College: The Lacrosse Pipeline to Wall Street

The pipeline from NCAA Lacrosse to Wall Street is widely suspected, but not often documented. Here are two articles that document the strength of the connection – and reasons for the connection – between these two, highly competitive, activities:

Here are two quotes from the Bloomberg article:

• Before Dom Starsia talks about national titles, he unfolds a two-foot-wide spreadsheet that gives University of Virginia recruits a look at life after lacrosse. VLAN, or the Virginia Lacrosse Alumni Network, is a 300-person database of former male and female players who work in finance and other fields and are willing to help cub Cavaliers get there, too. “Banker, equity guy, trader, analyst -- I don’t even know what those jobs are,” says Starsia, whose teams have produced four national championships and 13 Final Fours over his 21 seasons in Charlottesville. “But I do know it’s an impressive list.” 

• Appelt, 44, a 1991 Virginia graduate, said he wants to bolster his business by helping athletes whose package of time management, competitiveness and ability to cope with failure make them ideal candidates for success in the financial-services industry.

Similar Lacrosse Networks are in place at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Duke and a number of other strong academic schools. 

The story via examples:
Bloomberg News article

And here's one from academia, citing cultural similarity between recruiter and candidate as the reason for the pipeline. Minor familiarity with statistics is helpful for this article.

Hiring as Cultural Matching

NCS Lacrosse Championships: SRV 5 - DLS 4

2012 NCS DI Boys' Lacrosse Championship game

Two teams separated by a shade of Green met in the Dublin HS Stadium last night to determine who would be North Coast Section DI champions. In the end, all that separated the Wolves from the Spartans was a single goal. SRV prevailed 5-4 in a game marred by imprecise passes, insufficient stick protection, and imperfect catches. Both teams normally play a tight, crisp style of Lacrosse that is wonderfully entertaining. Why that crispness and precision didn't show up  more often last night, I don't know, but I'll attribute it to nervousness from the significance of this game. 

What significance? For De La Salle, its recent, near-permanent grip on the NCS title was loosened last year, when Monte Vista out-dueled the Spartans to win the title. For San Ramon, the significance was far, far, greater. San Ramon won its first, and only, NCS title in 2008, with one of the finest teams in Northern California history. "Well," one might say, "It's usual for there to be a drop off after a once-a-decade team departs." Usually true, friends, but not always true. The entering Freshman class at SRV for the 2008/2009 school year was a once-in-a-lifetime class. It contained a quartet of players who were locks to become top NCAA DI recruits. Zach Kline, Mike Tagliaferri, Jordan Weiss, and Patrick Worstell had local lacrosse fans buzzing when they were in 8th grade. I'd been in awe of that group back then – and even earlier. I believe I first saw Patrick Worstell play when he was in 5th grade, trying out for the indoor Junior Stealth. But it wasn't that I was perspicacious. Everyone who knew anything about lacrosse could see it. They were the future of NorCal lacrosse and they were THE TRUTH! So what happened to make last night's game so significant for SRV?

Well, at the simplest level, the Wolves hadn't won anything that really mattered to them. They finished as runner-up in the NCS a couple of times and lost in the semi-finals once. They beat SI a couple of times and that was a solid accomplishment. Very good, but not quite what people had expected, and not what the players and their coaches sought. Last night was the last game of the last season – and thus, the last chance – for this group of SRV boys to win NCS and fulfill their promise. They were resolute!

Things had changed a bit for this fabulous foursome. Zach Kline played only two years of lacrosse, then was offered an Athletic Scholarship to play Football at Cal. He forewent his last two years of Lacrosse to fulfill that dream. He entered Cal early and is ranked by some pigskin prognosticators as the #3 incoming college Quarterback in the nation. For the remaining three, all the anticipation and all the hoopla surrounding them proved to be true. Mike Tagliaferri, Jordan Weiss, and Patrick Worstell all became US Lacrosse All-Americans, with Michael being a two-time US Lacrosse All-American. All three were offered – and accepted – scholarships at legendary NCAA DI programs: Michael accepted an offer from Joe Breschi at North Carolina, Jordan accepted an offer from Jeff Tambroni at Penn State, and Patrick accepted an offer from John Desko at Syracuse. But, funny things can happen on the way to college. Late in his Senior year, Patrick Worstell was approached by the Cal Football coaches and offered a scholarship to play Wide Receiver at Cal, thus re-connecting him with Zach Kline. After thinking long and hard about it, the idea of catching more of Zach Kline's passes fulfilled a different dream for him. So the final outcomes for these four are: 2 NCAA DI lacrosse players and 2 NCAA DI Football players. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Coming into the game, LaxPower stats provided the following data:

Average Goals for: SRV 12.22 (#2 in NCS) DLS 10.35 (#10 in NCS)

Goals allowed: SRV 5.57 (#1 in NCS) DLS 6.38 (#8 in NCS)

Power Ranking: SRV (98.79 #1 in NCS) DLS (96.37 #2 in NCS)

Quality wins: SRV (13.81 #1 in NCS) DLS (11.90 #2 in NCS)

These were the two best North Coast Section teams in my opinion and LaxPower backs that up with statistics. Now, on to last night's game:

Q1 - DLS sets up for the opening face with three poles on the FO unit, leaving two shorties and a pole in the Defensive area. They will show this look on and off throughout the game. Despite frequent early turnovers, you can see that DLS wants long possessions, waiting for opportunities to feed the crease. Understandably, they don't want to play run and gun with the Wolves. Jack McCormick makes a couple of good feeds into tight quarters, but crease Attackmen get stripped by aggressive SRV defenders. SRV opens with a motion set, having two As spin around the crease, looking for feeds. I liked this set, since it seemed likely to produce open looks, but the SRV coaches apparently saw something they didn't like about the match ups it produced, and we didn't see that set again. Mike Tags scores on a rip, giving SRV the first goal and the lead. Cade Bailey answers with a goal for DLS. Cam Bowlby is brilliant in the cage for SRV this quarter, making 4 high quality saves. The quarter ends, 1-1.

Q2 - Doug Strazza picks up a loose ball in the DLS defensive area and runs it all the way down the field for a Long-Pole goal. DLS leads 2-1. Later in the quarter, SRV's Austin French, at X, spots Jackson Brown uncovered just above the left pipe. Like all good X Attacks, French exploits the defensive lapse and makes a perfect feed. Brown buries it. Score is knotted at deuces going into halftime.

Halftime finds both teams practicing their throwing and catching. This goes on longer than expected by me, but it may have a calming effect on two teams who are still not playing fully within themselves

Q3 - This is San Ramon's quarter. They outscore the Spartans 3-1. Peter Tagliaferri scores the first two of the quarter, one on a nice feed from his older brother and one assisted by Jordan Weiss. I had the assist credited to Patrick Worstell, but aging eyes can confuse 42 and 12, so I'll go with the official scorekeeper. Score is now 4-2. DLS answers with a nice goal by Owen Euser, off a feed from Jimmy Keane, bringing the DLS bench to life! Score 4-3. But then, SRV scores its third of the quarter, as Michael Tags picks up his second of the night on an unassisted goal off the dodge. DLS is covering Tags like blanket – either shutting him off with a shortie or having a pole cover him with another pole ready to slide to him early. Still, he gets his points! That goal quiets the DLS side of the Stadium for a bit. It could have been worse for the Spartans, but Payden Dickerson has 4 outstanding saves in the quarter. 3rd quarter ends 5-3 SRV.

Q4 - DLS is in a bind, They're two down with 12 minutes to go. Their strategy of long possessions, awaiting an open man on the crease has become a non-starter, as they need at least 2 goals this quarter and SRV is now trying to make their own possessions longer. So long that they get called for stalling. Then, off a CTO by SRV a GB scrum ensues. Somehow, Jack Mac garners the GB behind the scrum and has no one between him and the goalie. He turns, takes a couple of steps and buries it low. There's hope for DLS as the score is now 5-4! But, no further credible scoring opportunities arise for the Spartans and the Wolves win a squeaker!  

   

Here are the stats from the Official Scoresheet (N.B. the scoresheet had the final score right, but had not allocated one of the DLS goals. I have allocated that goal based on my records. Otherwise, everything's straight from the official scoresheet)

Teams   Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

DLS……..1…1….3…0….5   

SRV……..1…1….1….1…4

Saves:

DLS (Dickerson) 8 – Save percentage 61.5%

SRV (Bowlby) 10 – Save percentage 71.4%

Offense:

SRV 

Player………….G..A..P

M Tagliaferri……2..1..3

P Tagliaferri…….2..0..2

Brown………..…1..0..1

French………….0..1..1

Weiss……………0..1..1

Totals……………5..3..8 (60% of goals assisted)

DLS

Player………….G..A..P

Bailey…………..1..0..1

Euser…………..1..0..1

Strazza…………1..0..1

McCormick……..1..0..1

Teague………….0..1..1

Keane…………..0..1..1

Totals……………4..2..6 (50% of goals assisted)

Defense:
SRV Goals Allowed vs DLS Average goals scored: 4 v 10.35 -6.35
DLS Goals Allowed vs SRV Average goals scored: 5 v 12.22 -7.22

With rare exceptions, the performance by the defensive units of both teams was exceptional. Great saves, lifted shot attempts, intercepted passes – this game had it all on the defensive side of the ball. Great to watch!

Emotional and physical intensity was at the highest levels in this Sectional Championship. Tons of fist pumps after a great play. Powerful checks, ferocious ground ball battles, and numerous full-length dives at the sideline to be closest to a ball heading out of bounds. Utterly amazing intensity! Well played, guys. I'm proud of all of you – on both teams – that I have watched and known over the years. Thanks for providing such great lacrosse to the fans of Northern California – and thanks for the memories you've created. They'll stay with me forever!

Bill Welty

P.S. De La Salle and San Ramon Valley have long been my favorite NCS teams. I'm not sure how this happened, but I know, and greatly respect, both coaching staffs and I have known many, many players on both teams, some for as many as nine years. I've known most parents of these players over the same period of time and have found them to be among the most supportive, caring, and genuine folks I've ever met.

Much as the High School careers for many of you are ending, so it is with my son. I am ineffably sad that it all has come to an end for most of us –  parents and players alike. We were lucky to live through the magical years of Northern California Lacrosse! Many of you will continue your lacrosse careers in college. I wish you the best and know that you will represent yourselves, your schools and your families with honor and sterling character. After all, you've been trained by the best group of coaches and parents I know. Who knows, maybe I'll see you, or your parents, or your coaches, on the fields or in the stands at college lacrosse games on the East Coast. I hope so!   

Ivy League signs first-ever TV deal for Lax with NBC

NBC and the Ivy League have reached an agreement whereby NBC will televise a good number of the Conference's Football, Basketball, and Lacrosse games. I believe the Ivy League becomes be the first DI conference to reach agreement with a national broadcasting entity for Men's lacrosse. You can read about the contract at:
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pretzel/Ivy-League-strikes-major-national-television-deal-with-NBC-Sports-Network.html

NBC previously held Ivy League broadcast rights for Football and Basketball. The new contract adds a Spring sport to the agreement. It should be of interest to all Lacrosse fans that NBC elected Lacrosse to be the Spring season, not Baseball or another Spring sport. I have argued earlier that Lacrosse would be the most likely Spring sport to become a "revenue" sport. I believe the NBC contract is evidence of that view. You can read my earlier analysis at:
http://norcallacrosse.blogspot.com/2012/04/provocative-question-will-lacrosse-ever.html

Congratulations to the Ivy League for reaching this deal with NBC – and congratulations to NBC for having the perspicacity to enter into a conference wide lacrosse broadcasting deal. I think we'll see more of these deals within the next few months.

Lax Magazine releases West Boys' Regional Update

Lax Magazine, the official publication of US Lacrosse, released a West Boys' Regional Report yesterday. Their Top 10 Western teams include three from NorCal – SI, SRV, and MV. Coaches Chris Packard of SI and Peter Worstell of SRV are quoted in the article. Players mentioned include: Chad Cohan, Joe Lang, JW McGovern, Michael Tagliaferri, and Patrick Worstell.

You can read the whole thing at:

http://www.laxmagazine.com/high_school/boys/2011-12/news/032812_west_region_report

The "likely letter" season in the Ivies

The Ivy League plays by different rules. Sure, they're all NCAA DI schools – meeting the minimum standards the NCAA requires – but the league's a) season of sport, b) recruiting practices, c) academic standards, d) lack of athletic scholarships, and e) admissions practices are at a far remove from the rest of NCAA DI schools. Laxers who aspire to play in the Ivy League need to learn a whole new language to understand Ivy recruiting. In particular, two phrases – academic index and likely letter – are unique to the Ivies. In a separate blog entry, I'll write later about the intricacies of the Academic Index and why it delays the completion of recruiting a class. The Likely Letter is particularly timely now, since they have recently arrived at the homes of anxious Ivy hopefuls over the last month or so.

So, what is the Likely Letter and what is the origin of the name? It all starts with the standard comment of all Ivy coaches that, "Admissions makes admission decisions, I don't. In return for your commitment to me, I commit to do my best to represent you to the admissions committee." Since coaches want to build, and hold, their classes, they need to send a signal to recruited athletes who have scholarship offers from non-Ivies that those athletes are "likely" to be admitted. Admissions committees for each Ivy meet in the Fall and are presented with a list of High School Senior candidates by the Coach of each and every sport the school sponsors. The committee reviews each candidate (and the coaches candidate pool as a whole) and makes tentative decisions on each candidate. Those candidates who pass muster with the admissions committee – some pass with flying colors and others by the skin of their teeth –  are sent the infamous "likely letter." Sadly, some few don't make it past the admissions committee and the Coach has to convey the bad news to the declined player.

So, what does the likely letter say and why is it sent? The letter from the Admissions committee says to a recruited athlete that he/she is "likely" to be admitted if the candidate's grades and behaviors remain at their current level. It is not a guarantee, but it is the next closest thing. Recruited athletes are encouraged to apply "Early Decision or Early Action" to the Ivy that has recruited them. Coaches, Admissions, and Administration at the Ivies know that they are competing against schools who offer scholarship monies, while the Ivies offer no athletic scholarships and only offer need-based aid. Historically, the likely letter has served as a way to signal recruited athletes that if things stay on track, they'll be offered an admissions slot in the early action/decision flurry.

But increasingly, the likely letter is an anachronism. Why? Sophomore recruiting is the why. When non-Ivies start recruiting rising Sophomores, the Ivies haves no ability to respond. They require transcripts, standardized test scores, recommendations from teachers and administrators. So, it's quaint and it's steeped in tradition, but if you want to go Ivy, you'll have to decline scholarship offers made during your Sophomore year and take the risk of not getting a likely letter. It is becoming harder for scholar athletes to wait for a likely letter.

Still, you'd be amazed how many players wait. The thought of an Ivy education resonates with a sizable portion of the lacrosse world. Nonetheless, I will predict that that advent of Sophomore recruiting will force the Ivies to re-examine their recruiting practices. They may conclude to keep the status quo ante, but not without lots of tooth gnashing and hand wringing. The yawning chasm between big-time athletics and big-time academics is widening. In non-Ivies, most of the battles between athletics and admissions are won by the Athletic Departments. That's not true for the Ivies. Just a very few years ago, DI Men's laxers committed late in the Summer of their Junior year or early in their Senior year. We'll see how the Ivies respond to top players being recruited in the summer after their Freshman year or in the Fall of their Sophomore year! At this point in their academic lives, incoming Sophomores have skimpy transcripts, no AP classes, no SAT scores, no PSAT scores,  and no extended read of a candidate from his teachers, counsellors or coaches is available.

Coaches face much more uncertainty about the players they are recruiting since they know so little about a candidate's academic profile when that recruit has completed only his Freshman year. As a consequence, Ivy coaches will have to add more conditions to their offers. Such conditions include: a) subject to a score of XXX on your PSAT, b) subject to SAT scores of XXXX, c) subject to a GPA of X.XX, etc. It is worth remembering that these conditions may satisfy the coach, but may not satisfy admissions. Only admissions can make an offer to an Ivy candidate. I know of several instances where Ivy coaches have raised the academic and test score bar during the time between coaches' initial offers and the creation of their final list of recruits to present to admissions. In part, this relates to players achieving (or not achieving) target test scores and GPAs. In part it relates to the Academic Index for the entire list of recruits.  

It is a tricky time for the Ivies and their lacrosse teams. As a result, it is a tricky time to be a recruited laxer to the Ivy League.

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.

Casey Hock - His first game at Queens

It's VERY early in the NCAA Fall Ball season, but we've got a NorCal siting in North Carolina! Casey Hock, NorCal AA and holder of the all-time Monte Vista single season points record, played in his first college game today, as the current Queens University NCAA DII laxers jousted with the Queens alums. The current Royals held the lead through almost the entire game, but a late surge by the alums brought the game to an 8-8 tie – and that's where it ended. Casey, donning #53 – yes, it's a large squad – looked pretty good today, but so did a number of the 10-11 Queens attackmen. This looks to be another good season for the Royals, who won their conference last year.

I got to speak with Casey briefly after the game. In response to my questions, he said that he's very happy with his selection of Queens as his college, that after a two-week adjustment period he's got that hang of college academic requirements, and that he felt the level of play by his teammates had him at the right school for lacrosse. Graciously, he invited me to attend a regular season Royals game. As I told him, I'll be there for an early season game. Delightful to catch up with one of NorCal's all-time finest!

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.   

  

LAX recruiting: The Parent Trap

Here's the funniest article on Lacrosse recruiting I've ever read. Actually, it's the only funny story I've read about lacrosse recruiting. Possibly apocryphal, but many elements have the ring of truth.

Sports Illustrated

2011 California Gold!

Today's the day for rising Seniors and rising Sophomores to rip it up. Lot's of talent here, including a number of rising Seniors who have already committed to DI schools.

CLC Select Lacrosse royal v Red 6th/7th game

Here are highlights of a game between to 6th/7th grade teams at the Bladium October 29th.