. If you play team sports you learn how to play on a team. You develop the ability to sense what else is going on around you.

[ron_burgundy]

football is good b/c you'll learn to be a team player. i can't emphasize that enough. especially if you are in a football program where the system is about covering responsibilities rather than making big players. also you'll be working out so you can get bigger and faster, which is more important every year in lacrosse.

basketball is good b/c the quickness and agility work helps and the defense is very similar to lax 1 v 1 defense. our LSM was a great shut down player...he played basketball and i have to believe it was a huge help to him.

only do cross country if you plan on lifting and doing speed work for lacrosse in the offseason.

[westlakelax17]

what about wrestling?

[WoodDuck14]

I'm interested in knowing how non traditional sports could affect a coaches view of you. I was a fencer from 4th to 11th grade and was nationally ranked for 3 years, at my peak i was 28th in U16 sabre. my question is would a lacrosse coach care? and before you start hating on fencing, think about what u hear day to day about lacrosse and how ridiculous it can be.

[CHSlax]

well actually i always thought fencing was cool and hope to try it someday but i dont think coaches would care. why would they? Your atleats doing something and apparently you damn good at it. Plus fencing requires good agility and hand eye cordination i dont think any coach would hate on you for being a swords man.

[WoodDuck14]

well actually i always thought fencing was cool and hope to try it someday but i dont think coaches would care. why would they? Your atleats doing something and apparently you damn good at it. Plus fencing requires good agility and hand eye cordination i dont think any coach would hate on you for being a swords man.

i meant would they care as in would it be an advantage, not a disadvantage.
but u answered that too. so thanks.

[sweetlaxor]

playing other sports does help, however if you just play one you still can most definitely be recruited to a top d1 team or any team for that matter

[CHSLAX22x]

I was a basketball fanatic since before I could remember and always played AAU ball in the spring before I knew of lax. I started lax my freshman year and because of my basketball knowlege the coaches told me to just pretend I was on a basketball court for our offense and defense. I started my freshman year on JVA and after 1 game I was playing varsity lacrosse. I know 1 varsity point as a freshman isnt exactly max quinzani but I think that I did alright for my first year of picking up a stick.

The moral of my story, other sports can help you more than you think, plus college scouts like it

[sirfartsalot295]

wrestling is amzing for endurance, strength, and speed. Wrestling got me in such great shape and I'm not a runner (and I play goalie) but I was lapping middies in our two mile run for tryouts, I literally didn't break a sweat. If anybody is interested about wrestling but needs more info just pm me. It helps alot.

[CHSLAX22x]

Yeah, even though I dont do it, wrestling is BY FAR the hardest sport in our high school. Those who survived a wrestling season were some of the best athletes on our lacrosse team

[CTLaxer]

As others have mentioned, playing other sports can have 2 major benefits for you. The first benefit is it will ultimately make you a better lacrosse player. Hockey players make great middies (just make sure you remember to keep both hands on the stick when checking), wrestlers make great face-off men, basketball players make great attackmen, soccer players make great 2 way middies, etc etc. Playing more than one sport will help you in all the sports you play, and lacrosse is one of the few sports that emphasizes this.

The second benefit is colleges will see you're a more well rounded student. You're active in your community through sports. You can also balance outside activities with your studies, where other students might not be able to due to those distractions. Also, depending on the school, you might be able to play more than one sport for them, or get recruited for the other sport and be a walk on for the lacrosse team.

In any case, playing more than one sport will never hurt your recruitment, especially if you're from a non-hotbed area (unless you play so many that it interferes and lowers your studies and skills in all sports).

[#1Chaddy_Aus]

I played basketball for 6 years before starting lacrosse and as everyone has said before the two sports are very similiar. Most dodges i use in lax have come from basketball moves and the zone defence is basically the same in both sports.

i also do karate and this has helped me with endurance, quick moves and just all round fitness. Karate is also good cause it's very disciplined. When im playing lax and im really really stuffed i can always think back to when i did a three hour karate session and i can draw inspiration from that.

As i didn't play these sports at a majorly high level i dont think any coach would give a crap if he new i had played them but they both have helped my lax skills which is probably more important anyway.

[BioPro29]

Look at it this way, just read the profiles of the under armour americans. THey're all multi sport athletes.

[jvt510]

i play football swimmingindoortrack adn lax but im onyl really good at 2 and i have been talked to by varisty coahes and im only in 8th grade so yea if u do more then 1 it will help

[OHSLAX78]

My son played travel ice hockey since he was 6 yrs. old and started playing lacrosse through the P.A.L. program in 3rd grade. He also played baseball until he went to junior high. I think playing all these sports helped him, especially ice hockey which helped with his periphial vision, although some people say that can't be taught.

[MidwestLAx101]

yeh i did soccer this year and im gunna do wrestling and lax im not sure for my sophmore year wat to do i suck at soccer so i cant play that but i feel durring wreslting season i dont get enough lax partice in and when my team has games/tourneys on the weekends i dont have any energy to use cus i have been cutting weight all week for wrestling.