In the last few years we have been hearing more and more boy and girl players and parents talk about the elite teams they are playing on or the expensive camps they are planning to attend.  People talk and worry about getting the right kind of exposure and are spending large amounts of time, effort, and money to do what they think is in their child’s best interest.

Over the last few years in the US the number of boy and girl high school teams has exploded.  However, the number of college teams has been fairly steady and in some cases colleges have dropped the sport due to financial constraints.

What does this mean?

This means that there are more graduating high school players competing for the same amount of lacrosse scholarship money.  Over the last few years, and the trend is growing, you see division I and II college rosters loaded with kids from states like Texas, Florida, Colorado...  the list goes on.  These are states not known for lacrosse in the past.

Before you send your daughter to a $700 lacrosse camp, sign up your son for an expensive elite team that will consume a large portion of his precious childhood summer, or invest in that personal trainer – think again.

This money may be better off being invested in your child’s college fund, academic materials, SAT prep classes, or in an academic trainer (Tutor).  Statistics show that there is much more college scholarship money available for academics than athletics.

The lesson – play lacrosse for the fun and love of the game – if you are good enough to play at a high level they already know about you.  Spend your time and money wisely and don’t be misguided – you will have more of a chance for success as an adult if you focus more on your grades and college academic opportunities than the elite team you want to play on or the expensive camp you want to attend.

Players and Parents - Read the story below from Section V  “sportsfive.net” and you will better understand the facts. 

“Let's look at the numbers and see what's available.

We should start with the premise that the potential player is athletic and accomplished and among the best in his or her section and well respected within their league and Section.

The NCAA allows a maximum of 12.6 full scholarships per team at any one time. That's 12.6 for the whole team (freshman year through senior).

Making the math simple, that would mean that a "fully funded" Division I team would have about 3 full scholarships (maximum) for each recruiting class.

To be realistic, however, it should be noted that most Division I teams are not fully funded, meaning that they do not offer the full 12.6 scholarships. It should also be noted that most scholarship offers are not "full rides", but are partial scholarships, allowing for more team members to get "some" athletic aid if warranted.

Back to the math . . .

Laxpower.com lists 56 Division I schools playing lacrosse. Seven schools are in the Ivy League (which does not allow athletic scholarships), which leaves us with 49 teams that could offer about 3 scholarships to recruits.

Based on our "simple math" we could conclude that there would be less than 147 scholarships available to a recruiting class in the Division I in a given year.

At the Division II level, the NCAA allows 10.8 scholarships per team and Laxpower lists 33 teams playing. Using the same math, there would be less than 83 scholarships available for the Division II recruiting class.

Division III and club teams are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships.

Now, let's look at the "player pool".

Laxpower lists 2,305 schools playing high school lacrosse. If we conservatively estimate 8 seniors on each team, that would mean that 18,400 players might be interested in playing at the college level.

If the top 2 percent of those seniors are looking for a scholarship that would mean that almost 370 players are competing for 147 D-I and 83 D-II slots. In reality, those top 2 percent (and perhaps a few more) are splitting partial scholarships.

However, that leaves more than 18,000 potential recruits who are not getting any athletic money. (Incidentally, if each of the 227 non-club teams is looking for 10 recruits per year, there would be about 2,227 lacrosse positions available in a recruiting year, so making the team would be an accomplishment.)

Thinking about going after a college lacrosse scholarship?

Are you in the top two percent of your league and section?

Perhaps you should work on your grades and look for an academic scholarship.

They are "easier" to get, but that math lesson is for another day.”