Coach Deane's Recruiting Newsletter | June 2025

How to Prepare for the Summer Recruiting Season

Parents and Players,

I have written a list for everything you can do to prepare for the summer recruiting season. It is broken down by grad year. You’ll see that for younger players, the emphasis is on development and education. For our rising juniors and seniors, I emphasize being proactive and positioning yourself for a successful recruiting experience. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. I’m here to help! Let’s make it a great summer!

2026:

• Last summer on the club lacrosse circuit and playing with your club team.
• Transparently, at this point, you and your club director should have had a conversation to let you know if you’re a Division 1, 2, or 3 caliber player.
• If you haven’t already, you should have a list of schools compiled by you and your club director based on where you can play and where you will fit academically.
• You and your club director need to sit down together and reach out to these schools. The club director needs to reach out to the schools to make sure they come watch you play this summer, and you – the player – need to reach out to the schools to send them your updated IMLCA profile with your updated highlight film.
• Update your IMLCA profile with your most recent highlight film from the spring high school season. This film needs to be sent to the college coaches from you and the director before the summer club season begins.
• As the player, you need to make sure you have sent all the schools/coaches on your college list your tournament schedule so they can come watch you play.
• Your club director should be giving you monthly feedback on where you stand in the recruiting process with some of the schools on your list. This is feedback coming from conversations your club director is having with the college coaches.
• You should only be attending showcases that focus on your level of play. For example, if you are a D3 caliber player, you need to attend showcases that focus on D3 schools.
• Only attend prospect camps where, 1. The coach has seen you play; 2. The coach is interested in you; 3. Your club coach believes you have the ability to play; and 4. The coach is expecting you to come to that prospect camp.
• By the end of November of your senior year, you should have a really good idea of where you are attending college.

2027:

• Big summer for you. College coaches can start contacting you on September 1st.
• This summer and your performance on the field will 100% most likely be a really good indicator of whether you are a Division 1, 2, or 3 player.
• Your director should already have given you very transparent feedback on where they see you capable of playing (Division 1, 2, or 3).
• Your director needs to collaborate with you on a list of schools where they feel you will have the potential to play and also gain admission with your academics.
• Your director should reach out to these schools before the summer tournaments begin to make sure the schools/coaches on your list come watch you play.
• Make sure you update your IMLCA profile with your most recent highlight film from the spring high school season. You and your director need to send this film to college coaches prior to the summer club season.
• Attend showcases with guidance from your director based on what he thinks regarding which division you can play. Examples: Division 1: Maverick; Division 2: Apex; Division 3: Prep School Showcase.
• Only attend prospect camps at schools where your director thinks you can play and where your director has contacted the coach to let them know you are coming.
• Your director needs to reach out to the schools on your list to make sure they come watch you play.
• You, the player, need to send your tournament schedule to the college coaches on your list to let them know where you will be playing this summer.
• Make sure you finish up your spring semester in school with great grades; those transcripts will be sent to college coaches in the fall.
• Get in great shape heading into the summer. You are going to be playing a lot of lacrosse, and you need to make sure your body is ready for it!
• Have your director review your spring highlight film before you send it to college coaches ahead of the summer tournament season. We want to make sure the highlight film looks great, that college coaches are intrigued and want to come watch you play.
• Play aggressive! Remember: college coaches are watching you play. They are not watching the score. They are watching your effort on the field. Be aggressive and don’t play timid.

2028:

• Develop, develop, and develop.
• Focus on lacrosse events where you are going to learn and develop
• Focus on your athleticism (bigger, stronger, faster). Get into the weight room and on the track. Make yourself a better athlete.
• Start to make a highlight film from your high school spring season.
• Put together your IMLCA profile and update your freshman high school highlights.
• Begin to make a first draft of the schools you are interested in from an athletic and academic standpoint.
• Start researching schools that might interest you based on your interests off the field.
• Meet with your director and have an honest goal-setting meeting to focus on what you need to do to improve as a player.
• Put together a plan with your director on goals/benchmarks you are going to try to achieve and how you plan to improve as a player or athlete to set yourself up best for recruiting.
• Begin to educate yourself on the recruiting timeline – sit in on recruiting presentations, talk to your directors about recruiting, ask questions.
• Watch film. Develop your IQ.
• · Get off social media and focus on YOU!

2029:

• Develop, develop, and develop.
• Develop yourself as an athlete (bigger, stronger, faster). Get on the track. Start doing bodyweight exercises in the gym.
• Put together a plan with your director on goals/benchmarks you are going to try to achieve and how you plan to improve as a player and athlete to best set yourself up for recruiting.
• Watch film: develop your IQ.
• Surround yourself with great coaching and training.
• Surround yourself with people who care about you and your family, not just as a player but as a person.
• Educate yourself on the recruiting timelines for the next four years.
• Start to learn how to develop a highlight film.
• Have fun! Get great coaching and enjoy the process.