Players without High School experience

[Laxbum]

Our face off man never picked up a stick before college and the same goes for one of our defenseman who has earned himself a starting role on the team in just his second year. They have worked hard and show great leadership on the team.



Adam Weinstein
Co-Captain
Georgia Lacrosse

[Jay Wisnieski]

Barely any USD players had ever seen lacrosse before we got ahold of them. You'd think being next to Minnesota would help us, but Coach Graff and Coach Larson keep all the kids in-state and won't let us have any fun. Except for our face-off man, an attackman, and our goalie, all of our starters didn't pick up a stick until college.

[MackLax]

You have to take into account the quality (or lack of) of lacrosse of some of the states that MDIA teams come from. If a player comes from a high school that doesn't have much of a lacrosse culture or none at all, and his coach didn't have much of a clue, all he was missing bynot playing on that team those years was wallball time. For players coming from quality programs with good coaching, they will have an advantage. If you weren't exposed to the right teaching through middle and high school teams and summer camps, your growth as a lacrosse player wasn't truly being expedited.

For someone who has a high level of athleticism, competitive spirit and athletic IQ (field vision, abililty to move well, etc), there is probably a likelihood they will be a big contributor by their upperclassmen years after starting their career in college if given the right coaching and environment for growth. I've seen a lot of players start playing at different ages, and it is simply amazing to see a great athlete evolve as a lacrosse player in a very short time.

There are several players in NCAA D2 and D3 who have impacted their team positively after starting their lacrosse careers in college. I am sure this number among MDIA players is many. If you can run fast, pick a GB up, move your feet on D and keep your hands free to pass or shoot, there are many places for you in lacrosse. These are basic skills that can be developed rather quickly in the right athlete.

With the growth of the game in high gear and all levels of lacrosse becoming increasingly competitive, there will be less teams as time goes on that can be penetrated by a brand new player at the college level. But as long as there are lower to mid-levels of competition, there will always be a place for a good athlete to start his lacrosse in college and contribute to his team.

[Bentiss]

A couple years ago Oakland had "The Best 3 Year Lacrosse Player" ever. I can't recall his name, but I believe he was #12 and went to a sweet flippin' high school...
I think he scored in Nationals on his first shift in over a month because of a broken arm which left him with a blue cast on his left arm. He may have even had a mustache. Granted, his goal was on a pass from Billy Binge, but it was a flippin' sweet goal for an inexperienced former soccer player.

[Thriller]

At Tennessee we had a guy who came in '97 and never played before college but became an all-american before he graduated...he wanted it and worked hard for it...I give him a lot of credit...

[ZagGrad]

5-6 years ago, it was hard to obtain good high school lacrosse players in the WA colleges (same for Oregon). The majority of the lacrosse players came from the East side of the States to enjoy the scenery and mess around. At WSU, they had a few guys with HS experience--I was not one of them. Gonzaga was the same way when I transferred in. I think GU is at little bit like that now, as far as getting guys who have never played before, but they get a lot more kids with HS experience.

For someone who has a high level of athleticism, competitive spirit and athletic IQ (field vision, abililty to move well, etc), there is probably a likelihood they will be a big contributor by their upperclassmen years after starting their career in college if given the right coaching and environment for growth. I've seen a lot of players start playing at different ages, and it is simply amazing to see a great athlete evolve as a lacrosse player in a very short time.

I consider myself one of these guys (2 Time captain/3 time PNCLL All-Star) as do I consider Neil Butterfield (3 time PNCLL All-Star/Middie MVP/Went on to play at NDNU). Neil and I never played lacrosse before college, but we're athletic enough to pick it up and do great things. He's one of my best friends as well.

[benji]

We have a few. They all pay dues like the rest and come out and work just as hard as the rest of the guys. You'd be surprised how many guys will come out and hit the wall way before practice every day, not necessarily pursuing PT, but because they simply want to be better.

[CSUalum32]

we didnt have tryouts at CSU, thank god for that or my locrosse career would have ended just as fast as it started. i had only played one year of high school lacrosse when i started in college. it does in fact matter where the school is located and the lacrosse that surrounds the area. i we my first two years at Wyoming, no base for high school lax, out team had 4 out of 11 that even knew what lacrosse was. there was me, two grad students and a girl, who was a good attackmen.

when i transferred, i think almost everyone had some kind of experience but no matter your skill level you got to be a part of the team. that is what i like about our level of the sport, it is still competitive but it gives guys like me, who are not the best of players, a chance to still be a part of a game that we love.

i know for me playing time was not the biggest issue for me as was improving my game, improvement leads to pt. but then again everyone does not have the same opinion.

[CPLaxGM]

I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful responses. From the number of comments, I can tell that this is an important topic for a lot of teams. I probably didn't phrase myself very well in my first post, so I am going to try and focus this discussion a little more narrowly.

Here's the crux of the matter: Philosophically, it is very important for both myself and our alumni to continue teaching the game of lacrosse to brand new players (those with little or no high school experience). We do not have tryouts; we don't cut players. Of course, as I often say, "this isn't little league" and just because you are on the team doesn't mean you are going to get into every game. On the other hand, from a practical standpoint, it is very hard in incorporate 5-10 brand new players into drills and practices without bringing the overall level of play down. As a team that's been hovering around the Top 10 for a number of years now, working hard to try and break into that elite level, we really need to focus on a high level of play at every practice. That can become difficult if you have new guys dropping the ball, throwing it away with their off-hand, etc.

So that's the dilemma. Does anyone have any insight on how their team has handled this situation? Currently, we have separate practices (or at least separate drills) for all of the new guys during the fall. But once January rolls around, it's difficult to balance everything - trying to create a practice atmosphere at a high level while letting the new guys practice and play so they don't get bored and quit.

I really appreciate what some of these brand new players go through in order to learn the game, and we would definitely not be the same team if we haven't had these guys through the years. So there's no doubt that we will find a way to continue bringing them on to the squad. But as our team has gotten better, it has become increasingly difficult to balance the needs of the 30 experienced players and the 5 inexperienced ones.

Best of luck to all this season,
Marc Lea
CP Lacrosse

[CP18]

I myself am a product of never picking up a stick until my sophomore year in college. I was discovered as an athlete on campus that spent the majority of my freshman year at the Rec playing pickup basketball. I had seen and heard of the game due to all of my family being from Baltimore, and with the majority of my relatives that still live there going to Calvert Halls, Loyolas, etc.

Coach Scazzero took me under his wing, slowly implemented me into the system as a defensive middie, then by my third year I was a starter and Team President. Learning from a coach that was taught by one of the best, Richie Moran, helped me greatly, since I had no bad high school habits to break.

I also had great teammates with high school experience that were always there to help me (Joel Hill, Greg Deeke, Mark Lamb) and my own competitive desire made me want to be an impact player, so I worked extra hard to hone my skills. The feel of the game came very natural as a former basketball player. A teammate of mine from that legendary senior class that did not lose a game in conference over four years, Guy Poorman, was just like me, never played in high school. We leaned on each other a lot.

Who would have thought, an athlete that almost went off to play junior college baseball or basketball would end up on the sidelines helping coach one of the most sucessful MDIA programs seven years later.

As for the A&M team now, very few players with no expereince come out in the Fall. Most see that to break into the lineup they will have to work extra hard. I try to tell them that it is a reality, but that to play on a competitve MDIA team you have to be willing to get better, and treat lacrosse almost as a job.

[ZagGrad]

If they're really motivated and have that desire to be the best, then they'll practice on their own. Hitting the wall and shooting on cage was the best way for me to improve my game. That's what I always tell my high school kids to do.

[SLDINI]

I am almost sure that Peter Burns at St. Mary's never played lax before college and he leads the WCLL A in points.

[TrojanLaxman5]

I am almost sure that Peter Burns at St. Mary's never played lax before college and he leads the WCLL A in points.

Steve, you're right, he never played in HS as he went to De La Salle before they had a lax team. Impressive pick-up of the sport...

[Campbell]

As for the A&M team now, very few players with no expereince come out in the Fall. Most see that to break into the lineup they will have to work extra hard. I try to tell them that it is a reality, but that to play on a competitve MDIA team you have to be willing to get better, and treat lacrosse almost as a job.

That is it right there. Any new player has to realize that they are going to have to work very hard to catch up to the more experienced players if they want to play. We have a handful of guys on our team that never played before college and two freshman this year that have developed nicely. Their biggest concern last fall was whether they should even give it a shot. I told them to hit the wall and come to practice and it should all fall into place.

I think it all boils down to determination and athleticism, if you dont have those two things then you probably wont succeed. I have seen guys start in college and even after college with men's clubs just looking for something to do. The guys that work at it end up being very competitive players.

Aside from the determination and athleticism it takes good coaching either from the coach or other players. Without this, newer players can get confused and then discouraged. I know it is hard for me to find time to spend with the new players during practice or outside of practice, but I have been lucky to have a team that is very supportive of new players. With the size of our school we're lucky to get 35 people show up in the fall, of which 25-30 might actually stick it out, so we don't really turn anyone away if they have a genuine interest.

[Bentiss]

Regardless of what everyone else is spouting I still hear that #12 from Oakland a few years ago was sweet for never playing lacrosse.

A couple years ago Oakland had "The Best 3 Year Lacrosse Player" ever. I can't recall his name, but I believe he was #12 and went to a sweet flippin' high school...
I think he scored in Nationals on his first shift in over a month because of a broken arm which left him with a blue cast on his left arm. He may have even had a mustache. Granted, his goal was on a pass from Billy Binge, but it was a flippin' sweet goal for an inexperienced former soccer player.

I even hear that Billy Binge used to complement him all the time for his skills and magic similar to that of a liger.