September 1st

Cadendo Crescimus

This Sunday, excited and hopeful junior lacrosse players will stay up late hoping for calls, texts, and emails from college coaches. Statistically speaking, September 1st is less of a day of celebration and more of a day of rejection for thousands of young lacrosse players across the United States and Canada.

But there is room for optimism.

Right this minute, D-1 coaching staffs are embroiled in heated arguments about which player they should call first, and which player will get the final email.

Parents are balancing the first days of school with the impending pressure of what will happen on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, club team directors are fiendishly working their phones, feverishly typing and soliliquizing to get their best players in touch with the best coaches.

It’s the kind of chaos that can only occur when this much money, prestige, and potential are at stake. On all sides.

For the thousands of kids and parents who don’t get the call they’re looking for, just know this: hype and prestige always lose to honesty and hard work. The timeline of that truth varies wildly, but it remains steadfast. And so should you. Also, read through to the end of this, there is some special advice for you.

For everyone else, from the kids who get one call from a MAAC school to the ones who will be courted by the greatest salesmen, er, statesmen, in the game - here are three things to get in order before the first day of September.

1. Know what you want.

This is the hardest thing to even understand when you’re 16 or 17 years old. By nature, knowing what you want when you’re a fleshy robot powered by hormones is impossible. However, going into Sunday night, you should have some idea of what you’re looking for when you talk to these coaches. They will most likely have vetted the academic portion of the discussion, so you’re either in or out on that call based on past merits and effort. Can’t change that, now. Still, it could be as simple as knowing that you would refer a bigger campus over a smaller campus. How far away from home do you want to be? Do you want to experience February lacrosse in a snow suit, sweats, or shorts? Do you want to be an engineer or a poet (it’s a spectrum, right)?

In the same vein, what would you be willing to give up? For offensive players, would you convert to defensive midfield to play for this coach and go to this school? Goalies and face-off guys, would you ride the pine for two years waiting for your shot? Everyone wants to play right away; very few do.

2. Talk to every coach.

Even if you don’t want to go to their school, you have to communicate that. This isn’t Hinge or Bumble - you can’t be ghosting college coaches. These guys all know each other. They all go to the same events, and they all go to the same bars afterward. Everybody knows everyone, and they all talk - what do you want them to say about you? Forget cleanliness, politeness is close to godliness in this cabal. That’s why none of these dudes has punched me [yet]. I’m too nice to their face, and I always say “Please” and “Thank you”. Being honest is the least you can do for yourself and for them.

3. Be. Humble.

A better way of saying this is to remember that you’re the prize. All of those medals and trophies in your closet - do they tell you how awesome you are every time you dig for them?

No. They exist to remind you of your accomplishments. Some of them matter more than others. It’s not the same thing with the coaches.

Honestly, I already used the dating app analogy, but it’s even more apt here. Don’t commit to someone who plays around with your emotions to get what they want. Be honest with yourself and the coaches, and you will make the right decision.

If they want you, they will tell you. They will not trap you. They will not give you a timeline. They will say what they mean and mean that they say. Usually.

Regardless of what happens Sunday night, it won’t be the end of the world. (Unless it’s like, actually, the end of the world, in which case, I hope our alien/robot overlords will find this post amusing).

I was going to use the good old “Si Vis Pacem, Parabellum” here, but this isn’t a war and you’re not a soldier. You’re trying to find your way through to the other side of your lacrosse journey.

So, I’m going to go with a less frequently quoted latin phrase: Cadendo Crescimus

It means, “By falling, we rise.”

So you’re not in the September 1st plans for your dream school. So what? You will find the right fit, or the right fit will find you. When your time comes, all you have to do is be brave enough to say, “Yes”.

Even if that call comes 18 months from now.