LACROSSE IS A KEY
LACROSSE CAN HELP A GOOD STUDENT GET INTO A GREAT SCHOOL
We asked Trevor Tierney what his experience was in the recruiting process and what was the most important aspect of that transitional time for him :
I can honestly tell you all, that I had no chance getting into Princeton University without lacrosse. I never was an Einstein! Now, with that being said, I still had to work very hard in school. I tried to keep all my grades in the A range in high school and prepared myself as best I could for the SATs.
Now, why is this such an important point? Well, the fact is that many athletes think that they can just coast through high school, get mediocre grades, and get into a college based off of their athletic ability. There are a number of problems with this train of thought.
The first is that there are probably a lot of players out there who are just as good, if not better than you at lacrosse. One way to stand out in a college coach’s eyes is to get good grades in high school. It shows him that you are hard-working, conscientious, and intelligent. If a college coach reads your transcript and sees that you are a good student, it gives him a good impression of you right off the bat.
The second reason is that college coaches can only recruit so many players each year. Typically, a college lacrosse coach will bring in around 10 players per recruiting class. At some schools where academics are a priority to college admissions, a coach will hand in a list of players. At those schools, a coach will give their admissions office a list of players. Coaches rank the players from one to ten, supposedly in the order of how skilled each player is. However, sometimes a coach will put a player with a weaker academic record at the top of the list in order to get him in to the school.
So, how does this affect you? Well say you are a pretty good player that a coach wants to recruit and get you into school. But, maybe he is recruiting some amazing players that are better than you and play a position that coach really needs. Those players might get a higher rank from the coach to the admissions office. So, for you to get into the school, your grades better be pretty good! Also, maybe by the time you get out of high school, you have a lot of potential, but your skills are not typically what a coach looks for at his program. If you have great grades and the coach has an extra spot at the end of his list, then he can put you on there and you can get into a school based on the strength of your grades, and the fact that you are on a coach’s list.
Get it? Grades are important! Even if you are a great athlete, the easiest way to set yourself up so you can get into any college is to work hard on the field and in the classroom. There is nothing worse than when a high school student slacks off in school and then doesn’t get the chance to go to his dream college and play for a great lacrosse team because he did not have the grades to get in. So, you owe it to yourself to do your best now, and set yourself up for the future!
