Below is a general timeline of events that young players of lacrosse who want to play at the college level may want to follow as early as the 5th grade. Recommendations have been made based on several interviews with college coaches as well as parents. Guidelines are the same for DI, DII and DIII teams; however, the higher the division, the higher the expectation for the player. Often players underestimate the level of commitment necessary for playing on a DI team. If players follow the guidelines, coaches from all levels will scout them out and not the other way around.

The f ollowing is some advice for parents and players to consider during the recruitment process:

• If the youth player is interested, begin playing on club teams as early as 5th and 6th grades. Parents and players will have access to DI coaches within a 50-mile radius for club teams affiliated with universities.

• Coaches recommend players focus on club teams in middle school and high school. Select teams run by college coaches are recommended.

• 7th , 8th and 9th graders should consider playing week-long camps that have drills and instructions. Many different types of camps are available and some are better than others. Some are day camps and some are sleep over camps.

• Once in high school, serious lacrosse players may want to increase their camp attendance. Although recruiting camps run by assistant coaches at university facilities are seeing a surge in attendance by 5th grade players and up, a very small number of kids are on radar. College coaches are watching recruiting camps, but the rising seniors (the summer before senior year) are the priority. It is rare for a rising junior to make an oral commitment. Coaches will begin sending out letters to rising juniors, but not before September 1 of that year. They will continue to recruit into the senior year. Seniors are encouraged to attend multiple camps based on family expenses and available time for travel.

• Before junior year, parents should encourage their player to contact his or her top 25 schools via email.

• Fall of junior year be on the lookout for fall tournaments. Students should contact club coaches for particular tournaments.

• Spring of the junior year, begin visiting colleges. Don't underestimate personal contact. Students are encouraged to call coaches. Keep resume up to date and send to coaches. Some coaches will sponsor a Junior Day in which juniors may participate. Begin to narrow choice of college.

• Summer before the senior year, continue to visit colleges, narrowing choices down further. Early summer before the senior year, send transcripts to coaches which should include standardized test scores. There are two signings per the NCAA: November of the senior year and April of the senior year. Coaches want to sign players in November the most.

Parental involvement during the recruiting process is always tenuous. Coaches concur that emails and letters to coaches should come directly from the student. When parents and students visit schools together, consider allowing only the student to answer the questions. Once a relationship has been established between the coach and the parents, minimal parental contact is preferred.

Coaches recommend serious lacrosse players play other sports in high school. Typically, two or three sports total is encouraged. Once at the college level, not only is it more difficult to play more than one sport, but it is discouraged at the higher levels.

Parents and coaches agree that students would benefit from choosing a college based on academics and location first. If the parents agree with the choice of the school, then consider lacrosse. If a student chooses a school based solely on lacrosse and is cut from the team, then the choice in schools may not bode well with regard to academics.

Remember that kids should be having fun; this is not always immediately obvious to some parents. This is an important point to underscore. Unfortunately, some parents continue to push kids against their will.

Students often underestimate how competitive it is to play lacrosse at the college level. For DI schools, approximately 200,000 high school players are competing for about 500 spots. A balanced college team will need between 10 and 12 new recruits every year. Consequently, coaches will need to look at 100-150 new players annually.

A common misconception is that scholarships are plentiful. At the DIII level, scholarships are only based on merit and financial need; no athletic scholarships are available for DIII teams. And, less than half of all NCAA DI or II players receive any athletic scholarship money at all. How the money is split depends on the coach and the positional needs of the program each year. There is no set formula.

The NCAA allows each DI lacrosse program 12.69 scholarships for men and 12 for women. In DII, there are 10.8 scholarships for men and 9.9 for women. There are 57 DI and 32 DII colleges that offer lacrosse scholarships for men. That's a total of 1,009.26 in the NCAA. There are 83 DI colleges and 37 DII colleges that offer scholarships for women. For women, the total is 1,211 in the NCAA.

Just because the NCAA permits a certain number of athletic scholarships to be awarded each year does not mean that individual schools have to make them available. Ivy League schools, for example, prohibit them from their students.

Most athletic scholarships are partial. The amount can increase or decrease from ear to year and can vary depending on your performance. There are no guaranteed four-year athletic scholarships in NCAA DI or DII.

The National Junior College Athletic Association grants 20 full scholarships per college for both women and men. A full athletic scholarship includes tuition, room and board. Some junior colleges offer partial scholarships. There are 26 schools that offer lacrosse scholarships for men and 11 colleges for women. Each school can only offer 20 in total. Unlike the NCAA, they are not permitted to offer a larger number of scholarships at a lower percentage.

Scholarships are renewed annually. Although it is rare for a scholarship to not be renewed, a player can lose all or part of it for breaking school rules, etc. Also, coaches do sometimes give them to other top players or recruits.