By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/17/18
A group of the regions’ clubs, headed by The Duke’s LC and NXT, organized a joint College Recruiting Night Thursday at Harriton High that directors believe could grow into a bigger event in future years.
A large group of players and parents attended the 2-hour seminar that featured recruiting speeches from legendary Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala, Chestnut Hill College (Division II) coach Mike Terranova and Bryn Athyn coach Tucker Durkin (D3).
The event was also sponsored by the HEADstrong LC, Tri-State, Black Bear and South Shore clubs and featured an introductory speech by HEADstrong Foundation Director Pat Colleluori. There was no charge but donations were made to support HEADstrong’s new Nick’s House in Swarthmore.
The idea to have a joint club college night started from a discussion between Duke’s LC Founder/Director Ebe Helm and NXT President and Director of Elite Programs Peter Lawrence.
“Ebe and I got together just for lunch and we talked about ways we can work together,” said Lawrence. “Everybody runs recruiting nights like this, and this is something we are all mutually aligned with; we have the same goals. We’re trying to help kids get to college and learn more about the process.
“So we thought, ‘Hey if you can get the auditorium at Harriton that’s awesome.’ We have usually done it with one coach, but by having coaches from all the divisions the families got a much better understanding of the rules for Divisions I, II and III.”
Pietramala spoke about the structure and commitment that playing lacrosse in Division I commands. Terranova spoke to the many similarities between Division I and Division II and Durkin – who starred for Pietramala at Hopkins after a brilliant career at La Salle College High and also coaches with the Duke’s LC – noted that the time demands are different for Division III student-athletes once the Fall season ends.
Pietramala also spoke about the changes in recruiting that occurred over a year ago when college coaches used to begin recruiting and speaking to players in as early as 8th grade. He called it the days ofthe “Wild wild West” and noted that coaches are happier with the new restrictions that prevent college coaches in Divisions I and II from making ocntact with players until Sept. 1 of their junior years.
“The collaboration of Our local clubs for this College Recruiting Night Seminar was a huge success in not only providing a forum to review the college recruiting landscape but also to be supportive of the HEADstrong Foundation’s Local Mission Statement,” Helm said. “As a Duke’s Organization, we couldn’t be prouder of supporting both the Forum and the charitable function.”
Lawrence said he hopes the number of clubs sponsoring the event can grow, based on the success of this event.
“We wanted to do this heading into November; it’s an important time because they (players, parents) are about to live this and when opportunity comes knocking we wanted to be open minded and respectful with so many great messages,” said Lawrence. “I already got some texts and e-mails (right after the event) and there were so many positives.
“We have reached out to many other clubs. We are extending the olive branch. Maybe this is the first step for people to hear about it. I honestly think if we had one Philly Club Lacrosse Summit that would be great. Imagine is the autitorium had 600 or 700 people. Think how much money we could raise.
“We are all competing against each other, but if we can come together for education that’s beneficial to everyone.”