Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/16/15
From US Lacrosse
US Lacrosse today endorsed recent actions by the collegiate men’s and women’s lacrosse coaches associations and urged the NCAA to adopt legislative proposals that restrict the recruiting calendar, inclusive of all communication between a coach and prospect, to after Sept. 1 of a prospect’s junior year of high school.
The Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) voted Friday to support proposals forwarded to the NCAA three months earlier by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) that ban college coaches from any contact with prospects prior to Sept. 1 of the junior year. The IWLCA proposals currently reside with the NCAA’s student-athlete experience committee (SEAC).
“We applaud the IMLCA’s decision, and that of the IWLCA in September, to prioritize the best interests of youth and high school players and their families,” said Steve Stenersen, CEO of US Lacrosse. “The growing practice of recruiting young athletes, who are not well-positioned to make one of the most important decisions of their lives, continues to negatively impact the culture, accessibility and vitality of our sport. Given the alignment of both collegiate coaches’ associations on this issue, as well as the strong endorsement of the sport’s national governing body, we’re hopeful the NCAA will move quickly to enact new recruiting-related legislation.”
US Lacrosse shares the concern of many lacrosse players, parents and coaches that the college recruiting process is not structured or timed in the best interests of high school student-athletes. The current landscape of recruiting events and programs, some of which operate throughout the school year, has encouraged an increasing number of young student-athletes to forego a well-rounded high school experience based on unrealistic expectations and misperceptions about playing college lacrosse.
“Like many in the lacrosse community, I was pleased and encouraged that both the women’s and men’s college coaches’ associations have taken a stand against the early recruiting practices that have been a part of our game over the last few years,” said Kristen Murray, vice chair of the US Lacrosse Board of Directors. “The proposal to restrict recruiting and all communication with prospective student-athletes until after Sept. 1 of their junior year is good for kids, for families and for our sport. US Lacrosse fully supports the recruiting reform proposals and urges the NCAA to adopt them.”
US Lacrosse had issued a statement in 2012 regarding the collegiate recruiting process.
