Question for Cali re. win over Johns Hopkins

[HeavenUniv.]

Cali,
How much does a win like this help us in recruiting ? Does it help at all for kids starting in September or have most of the players already signed ? I assume Rutgers finds a way to make sure every high school coach and player know about this win--maybe they send a highlights video or something out.

 

[rufamily]

Not Cali but I am a HS coach in NJ. Brian does a good job of getting stuff out to coaches. They are always sending out video and is very active on Twitter. No HS seniors are changing at this point but, they are playing a very fun brand of lacrosse. It may help with the sophomore class but the best Juniors are already committed. The. Best thing for them is that they are very young and they certainly get better. A trip to the NCAA would an eye opener for a lot of kids

 

[NJ_CO_RU]

He's definitely getting the word out across the nation. One of the freshman on the team (Pless) is from my neighborhood. Granted, my neighborhood is Denver.

 

[Caliknight]

It helps. We need to keep it up but it helps. As Family noted, recruiting almost exclusively now takes place very early. 10th graders are regularly committing now. So, it might not have an immediate success, but it will reasonate with younger kids, which is great. Family could speak more to it, but there were a lot of kids at that game. They saw something special. And yes, our offensive, aggressive style is very appealing.

Gotta keep at it.

 

[e5fdny]

It helps. We need to keep it up but it helps. As Family noted, recruiting almost exclusively now takes place very early. 10th graders are regularly committing now. So, it might not have an immediate success, but it will resonate with younger kids, which is great. Family could speak more to it, but there were a lot of kids at that game. They saw something special. And yes, our offensive, aggressive style is very appealing.

Gotta keep at it.

What kid on offense in any sport doesn't like to play run an' gun or run an' shoot?

Not saying it's that but it is one where somebody goes, "Hey, that looks fun!"

 

[HeavenUniv.]

RUFamily or others,
What types of things do you think Rutgers Athletics should be doing (and yes, winning more helps)to have the youth and high school lacrosse players and coaches feel like Rutgers is THEIR team ? Free camps ? Giveaways ? More tournaments on campus ? Free coaches clinics ? Play games or scrimmages on other parts of the state ? Practices in other parts of the state ?

 

[Caliknight]

I think they are doing lots of those things already. Get the kids on campus as much as possible, coaching clinics to have the coaches involved, but yes, it always comes down to winning.

One big thing is the style we play. Kids love playing this way, and lots of other teams don't play this way. We keep running and gunning while winning, and it is going to turn some heads. Putting up 16 on Hopkins is a statement. Kids want to play in a system where they can go to the goal and shoot without getting yelled because they didn't take 2 minutes off of the clock.

Another thing, and football folks don't like hearing this, but there isn't a group of kids who like swag more than lacrosse players. Different uniforms, helmets, equipment...that stuff matters a lot to kids. They love it. Especially since recruiting is getting done at a younger and younger age.

We play a sexy brand of lacrosse. The things around it need it should be too. Lax kids love that stuff.

Hopefully, we get our new facility built quickly, and it creates a real homefield advantage.

I won't jinx us, but we are doing well at home now :) Continuing to build on that would be good.

 

[e5fdny]

I think they are doing lots of those things already. Get the kids on campus as much as possible, coaching clinics to have the coaches involved, but yes, it always comes down to winning.

One big thing is the style we play. Kids love playing this way, and lots of other teams don't play this way. We keep running and gunning while winning, and it is going to turn some heads. Putting up 16 on Hopkins is a statement. Kids want to play in a system where they can go to the goal and shoot without getting yelled because they didn't take 2 minutes off of the clock.

Another thing, and football folks don't like hearing this, but there isn't a group of kids who like swag more than lacrosse players. Different uniforms, helmets, equipment...that stuff matters a lot to kids. They love it. Especially since recruiting is getting done at a younger and younger age.

We play a sexy brand of lacrosse. The things around it need it should be too. Lax kids love that stuff.

Hopefully, we get our new facility built quickly, and it creates a real homefield advantage.

I won't jinx us, but we are doing well at home now :) Continuing to build on that would be good.

And just think....like Wrestling this was done with a limited budget.

Not saying the B1G money is a blank check but all those things Caliknight has mentioned cost money. It is going to help but Winning + $$$ (B1G and Alumni) = a good formula to keep it going and sustain the program.

 

[Caliknight]

We definitely need to keep working on funding, and really, always will. We still aren't there yet, though it is getting better from what I was told.

First and foremost, it's paramount that we are fully funded with out of state tuition amounts. Coach Brecht and staff are showing themselves to be very good recruiters/talent evaluators, but they can only do so much without the full allotment of ships. This was job 1 to get done, so it may have been remedied, though I am not sure. I think wrestling is different than lacrosse. Rosters in lacrosse are much bigger, as we are going to recruit a lot in NJ, but we are also going to recruit outside of it. In wrestling, and I don't know for sure, but I think we could compete for NC's with kids only from NJ. Wrestling is just that good in the state and the amount of kids it takes aren't that many compared to lacrosse. Even so, given the roster sizes, it isn't apples to apples. Our recruiting focus seems to be NJ, Westchester Co./Long Island, Southern and Western states, with Canada right there. Looking at our roster, we have a nice mix. That wasn't by accident.

Funding. More more more. It can never be enough. If we want to win big, it will always be a focus. I know Hobbs gets it. The kids need to be cared for on campus, while arming them with everything (support staff, training, athlete support, travel) they need to win a national championship, or it won't happen. The schools that are winning them aren't doing so by luck. A number of these schools travel on charter flights. That's the type of thing we are competing with.

NJ lacrosse, while always good, used to be step behind overall. That is no longer the case. It is a sport we can win a national championship in if the program is funded properly. Grab a number of great kids from NJ, and add good kids from those other areas and we are cooking with gas. Really enjoying this season so I am not looking too far ahead, but I did see some of the kids we have coming in. You never know how they are going to adjust, but from a talent perspective, it is going to continue rising. Going to be interesting times for the program. Actually, it already is.

First things first. UM Sunday. This team has worked hard and is playing for big things. They deserve all of the attention and focus.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Not Cali but I am a HS coach in NJ. Brian does a good job of getting stuff out to coaches. They are always sending out video and is very active on Twitter. No HS seniors are changing at this point but, they are playing a very fun brand of lacrosse. It may help with the sophomore class but the best Juniors are already committed. The. Best thing for them is that they are very young and they certainly get better. A trip to the NCAA would an eye opener for a lot of kids

I sure as hell hope he doesn't just give up on juniors because they're "already committed."

 

[Caliknight]

Lacrosse recruiting is very different. Our junior class is likely full too. Recruiting is probably done. This isn't football. There is sharing of ships that probably gets pretty complicated. Further, you see flips in lacrosse, but it very rare. We flipped a kid from Maryland, but it was done I believe as a tenth grader. Once they get to junior/senior year, if they are committed, it is a virtual lock. Lax kids are different than football. They just don't play the game like that, at least not to that extent.

If you are going to flip them, it has to happen much earlier. Though it isn't unheard of later, it is pretty rare.

Don't worry about Coach Brecht. He isn't going to not go after a kid he wants for any reason.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

I'm not worried about Brecht at all to be honest. I just think this concept of lax kids "being different' - which is true - doesn't have to stay written in stone. People would have laughed at the notion of Denver winning a national title, just 10 years ago, but the game has evolved and bamm!

 

[e5fdny]

I'm not worried about Brecht at all to be honest. I just think this concept of lax kids "being different' - which is true - doesn't have to stay written in stone. People would have laughed at the notion of Denver winning a national title, just 10 years ago, but the game has evolved and bamm!

They didn't win until they got a HoF coach who already had a few rings on his fingers when he walked into a living room.

Just spit balling here but I think that kind of approach/sell might help a bit when recruiting.

 

[Caliknight]

I'm not worried about Brecht at all to be honest. I just think this concept of lax kids "being different' - which is true - doesn't have to stay written in stone. People would have laughed at the notion of Denver winning a national title, just 10 years ago, but the game has evolved and bamm!

There is still some honor among friends. Lax is a small world. Some coaches wouldn't recruit their friends verbals. Just the way it is. If not though, they would.


The bigger issue is when it gets late in junior year it is complicated. Scholarships are broken up, combined with different costs of tuition. It isn't like football where you have full rides and can swap for another full ride. Further, Rutgers is likely not even looking at this junior class anymore. Outside of some special circumstances, we probably aren't looking to flip anyone because we don't have room.

Denver started winning for two reasons- they hired a legendary coach and they funded that program very, very well.

 

[e5fdny]

Denver started winning for two reasons- they hired a legendary coach and they funded that program very, very well.

And nobody is looking/cares if you do "The Princeton Way" out in the Rockies. ;)

 

[NJ_CO_RU]

As an aside, when Denver hired Tierney, they fired (was encouraged to resign) Jamie Munro. Munro dedicated his time exclusively to his club lacrosse business, 3D. It is now, arguably. the biggest club lacrosse organization in the country. He charges an astronomical amount of money too.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

They didn't win until they got a HoF coach who already had a few rings on his fingers when he walked into a living room.

Wasn't my point ( we all know WHY they started winning) but, yeah, that would help any program!

 

[rufamily]

As Cali said their is still some honor in coaching and recruiting in lacrosse and Poaching is tolerated but not widely done or accepted. I coached a kid who committed to Duke at a very early age. BB keeps in touch and checks in but he has already filled those slots and will continue to recruit that way. Bieda was a very late recruit for BB as was the Christiano kid this year. Last summer he was able to secure a rising senior that was so good that I had a couple of school tell me that if he chose there school he would pay nothing (this is a big deal in lacrosse) I was asked about the player by coaches at a rival school and when I told them that he was in fact uncommitted they assumed he had grade issues (he is a 4.0 and 2000 SAT kid) these are the types of kids he is getting. Cali is absolutely correct that the disparity between in and out of state tution scholarship is an issue that needs to be resolved. Some NJ players just do not want to stay in state and, as is the case in all recruiting sometimes you just miss. Denver's FOGO was going to Franklin and Marshall until BT to a flyer on him. The relationship with HS coaches is less now as they see the kids more in the summer but, BB still uses his relationship with HS coaches very well.

 

[Caliknight]

Family who is the rising senior you are referencing? He is going to RU.

 

[gef21]

I have coached summer lacrosse for years in NJ and have recently become a head coach high school coach. The Rutgers staff has been unbelievable. Their clinic was good (not as high end as the football one) but they are great guys and really are easy to communicate with. My team and I will be going to the RU game this Sunday and the kids are really excited to see them play.

 

[JeepGuy999]

My son has a buddy he played youth with. The kid goes to a private now and was committed to Nova his frosh and soph years. He's a jr now and recently flipped to ND, called it an offer he couldn't refuse. So flips do happen but agree they are rare.

I brought a bunch of dads and kids to the Hopkins game. Kids were mixed ages. What a great experience! By the end of the game the younger kids were asking their fathers to buy them RU gear. Mission accomplished.

 

[e5fdny]

My son has a buddy he played youth with. The kid goes to a private now and was committed to Nova his frosh and soph years. He's a jr now and recently flipped to ND, called it an offer he couldn't refuse. So flips do happen but agree they are rare.

I brought a bunch of dads and kids to the Hopkins game. Kids were mixed ages. What a great experience! By the end of the game the younger kids were asking their fathers to buy them RU gear. Mission accomplished.

A flip "up" I completely understand.

But I think lateral ones are still considered rare.