The 2018 Logo Contest was flat out awesome! 217 Club Teams entered their logo to be chosen as the best log in club lacrosse. Our committee narrowed down the 217 logo's to the final 16 where we opened it up to the public to vote to see who has the best logo in club lacrosse. The voting was insane! Each bracket was averaging 4k votes a piece. In the end the Black Bear Lacrosse Club came out on top and was crowned this years 2018 Champion.  Congratulations to Black Bear and thank you everyone who came out and voted!
Stay tuned for the Best Helmet in Club Lacrosse Coming Soon....

Ahhhhh Sept 1st: the new biggest day in the recruiting world. All over the country club teams are posting " Get ready 2020's! Big things are coming, phones are going to be ringing off the hook!"
Now let's come back to down to reality and talk about what you really should be expecting on Sept. 1st.

Top 5%, Stay Patient 
It is 100% true that many players' phones will be busy, but many of you that receive these phone calls have to stay patient. When you play club lacrosse, visit prospect days and make All-American games, you tend to put college athletics up on a pedestal. When your teenage years are built on playing lacrosse all day everyday, it's very easy to get too excited when you get a phone call from one of the big schools. 
Just because you received a phone call does not mean you have received a SCHOLARSHIP or an OFFER.  Parents, let me repeat that one... just because your son/daughter is getting phone calls does not mean they are "SET" and you can go around town telling everyone your son/daughter is going to this college or has received money! Best advice: Stay Humble.

What the College Coaches are Looking for in these Phone Calls: 

• If this player can communicate effectively on a phone call with an adult and potential coach
• To set up a campus visit for them to meet your son/daughter and the team to meet.
• They might want to personally invite them to their prospect day this fall. 
• Very rarely are teams offering scholarships and/or offers right away. 

Stay Patient: 

• Do not get too excited from a certain school.  You may think that one school is your dream until you actually visit that campus and realize that it's not what you expected for various reasons. 
• GO FOR THE ACADEMICS, not the lacrosse program. There is a very small percentage of lacrosse players that have gone on to make millions playing after college. 
• Find the right fit socially, do not go to a school in the middle of nowhere if you are more of a city kid and vice versa. Finding the right fit socially is almost as important as the academics. A student- athlete that is surrounded by good friends usually is a happier and more productive student AND athlete than a person who feels out of place. 

Still Waiting for a Call or a Call from the School you like....
As Aaron Rodgers once profoundly said...R-E-L-A-X.  Just because you did not receive a phone call or a phone call from the school you want on Sept. 1st does not mean you are doomed. 

Steps to Take:
Communicate with Club Directors & Recruiting Coorindators:

• You pay money to clubs for a reason and one of the main reasons is to get advice from Directors and Recruiting Coordinators. These men and women should know what they are talking about on the recruiting front and should be able to guide, not only the student-athlete, but the parents as well. (If they don't, then maybe you're in the wrong club, but that's a topic for another day). 
• Ask your directors and coordinators what prospect days and recruiting events you should go to. Too many times do families and athletes waste their money by taking this into their own hands and going to prospect days for schools that they have no real interest in or have no legit shot at attending. 
• Listen to what they have to say.....

Recruiting strategy:

• Not all college coaches have the same recruiting strategy. Some coaches are aggressive and some are more passive. Some coaches want the best pure athletes and some are looking for a very specific fit for their program. Colleges are not filling up their recruiting class on Sept. 1 and even if they have the top 4-5 guys/girls they like, that does not necessarily mean the top 4-5 guys/girls want to attend their school. So do not be scared that spots are filling up quickly. 

Keep working hard:  

• You might not have popped yet. Maybe you have and some of the coaches have not seen you yet. A lot of players talk about Trevor Baptiste and how he was going to D3 and then caught the eye of Denver and ended up becoming one of the greatest face-off players of all time. What happened to Trevor Baptiste is an amazing story. Trevor will be the first one to tell you this: He worked his tail off to get that opportunity to be seen. Recruiting for most will not fall in to your lap. You have to put the right work in! Reps and wall ball are great but is your form correct? Are you watching lacrosse to learn from the pros and college players? Are you watching instructional videos online? Are you working on the things that the coach spoke about at your last practice or clinic?  
  

Sometimes you have to face reality: 

• Nothing is worse for a coach or a director when a player and family are not open to the recruiting process. Yes there is always the occasional story of a coach telling a player they can not play D1 and the player defies the odds but lets be honest here, that very rarely happens and when it does, kudos to that player.  Playing D1, D2, D3 does not define you as a player or a person. Find the best school for you within your playing ability. Your friends and teammates will be what you remember most in 10-20-30 years, not the fact that you played at a certain level. Once you enter the real world, no one cares if you scored 5 goals in a game, they care about what type of person you are and how you became a more rounded person as an NCAA athlete. 
  

Good Luck 2020's! But Remember this is just the beginning! Keep grinding and no matter if your the #1 recruit or just looking to find a spot. . .Be patient and work hard!