In addition to athletic evaluation, Coaches do pay strong attention to the work ethic of players and their grades. GPA, Course Criteria, and SAT Scores do determine if a prospect can meet the admission standards of the recruiting school.
The realization that a player has little chance to meet admission standards will quickly move the attention of Coach to other players. Don’t be that guy..or gal.
IT happens quite often actually – a talented recruit on path to a bright future of high level college lacrosse, dreaming of playing for a prestigious university – becomes ineligible for admission. It is tough to balance practice, games, family, friends, and school work – but it’s a must. All throughout life, players will have to balance numerous plates. As such, the grades a player earns now will determine admission to the college of their choice. All 4 years of high school grades count towards college admission.
When players work hard, good things happen- especially in the case of academic grades. Coaches may have the influence and desire to work with admissions office to help a player qualify for a school that might normally be out of reach. Playing lacrosse and having good grades may boost a player’s attractiveness for admission to a more prestigious university.
What Strong Academic Grades Says about a Player?
One of the biggest indicators of a strong academic transcript is what it says about the character of the player; Reliability speaks volumes. Signs of future success on and off the field can be expressed as doing what is right now. Where is this players focus? What can we expect from him when he’s steps onto this campus? How likely is he to contribute to the squad?
The difference between two talented recruits may come down to a number- GPA Score. Coaches may view this number as a sign of how a player may adhere to the rules of the institution, the work ethic of team, and the responsibility of being a good citizen.
If a player can do the right things on a day to day basis, this usually correlates to good patterns of behavior, on and off the field. Reliablity thus can be expressed through the academic transcript. If a player can stay focused on academics, player has a good chance of being a positive contributer to the team as a whole.
ESPN RISE: What academic requirements do coaches look for when recruiting a player?
Lelan Rogers, Syracuse Recruiting Coordinator“Every kid needs to have a broad base – your four sciences, four English, four math and social science. We like for kid’s GPA to be the higher the better. If a kid is a good high school student we can go ahead and put more time in other areas rather than keeping an eye on (them). If I get a kid around an 1,100 or 1,200 SAT and a 3.2 to 3.5 GPA, I feel pretty good about that.”
Charles Toomey, Loyola“We all want the best student we can get who fits the admissions profile for our university. It’s important they understand that we’re now looking at their freshman- and sophomore-year grades. We’re also looking at PSAT’s. Those are becoming important years and important tests because it gives us an indication of where they’re going to be when they’re making their commitment.
Recruiting is in the eye of the beholder.” Talent gets you noticed, grades get you an offer. Coaches look for A’s and B’s and high PSAT scores from potential lacrosse recruits. Getting noticed, putting together a good highlight tape and playing in important events will only take a high school lacrosse player so far. If the athlete does not have the grades to get into a school, it won’t matter how talented they are on the field.
