GREATER FORT LAUDERDALE SOCCER

Lacrosse 101 for Soccer Players
by Pat Grecco (Part 1 of 2)

Lacrosse (Lax) is an ideal sport for the college minded soccer player for some very compelling reasons:

• Most of the better colleges have Lax and Soccer

• Lax is a Spring sport ... soccer is a Fall sport

• Lax and soccer are similar in tactics and strategy

• Lax college coaches love soccer players

But does the dual sport thing really work? It did for Bruce Arena who, in 1969 began at Nassau (NY) Community College (Yes, the same Bruce Arena of the US Men's National Team) as an All American in soccer and lacrosse, and later coached. 

In 1978 Bruce moved to UVA as their lacrosse and soccer coaches, and the rest (DC United, USA Men, etc..) is just history.  

As Director of College-Bound Player Programs at Long Island Junior Soccer League, I often help two sport athletes.  Long Island is rich in lax traditions, so I frequently work with this combination of sports, and in recent years, has seen rapid growth in opportunities for young women who can play both sports.  

Spurred by Title IX, US colleges have been adding women's lacrosse teams at an incredible rate. Growing form 118 programs in 1991, women’s lacrosse grew to 380 colleges in 2008; and there is no sign of growth slowing down.  And, as only 9% of high school age lax players reside in the Far West, the demand far exceeds the supply, creating a sellers market for players and coaches, as well.  It’s just a great time to be in Lacrosse. 

I have noted that both men and women, especially if they are not “blue chip soccer players” (Regional level and above) receive more attention from lax. And since one can play both sports in college, YES, one can get scholarship money from both sports!

Joelle K., a solid varsity and club level player in soccer, and Varsity lax player was recruited by Wagner College, in Staten Island, NY.  She received athletic scholarship money from both programs.   

Scott L., was a high school lax keeper and a soccer keeper who made the decision to play only soccer in college, although he was heavily recruited for lacrosse.  Scott confided in me that he, “really only played lacrosse to keep in shape for his first love, soccer.”

Player identification is different in lax than soccer. In soccer, college coaches track recruits at tournaments; i.e. state and regional competition among clubs and ODP teams. Camps are also important, but high school competition is not closely followed because it varies in quality. In lax there are no clubs or ODP, so high school competition and camps are everything and your high school lax coach is vital to being successfully recruited. 

In part 2 of this article, we will discuss the high school lax coach’s role, during recruiting, in detail.   

If you play on an ODP or District Select soccer team, it is very difficult to play both varsity lacrosse and attend Spring soccer practices, but it has been done with the help of understanding coaches and parents.   

Keep this in mind.  The more you have to offer, the more opportunities you will create…two sports are better than one. And two sports plus great grades are even better. Ivy League schools and DIII colleges don’t give athletic scholarships, but they do give merit scholarships, and prefer well rounded, academically strong student athletes.  Further, if you qualify for financial aid, you provide the coach (s) an additional justification for reducing the cost of your college education.   

Some great DI colleges offering both soccer and lacrosse are: Brown, Butler, Colgate, Carnell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Lehigh, UMD, UMass, Michigan, UNC, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Penn, Princeton, Rutgers, Syracuse, Air Force, Army, Navy, UVA and Yale.  Some 380 D-I, D-II, D-III and community colleges offer lacrosse and soccer.   

One young lady I worked with, a very strong lacrosse player and ODP level soccer player, was actually turning down lacrosse scholarships because soccer was her preferred sport and she did not want to play both in college.  But, when her first choice college did not recruit her for soccer, she accepted a lacrosse scholarship from that college. Being a dual sport high school athlete gave her a valuable recruiting option.  It can work for you too.

Ed Note: Pat’s approach is unique. She acts as a consultant to families, helping them identify and focus on colleges where they have the best chance of success. By consulting for the family, Pat is not visible to the coach.  This is very important because college coaches prefer to hear directly from the player and parents, without a third party.  Student Athlete Magazine (561)995-6587