College: The best mementoes a laxer can have

There are many mementoes by which a NorCal laxer can remember his participation in the game we all love. The Boy has medals from his participation in NCJLA Youth Championships, Jerseys from Youth Travel teams, jerseys from recruiting teams and camps, a couple of Under Armour Underclassmen All-America team jerseys, and on and on. All very nice. All of which will provide memories forever. Still, for a laxer, the following NCAA DI Tournament "player passes" are among the most prized possessions a player can have. I thought y'all might want to see them.

NCAA DI Sweet Sixteen Participant Pass

Elite Eight Participant Pass

Still, there are even more exclusive mementoes to be had. Participant passes to the Final Four will be passed out to the following NorCal players:

Connor Hunt DLS Sophomore LSM Cornell

Ben Krebs Foothill Junior Goalie Duke
Chad Cohan St. Ignatius Freshman Attack Duke
Dax Cohan St. Ignatius Junior Midfield Duke*

It is possible that either Duke or Cornell will win the NCAA DI National Championship. In addition to the trophy awarded to the winning school, each participant on the winning team is awarded a medal. This medal is the highest award made to team members on the winning team. A participant receiving this medal has, forever, the highest team award in Lacrosse. I'm hoping the medal is awarded to a/some NorCal player(s)!

Go NorCal!
____________________________________________________________________________
*Dax was injured for most of the season, and may still be injured. He has not played this year.

College: California Players in the NCAA DI Tournament – Round of 16 review

Of the 29 California players on rosters of the 16 NCAA DI teams who made the tournament, here is a list of the players who saw the field in their games:

Lehigh Noah Molnar Senior M Corona Del Mar 3 GBs

Cornell Connor Hunt Sophomore LSM De La Salle 1 CTO
             Sean Doyle Frosh A Torrey Pines played

Loyola Blake Burkhardt Sophomore FO/M Corona Del Mar 6-13 FO 5GBs

Yale Michael Keasey Frosh M Corona Del Mar 1 Shot
         JW McGovern Frosh A St. Ignatius 1Shot, 1 G

Penn State Steven Bogart Junior D La Costa Canyon 3 GBs

Denver Eric Adamson Sophomore A Foothill-Santa Ana 1G 3A 2GBs
            Mike Riis Sophomore D La Costa Canyon played

Notre Dame Ryan Mix Junior A Corona Del Mar played


Here are some random factoids that I spotted:

• Of the 29 Californians in the Big Dance, 10 saw the field.

• By region of the State, 2 of 13 from NorCal saw the field, 3 of 10 from the San Diego Section played, and 5 of 6 from the Southern Section (Greater LA) played.

• By High School, Corona Del Mar had all 4 of its players in the Tournament see the field, and all those players are on teams moving on to the Elite Eight!

ª Of the 11 Freshmen on rosters in the Round of 16, only 3 saw the field. All three of them are on teams that made the Elite Eight.

• Of the 8 teams moving on to the second round of the tournament, 6 teams have Californians on their rosters, totaling 19 players. Seven of those nineteen saw the field in the first round.


I'll update this list after the Elite Eight games are completed.

Growth of California NCAA DI lacrosse recruits over time

Has the number of California Boys NCAA DI recruits changed over time? How are our HS players perceived at the top levels of the College sport? Using the databases of Lax Power, I gathered the information needed to create a longitudinal picture. Here it is:

College                        % change
Academic       # of        from prior
Year         DI recruits        year
2007-8           20                -
2008-9           21              +5%
2009-10         24              +14%
2010-11         15              -37%
2011-12         20              +33%
2012-13         29              +45%
2013-14         40              +38%

California has had the 2nd highest number of Boys' Lacrosse teams of any State for the last several years, so one might expect that we could have the second highest number of DI recruits. That would be wrong – for several reasons. Those reasons include:
• Lacrosse is a relatively new sport in California,
• No NCAA DI programs exist in California
• Almost all DI coaches reside a continent away, making it hard to see our players
• Most California players have not had Fathers, Uncles, and cousins who introduced the game to our players

So, I think the best way to look at the stats is by growth rate of our State's DI recruits. While results wobble a little, it is clear that California DI recruits are  both growing, and growing faster than the number of NCAA DI programs is growing. So, our guys are gaining share of the overall number of recruited athletes.

This is a good sign!

N.B. I didn't tally the recruitment results for our guys who have been recruited to play NCAA Div II and DIII, but I'd guess the growth rates look similar.    

NCAA rule changes for 2013 and their impact

Every year, the NCAA makes rules changes  – some years fewer, some year more. Those rules have a way of flowing down to High School and Youth Lacrosse. The MLL has its rules, but in our sport, the NCAA is "King of the Hill." This year, the NCAA made, in my opinion, dramatic changes to the rules of the game. Below, I list the key changes the NCAA has made and provide the perspective of an NCAA DI player whose Fall practices and Fall Ball activities provide a "real world" commentary on the NCAA's changes.

NCAA Rules changes discussed herein:

• eliminate the horn on dead ball out-of-bounds situations

• Institute a 30 second shot clock after a stall warning has been issued

•  extend the length of the substitution box

• change the shape of "shooting strings" within NCAA legal heads

First, here's an article featuring the opinions on the rules changes:

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/09/24/rule-changes-approved-panel

I asked an NCAA DI player who is working with these rules in Fall Ball what his opinions of the following rule changes are:

• No dead ball horn
• Longer substitution box
• 30 seconds to shoot after stall warning
• Defenders 5 yards off the ball carrier. Is this true?
• Stringing changes

He responded as follows:

The no dead ball horn makes the game a track race. In practice, we are getting up and down the field with almost no breaks in the scrimmage. The longer substitution box doesn't play a huge role, except in the clearing game the middies try to get little advantages to maybe get a fast break or get open. The stringing rule has had no effect whatsoever and is a pretty pointless change as far as I'm concerned. I'm a fan of the 30 second shot clock: it's really plenty of time to get a quality shot, and it doesn't restrict the offensive strategy by being forced to keep it in the box. 

2013 will see big changes in the pace of the game. Looking forward to the season!

Jordan LaTendresse: Cornell's his new home

As a few folks know, Jordan LaTendresse decided the Naval Academy was not for him. As with everything Jordan decides, it's rigorous, detailed and conclusive. He'll take a year off, then head off to Cornell. This is big news for Cornell and for NorCal. For Cornell, they'll get another 6'5" agile Close D to join Connor Hunt. For NorCal, its two most dynamic, powerful, defenders have decided to play for the Big Red. These two guys are scary good. To have them play on the same team – and ultimately on the same line – will scare almost all other NCAA DI opponents. After years of being opponents, Jordan and Connor will get to gang up on opponents. Were I an Attackman, I'd hope to be the third Attack when my team played Cornell!

Pursuing an athletic scholarship – How costly?

Here's a provocative article for parents of lacrosse players who seek to continue playing the sport in college. It features Kieran Eissler, a very talented player from Nevada who recently committed to Johns Hopkins. Money quote from Kieran's father: "This summer alone, and I'm embarrassed to say it, we probably spent around $12,000." Read the whole article here.


Kieran is a very talented player (the boy played against him at the Adrenaline Challenge and with him on this year's Under Armour West team), but it costs about the same to pursue that dream whether you're as good as Kieran or not. The author's point is that parent's need a reality check before they decide to spend  savings in pursuit of an athletic scholarship. I commend this article to all parents of High School athletes.

Tim Jacob at Brown

One of my favorite players, Tim Jacob (Bellarmine College Prep, Class of 2011), gets a very nice mention from his college coach, Lars Tiffany at Brown University. Here's the quote from Inside Lacrosse: "The biggest surprise as a freshman this fall has been attackman Tim Jacob from Bellarmine College Prep and Palo Alto, Calif. He was not expected to make an immediate impact but has been a “pleasant surprise,” said Tiffany."

You can read the article about Brown's entering class at:

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/09/28/fallball-2011-brown-bears-check

Way to go, Tim!

Will Montero to Bryant!

De La Salle's fine midfielder, Will Montero – Class of 2013 – has committed to Bryant University, where he will play for famed Coach, Mike Pressler. He'll also join two other Nor Cal standouts – Nico Dutra and Sean Mullin – on the Bulldogs squad. Will is an ultra-smooth middie, with an excellent shot on the run. But, even better, he's got a strong lacrosse IQ, VERY strong fundamentals, and an impressive sense for the geometries of the game. Mike Pressler is getting a good one! Here are some highlights from Will's 2011 season:

WSL ranks Top Club Teams in the West - II

"You're entitled to your own opinions, but you aren't entitled to your own facts."

A week or so ago, I commented on the WestSideLax rankings of the top Club Teams in the Western United States. At that time, they had counted down the teams from #10 to #4. While, in my opinion, they ranked the Golden State Titans too low, they're entitled to their own opinions.

They continued their countdown over the next week, ranking the Orange County Kings #3, the Alcatraz Outlaws #2, and the San DIego Lax Dawgs #1. You can see their complete rankings here. All I can say is, they're entitled to their own opinions, but they aren't entitled to their own facts.

West SideLax specifies the criteria they use in their rankings. Here they are:

• Summer 2011 wins

• Coaches feedback

• Strength of schedule

• College commitments

• Observed performance

Let's examine each of these metrics:

Summer Wins reads to me as, "Who did you defeat," rather than "How many wins did you have." By that definition, wins in strong tournaments matter. So, which tournaments are strong? On the National circuit, top college coaches rank them as follows: Brine Shootout, Champ Camp, Tri-State, King of the Hill, Gait Cup, and Hotbeds. Teams that vie for victories in these tournaments are testing themselves against a very strong pool of nationally ranked Club teams. Only two of the WestSideLax contenders elected to compete in the top National Circuit tourneys. They were the Golden State Titans and the Alcatraz Outlaws.

Coaches Feedback could mean High School Coaches, College Coaches, or a mix of the two. Heck, it could even mean Youth Lacrosse coaches, since they aren't specific. I'll assume that they mean College Coaches, since if they meant anything else, there is no way that Western teams who competed only on the East Coast could be evaluated. If this is true, the best measure of feedback from college coaches is who they recruit.

Strength of Schedule is just that. If your club team didn't compete in the top East Coast tourneys, your team did not have a strong schedule. Period.

College Commitments are redundant with any reasonable definition of Coaches feedback. One or the other needs to be dumped.

Observed performance is another ill-defined metric. Who's doing the observing? WSL? HS coaches, or College Coaches? It matters. Here's why: If the Alcatraz Outlaws - who played only on the East Coast - were not seen by WSL's "observers," why were they ranked at all?

Enough! WSL's metrics are fatally flawed, but I admire their effort. WSL adds value to the Western Lacrosse community, they're innovative and they're a terrific source of game write-ups and other lax news throughout the West. I check their website every day.

So, who are the best Club teams in the geographic area staked out by WSL? Here's my cut, using the following metrics:

College Commitments - College coaches vote with their offers. They guys they recruit are the best players. Coaches now recruit nationally. They see ALL the candidates. They travel the East Coast, the West Coast and most places in between. In addition, when they watch their candidates, they can answer  the question: Who are the top Club teams?

Performance in strong tournaments - Being in the Sweet Sixteen in a top East Coast tournament means more than winning a tournament consisting of competition from local Club teams.

Best in the West (I have seen every one of these teams play within the last 15 months)

10 Minnesota Elite - MN sent 10 of its 2011 Seniors to play NCAA DI. Fourth highest total in the West. Most all of MN's top players play for the Elite.

9 Denver Elite - Colorado sent 13 players from the Class of 2011 to NCAA DI schools - third highest total in the West. Not all of them played for the Elite, but they defeated a mid-tier LI Express team at the Brine Shootout. This is a solid team.

8 Golden State Titans - This NorCal team is quite young, but VERY good. Several early DI commits. They took 5th place at the Hotbeds tourney. I might have this team ranked too low.

7 OC Kings - A nice team from California's Central Coast section. Some of these players also play on Team America, about which more later.

6 Arizona Burn - Arizona is an up-and-comer in the Lacrosse world. Charlie Hushek and Brock Ghelfi lead this team. They suffer from not having many lax teams in the state, but the Burn gets almost all the good players.

5 Brady's Bunch - An eclectic team from a number of States but - make no mistake - they are VERY good. Lots and lots of NCAA players.

4 San Diego Lax Dawgs - I have enjoyed watching the LaxDawgs over several years! They're big, athletic, and well coached. In my mind, the best of the teams that didn't go East this past summer.

3 Team America - An Orange County team that made the Sweet Sixteen at Champ Camp. They're well coordinated and well coached.

2 Dallas Select - Texas sent 16 Seniors to NCAA DI schools in 2011 - second most in the West. A bunch of them played for Dallas Select. Of their four tourney appearances, three were in the East, the other at the Denver Team Camp. They made the semi-finals at three of the four, though they did not make the semis at their toughest camp - King of the Hill.

1 Alcatraz Outlaws - Twenty-two Outlaws have committed to NCAA DI schools in the last three years. No other Club team in the Western United States comes close to that total. Attended two tourneys this year - King of the Hill and Gait Cup - and made the finals at both. Both King of the Hill and Gait Cup  are top 5 tourneys and in both instances, the Outlaws lost to the consensus #1 Club team in the nation - Laxachusetts. Western Club Lacrosse gets no better than this.

There you have it! You can disagree with my rankings and the metrics I've chosen, but my facts speak for themselves.   

  

Mike Schlosser to Michigan

Mike Schlosser (Class of 2013), the loose-hipped Middie from Davis has committed to NCAA DI Michigan. He dodges like a lightning bolt and dazzles in the open field. The Wolverines are lucky to have him! He'll join his Alcatraz Outlaw teammate, Mike Hernandez (Class of 2012), at Michigan. Two terrific Middies, with entirely different styles. Both styles are needed in any Midfield. Congrats to Mike!

Here's his Hightlight vid:

Chad Cohan to Duke

Senior Chad Cohan, the excellent St. Ignatius Attack, has committed to Duke University. There he'll join his lacrosse playing brother, Dax, as well as his sister. While I've known about this commit for a while, it was only recently publicized.

Chad is a very good all around Attackman, whose riding game, lacrosse IQ, and crafty dodging are excellent. These qualities made him an appealing recruit to Duke. I believe he'll be a solid contributor at Duke! Coach Danowski is fortunate to have landed him.

As an interesting aside, The Cohan brothers and the Emery brothers apparently live in parallel universes. Both sets of brothers attend/attended St. Ignatius, both sets of brothers will attend the same school, both sets of brothers will attend powerhouse ACC schools, and both sets of brothers will attend a college that won the NCAA DI Men's Lacrosse Championship within the last two years.   

Another NorCal DI recruit?

The Dilettante has been hearing rumors that another NorCal Class of 2012 laxer has committed to a DI school. Comment if you've got the whole story!

Duke Lacrosse Coaches Clinics on the Web

The Dilettante has been fortunate to take in the Duke University Coaches Clinics in each of the last two years. They've been given at the Duke Lacrosse film room to local North Carolina coaches for several years now. It's a five star clinic by Coach Danowski and his excellent staff. This Fall's Clinics will be available to Coaches all around the country as the sessions will be broadcast live on the web, using the schedule below. All times are in the evening using the Eastern time zone. Full details can be found at:

Go Duke
Well worth any High School Coach's time and highly recommended!

Wednesday	Sept. 21	7-9:30
Wednesday	Oct. 19	7-9:30
Wednesday	Nov. 16	7-9:30
Wednesday	Dec. 14	7-9:30
Wednesday	Jan. 18	7-9:30

Griffin Goudreau 2011 Highlights

Griffin Goudreau, the 6'5" 220 pound Close D/LSM has committed to play for NCAA DI Providence College. Griffin, who attends Bellarmine College Prep, played for the Alcatraz Outlaws this past summer, where he caught the eye of a number of coaches. Here are his highlights from the 2011 season.

Statistical Analysis of Men's NCAA DI lacrosse

As the saying goes, "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics." But in today's ultra-competitive sports world, the use of statistics can help a coach better understand his opponents, while using stats to create better performance by his own team. Michael Lewis even wrote a best selling baseball book - Moneyball - in which the key element of the Oakland A's extraordinary record of wins per dollar spent on salaries was shown to derive from GM Billy Beane's advantage in the use of statistics.

Lacrosse is just coming into its own with sophisticated statistical analysis. Recently, a seven page article deconstructed game data from all 2011 NCAA DI contests. Without giving too much away, one of the key takeaways was the exceptional shooting performance by Canadian NCAA DI laxers. You can read the article at: http://www.laxpower.com/content/mauboussin/stats_analysis.php

Nick Fotsch commits to Marquette

Nick Fotsch, the fiery Close Defender who recently graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep, has committed to play NCAA DI lacrosse for Marquette University in Milwaukee. As with the other recruits who'll play for Coach Joe Amplo, Nick will redshirt this spring. Marquette will begin DI play in the spring of 2013, as a member of the Big East conference.

Congrats to Nick!